National Property
Sir,
The Uttar Pradesh Central Waqf Board has recently declared the Taj Mahal as their property.The Taj Mahal which is one of the seven wonders of the world is our narional property and no community can claim the ownership of any national property.
The historic Taj mahal was declared as a national property in the year 1920 and since then the Archaeological Survey of India has been its care-taker.After more than eight decades, how can any community claim its ownership all of a sudden? It has been said that in Shahjahan's biography Badshahnama, the taj had been mentioned as the property of the Sunnis.If this is the case, then various other monuments built by Shahjahan, viz. Moti Masjid, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, etc., also belong to the Sunni community and they would go on claimoing the ownership of one monument after the other.
Such claim is totally illegal and should never be accepted as such illegal demands would give rise to many more controversies in future. India is world famous for its beautiful monuments and palaces which are being looked after by the ASI. If any community is claiming the Taj Mahal today, it is quite possible that tomorrow some other religious group or community or some descendents of some rulers from another country might claim the ownership of other historic monuments of our country.
Union Law Minister H R Bharadwaj has rightly called the controversy a 'self-created one'.
The government should not give cognizance to such claims.Whether the Taj Mahal is a Sunni or a Shia property does not matter. What matters is that the Taj Mahal is our national property and the pride of our country.By no means we should give it away to anyone. Its custody should only remain with The Archaeological Survey of India or else the day is not far when tourists from all over the world come to see the ruins of the historic monument, not the Taj Mahal.
Yours Etc.,
Monalisa Biswas,
Odalbakra, Guwahati
Sir,
The Uttar Pradesh Central Waqf Board has recently declared the Taj Mahal as their property.The Taj Mahal which is one of the seven wonders of the world is our narional property and no community can claim the ownership of any national property.
The historic Taj mahal was declared as a national property in the year 1920 and since then the Archaeological Survey of India has been its care-taker.After more than eight decades, how can any community claim its ownership all of a sudden? It has been said that in Shahjahan's biography Badshahnama, the taj had been mentioned as the property of the Sunnis.If this is the case, then various other monuments built by Shahjahan, viz. Moti Masjid, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, etc., also belong to the Sunni community and they would go on claimoing the ownership of one monument after the other.
Such claim is totally illegal and should never be accepted as such illegal demands would give rise to many more controversies in future. India is world famous for its beautiful monuments and palaces which are being looked after by the ASI. If any community is claiming the Taj Mahal today, it is quite possible that tomorrow some other religious group or community or some descendents of some rulers from another country might claim the ownership of other historic monuments of our country.
Union Law Minister H R Bharadwaj has rightly called the controversy a 'self-created one'.
The government should not give cognizance to such claims.Whether the Taj Mahal is a Sunni or a Shia property does not matter. What matters is that the Taj Mahal is our national property and the pride of our country.By no means we should give it away to anyone. Its custody should only remain with The Archaeological Survey of India or else the day is not far when tourists from all over the world come to see the ruins of the historic monument, not the Taj Mahal.
Yours Etc.,
Monalisa Biswas,
Odalbakra, Guwahati
