Taj Mahal was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the world, and is still one of the most popular destinations in India, for both Domestic and International Tourists.
The Taj Mahal was built in the memory of Mumtaz Mahal who was one of the three wives of Shah Jahan, died while delivering her 14th Child at the age of 40[1].
The cost of building it was 4.18 crores in 1631 is just in terms of monetary value, but the famine that was the byproduct killed nearly 7.4 million people[2],almost three time the number of people that were killed in the Bengal Famine of 1943(caused by Winston Churchill)[3].
56.7(%) of total produce was levied as tax by the Mughals as compared to most of Hindu Kings who took 16.67%, as advised by Kautilya in arthshatra [4], and if a famine, drought or a calamity occurred it would be brought down to zero.
20,000 workers who worked for almost 22 years , had their hands chopped off at the end of it[5].
Shah Jahan's third son, aurangzeb captured him, and kept him under house arrest for the last 8 years of his life[6].
Is this monument a symbol of love?
If you want to look from architecture, design point of view, there are much better examples that can lead, such as the Kailasa Ellora Temple, Brihadeshwara temple, Belur Chennakeshava Temple, the ruins of Hampi, Nalanda.
Yet why is it that there exists a bias towards how our history is narrated to us?
I keep my understanding and respect only up to the point that the Taj Mahal is tomb, a burial ground , and it should be treated as a grave, definitely not a representation of Love, nor a glorious symbol of the past.
P.S. True Indology's Post which has a much more detailed and cited version on the Taj Mahal.
https://www.facebook.com/trueindologylive/posts/an-untold-story-of-taj-mahalwhat-was-the-cost-of-building-taj-mahal-a-jnu-profes/1139765409557310/
[1]- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumtaz_Mahal#Death_and_aftermath
[2] - https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/anh.2017.0422?fbclid=IwAR2o9t31DDwW9ljy7YQri0mTWAvOloGizxSzzhsOYJ6QQI0WOb9ZT23K5o4&journalCode=anh
[3] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943
[4] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthashastra#On_regulations_and_taxes
[5] - https://www.history.com/topics/india/taj-mahal
[6] - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shah-Jahan
The Taj Mahal was built in the memory of Mumtaz Mahal who was one of the three wives of Shah Jahan, died while delivering her 14th Child at the age of 40[1].
The cost of building it was 4.18 crores in 1631 is just in terms of monetary value, but the famine that was the byproduct killed nearly 7.4 million people[2],almost three time the number of people that were killed in the Bengal Famine of 1943(caused by Winston Churchill)[3].
56.7(%) of total produce was levied as tax by the Mughals as compared to most of Hindu Kings who took 16.67%, as advised by Kautilya in arthshatra [4], and if a famine, drought or a calamity occurred it would be brought down to zero.
20,000 workers who worked for almost 22 years , had their hands chopped off at the end of it[5].
Shah Jahan's third son, aurangzeb captured him, and kept him under house arrest for the last 8 years of his life[6].
Is this monument a symbol of love?
If you want to look from architecture, design point of view, there are much better examples that can lead, such as the Kailasa Ellora Temple, Brihadeshwara temple, Belur Chennakeshava Temple, the ruins of Hampi, Nalanda.
Yet why is it that there exists a bias towards how our history is narrated to us?
I keep my understanding and respect only up to the point that the Taj Mahal is tomb, a burial ground , and it should be treated as a grave, definitely not a representation of Love, nor a glorious symbol of the past.
P.S. True Indology's Post which has a much more detailed and cited version on the Taj Mahal.
https://www.facebook.com/trueindologylive/posts/an-untold-story-of-taj-mahalwhat-was-the-cost-of-building-taj-mahal-a-jnu-profes/1139765409557310/
[1]- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumtaz_Mahal#Death_and_aftermath
[2] - https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/anh.2017.0422?fbclid=IwAR2o9t31DDwW9ljy7YQri0mTWAvOloGizxSzzhsOYJ6QQI0WOb9ZT23K5o4&journalCode=anh
[3] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943
[4] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthashastra#On_regulations_and_taxes
[5] - https://www.history.com/topics/india/taj-mahal
[6] - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shah-Jahan
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