Taj Mahal needs certificates... No way, says Agra
Agra: We are happy to note that there are saner voices within media. Unfortunately, it is not quite so with TV channels and FM radio stations which have been going all over town crying hoarse, asking people to vote as if Taj won't be Taj without your vote! But as we said there are people who are questioning the silliness of this whole thing. Fortunately enough, many of them belong to Agra and they are finding this whole thing rather repulsive. Read on ...
`Vote for Taj': Will you, won't you? Never mind, please do... We need revenue after all. So what if people are taken for a ride!
According to saner voices in media like Brij Khandelwal who has written in Times of India recently, questions are now being raised about the credibility of the current campaign to vote the Taj Mahal for the first position among the new Seven Wonders of the World.
"The whole campaign is a big media hoax. Nobody has authorised this Swiss Website owner to do the grading of monuments. How can a private entrepreneur launch a global campaign like this and the whole government machinery gets used to hype up the campaign to fool the gullible masses. Each phone call costs Rs 6. In a poor country why should ultra jingoism be promoted by commercial interests," asks president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society Surendra Sharma.
As per the government of India's tourism department chief in Agra Sudhir Kumar, the campaign was a private one and those who were supporting it were doing it in their private capacity. "The campaign is not backed by any government agency though we feel it is good and in the interest of the tourism industry as a whole to promote the Taj Mahal as number one wonder."
K Mishra, a senior official of the UP Tourism department said how can people vote when they have not seen the other monuments. "It is arbitrary and wholly one sided campaign. Obviously people of Agra would vote for only the Taj and those in China would vote for the Great Wall." Mishra said his own department had nothing to do with the campaign. "Our DG in Lucknow has already made everything clear on this issue," he added.
KK Sharma, deputy superintending archaeologist of ASI in Agra said the campaign to put it simply is "economic exploitation of the sentiments of the Indian people, like the Yanni show earlier. No two monuments are alike and should not be compared. It is an injustice to the status and dignity of the Taj Mahal."
Interestingly, the Agra circle of the ASI has been rather indifferent to the campaign, so the Bhopal circle of the ASI headed by KK Mohammed has descended on Agra to impart a momentum to the campaign. The ASI has circulated banners, pamphlets and appealed to the people to vote for the Taj.
While the tourism industry has been promoting the campaign in its own interest, several other NGOs and government agencies have got involved in the promotion business. District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram himself headed a procession two days ago to mobilise support for the Taj Mahal.
Prof R Nath, a Mughal historian, says the whole campaign is fake and uncalled for. "The Taj is already a taj (crown). it needs no certification from any authority. Wonders are those that can not be replicated. It is in fact foolish to compare one with the other. We should also be asking who has started it all and why."
Most people Mr Khandelwal talked to denied any knowledge about the promoters, but said they thought it was a government-sponsored move. A hotelier said "we thought since the district authorities were taking so much interest it must be government supported or backed campaign. But if the government agencies have not supported it then all the exercise will go waste,"
- Nerosax
Agra: We are happy to note that there are saner voices within media. Unfortunately, it is not quite so with TV channels and FM radio stations which have been going all over town crying hoarse, asking people to vote as if Taj won't be Taj without your vote! But as we said there are people who are questioning the silliness of this whole thing. Fortunately enough, many of them belong to Agra and they are finding this whole thing rather repulsive. Read on ...
`Vote for Taj': Will you, won't you? Never mind, please do... We need revenue after all. So what if people are taken for a ride!
According to saner voices in media like Brij Khandelwal who has written in Times of India recently, questions are now being raised about the credibility of the current campaign to vote the Taj Mahal for the first position among the new Seven Wonders of the World.
"The whole campaign is a big media hoax. Nobody has authorised this Swiss Website owner to do the grading of monuments. How can a private entrepreneur launch a global campaign like this and the whole government machinery gets used to hype up the campaign to fool the gullible masses. Each phone call costs Rs 6. In a poor country why should ultra jingoism be promoted by commercial interests," asks president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society Surendra Sharma.
As per the government of India's tourism department chief in Agra Sudhir Kumar, the campaign was a private one and those who were supporting it were doing it in their private capacity. "The campaign is not backed by any government agency though we feel it is good and in the interest of the tourism industry as a whole to promote the Taj Mahal as number one wonder."
K Mishra, a senior official of the UP Tourism department said how can people vote when they have not seen the other monuments. "It is arbitrary and wholly one sided campaign. Obviously people of Agra would vote for only the Taj and those in China would vote for the Great Wall." Mishra said his own department had nothing to do with the campaign. "Our DG in Lucknow has already made everything clear on this issue," he added.
KK Sharma, deputy superintending archaeologist of ASI in Agra said the campaign to put it simply is "economic exploitation of the sentiments of the Indian people, like the Yanni show earlier. No two monuments are alike and should not be compared. It is an injustice to the status and dignity of the Taj Mahal."
Interestingly, the Agra circle of the ASI has been rather indifferent to the campaign, so the Bhopal circle of the ASI headed by KK Mohammed has descended on Agra to impart a momentum to the campaign. The ASI has circulated banners, pamphlets and appealed to the people to vote for the Taj.
While the tourism industry has been promoting the campaign in its own interest, several other NGOs and government agencies have got involved in the promotion business. District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram himself headed a procession two days ago to mobilise support for the Taj Mahal.
Prof R Nath, a Mughal historian, says the whole campaign is fake and uncalled for. "The Taj is already a taj (crown). it needs no certification from any authority. Wonders are those that can not be replicated. It is in fact foolish to compare one with the other. We should also be asking who has started it all and why."
Most people Mr Khandelwal talked to denied any knowledge about the promoters, but said they thought it was a government-sponsored move. A hotelier said "we thought since the district authorities were taking so much interest it must be government supported or backed campaign. But if the government agencies have not supported it then all the exercise will go waste,"
- Nerosax
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