Taj Mahal Dropped from Tourism Booklet for Belonging to Islamic Culture
It attracts more tourists than any place in India, but the monument it seems is out of favour from the government of Uttar Pradesh (UP), where it is located.
The iconic monument, a UNESCO world heritage site, considered a "symbol of love" was not featured in the tourism booklet issued by the UP government last week.
The 32-page booklet titled "Uttar Pradesh Tourism: Its High Potential", released by State Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna, mentions a number of Hindu and Buddhist religious places but gives a miss to one of the most famous monuments in the world.
Sohail Hashmi, writer and a heritage expert, accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of playing politics over the Taj.
"The BJP has come to power on the basis of the discourse that only things that are identified as Hindu are Indians. Taj does not fit into their idea of culture," Hashmi said, according to Al Jazeera.
"They have divided our heritage into Hindu heritage and Islamic heritage."
