Maya-jaal around the Taj

Why tourism alone? All aspects of life are approached by Indians in a callous, self-seeking and a narrow-minded manner. The basic training is at fault. And you cannot expect someone from the top to sort out the mess made by the teeming multitude at every level unless he or she is exceptionally wonderful. But mediocrity is the credo here.

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Can’t say whether the appeal to Mayawati can show results , but surely if Narendra Bhai Modi had been around , things would really have changed .

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Dear Vinod ji,
Your point is well taken. Surely we don’t know how to sell our heritage and tourist spots. Look at the Thames, not more than a big average Indian “nalla” (in size); look at the London Bridge (may be smaller than our Howrah bridge) and look at the Leeds Castle (no match for our Red Fort). The Britons have made all this part of global poetry and imagination.
The point which I need to emphasize is that we are a different nation with different population dynamics. I presume nothing will sell well if you have one billion people around. The greedy cameraman, the cloth vendors, the “khonchey wallah”, all are part of this sea of people who need to survive. I would see the Taj and Fathepuri fort as feeders of a thousand mouths. How can we deny them this alternative means of sustenance when the government and our society have no alternative plan? Where is the social security to venture into something else? Sir, there is an abject lack of available resources. The common man is left out in the so called equitable distribution of these resources. I agree we need to do something for the Taj and the fort but first and foremost we need to develop a just social order with equipoise in socio- economic stratification. I hope you understand what I mean.
Truly,
Dr. Shah Alam Khan
AIIMS, New Delhi
My Blog: http://www.indiaandbharat.blogspot.com

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Dear Vinod Sharma Ji
It is the same scene whether one goes to Agra, Varanasi, Haridwar or rather any other place of tourist interest. Of course there are exceptions. Like Budhist Sarnath and Shri Harmandir Saheb in Amritsar, especially the latter which represents a scene of complete serenity and purity. I only wonder if any one in power in UP can do much in this regard, much less Miss Mayawati who totally depends on this ‘Maya Jaal’ for her vote bank.
Regards
BNA

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It’s as much the responsibility of the Centre to organise things at world heritage monuments. I am willing to give Mayawati a chance as she could deliver if she sets her mind on it. The big question is whether she will? Let’s hope for the best.

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True one cannot deny that all historical and religious monuments of our country are also a source of livelihood for our teeming millions. Any bureaucratic control over these very guides, photographers, small traders and eateries would only increase corruption and filth without improving things remarkably. What about the most unhygeinic conditions that persist around – surely these can be taken care of by the administration? Beggars can easily be removed from at least the historical places – if not the religious ones for then where would they finally go for their sustenance (of course they can easily join the labour force, but that’s another story). Most of the tourists need to be protected from them and from the pick-pockets that abound here. Really, without harming the interests of the petty traders and free-lancers here, symbols of dirt and extreme poverty must be removed from these areas, at least, if not the whole country.

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“The guide you hire isn’t all that helpful. He’s just one link in the chain that fleeces unassuming tourists. His first loyalty is to the …” – reminds me of somebody. You need to replace tourists with readers. Just kiddin’

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Dear Dr. Saheb
The claim of economic growth in the country in the last few years is not a myth but a fact. Yes, there is lot more to be done .We are a growing economy and nation of more than a billion with people belonging to such diverse culture, religion and speaking so many languages. Let us not be pessimist and strive to improve further. That may take more time but tthe process of development must continue. You may kindly recall the scenario in USA, during Katrina hurricane in 2005 in New Orleans. Despite the country being the world’s only super power and reputed to be an economic heaven for the people of the world , that part of USA looked no different from any starved and famished African country going by the plight of the people trapped in that tragedy. Even the economy of USA could not provide relief to the poor people and one wondered whether it was USA or any African country.
So let’s be appreciative of our achievements and strive for better.
Regards
BNA

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Dear Dr Anand ji,
Thanks for the remarks. In the words of someone, I see India as a vast sea of poverty with islands of development. Well that surely doesn’t make me pessimist because I see the whole picture and therefore know very clearly where we shall move. And as of now our path and direction appears to be a bit skewed. We are focussing on the islands and ignoring the sea.
As for New Orleans, I was in the city last week. I was horrified to learn a lot of uncomfortable facts from my local friends (mostly blacks). It is hypothesised that besides the havoc caused by Katrina, the levees which were meant to keep water at bay were deliberately made of weak material and these gave way leading to the catastrophic devastation. In fact a radical African American friend was of the opinion that probably these were blasted off by the authorities as New Orleans has the max number of poor, black populace. That much for the economically strong and socially just United States!
Truly,
Dr. Shah Alam Khan

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Greetings Sharma ji,

Did you ever visited any of the historical places during your stay in Pakistan? Any visa hinderances?

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Dear Mr Vinod Sharma,
On talking to my father regarding your Blog and the comments it aroused, he replied,
“JAMNA KINARE TAJ KA UJLA HASEEN ROOP
RAKH DI HEI JAISE PYAR KI TASVEER KHAINCH KAR”
(by Krishan Gautam)
” The unparalled beauty of the Taj as described by the poet needs to be preserved by this and the coming generations.”
I too agree with the above sentiment . Hence, one more comment to add to your Blog.
Yours,
Bharati Gautam.

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Dear Vinodji and all fellow bloggers,

We really have to do something about touts, dalals, beggars and idiots who harass you at most of our tourist places.

it is pain to go there and you end up with an unpleasant feeling.

No state government has the balls to take action as it is afraid to offend some potential vote bank. Maybe all of us can draw some consensus on how private companies can be engaged on contract basis to keep the surroundings of our temples and monuments clean.

Jagmohan did a grand job at Vaishno devi. maybe that can serve as a model

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Everytime I visit the Taj, some uneasy questions trouble me.

It was one individual’s love for a women for which he used the resources of the entire state. Not that he was totally loyal to her as he had fourteen more queens to consort with.

Using the resources of the people for personal use is something like the memorials being built for Mayawati and Kanshi ram today.

Where did the poor of Agra live in Shah Jahan’s time? We see none of their houses?

The artisan’s behind Taj live in the same deplorable conditions as they probably did in Shajahan’s time. Nothing has changed for them.

And lastly if it was so much about love than can anybody answer these questions for me

a) Why were the hands of the artisans who made Taj, chopped. All for love?

b) Why was Shah Jahan blinded and placed into imprisonment?

Our super secular brigade wants all of India to love Aurangzeb to prove that they are secular. In fact in his novel “Delhi” Khushwant Singh writes several chapters justifying Aurangzeb’s actions saying that he was just a “good ” Muslim following the book.

So should an idiot like Aurangzeb, who blinds his father and imposes jaziya on the rest of the population, like the Taliban, not be thrown into the shitpot of history ?

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@Vinod-ji

Your blog specializes about Indo-Pak issues. The most sensational revelation about the 26/11 attacks has come from leaks about what Daood Gilani ( Headley ) has revealed about 3-4 Pak army officers management of the 26/11 attacks, including , as reported in Hindu and Outlook India today. about Pak army colonel Mr Shah, as one of the persons on the other side of the phone, in direct communication with the terrorists as the attack unfolded.

I hope you address this issue and not skirt it.

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With Hillary openly flirting with Shah qureshi, it seems that USA has again been seduced by the ISI- good Taliban — forget India nexus.

We should now prepare to face the evil forces from Pakistan alone. The high of Indo- US relations of the Bush era may be going down.

In the end USA may now be one day become the cause of destruction of the world as and when the nuke button and the missile button of Pakistan’s illegal arsenal passes on to the jihadis being born in Pak.

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Vinod Sharmaji,
I only love one lady unlike your hero Shah Jahan who maintained harem of hundreds of women. Mumtaz was just one of the women from the harem who pleased Shah Jahan’s sexual apetite more than others.

Vinodji, You have to use logic rather than propaganda to win the arguement. Taj Mahal as a building is beautiful but it was built on basis of injustice to mughal empire.

Vinod, I am pretty sure you have some muslim blood..this I am saying because you get very illogical while defending muslims. DOn’t answer it if you don’t want to.

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All is fair in luv and war…may be this is the reason Sonia buried Bofors to save legacy of criminal Rajiv Gandhi.

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—————————————————————————
IK Gujral, Kuldip Nayer and media thugs.
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To argue for Indo-Pak friendship, is no crime and a laudable thought.

However, keeping quiet about Pakistan’s demonstrated criminality and duplicity, even when it stares you in the face or to skirt it, is filthy and contemptible.

I would like some journalist, to interview people like IK Gujral, Kuldip Nayer who have argued that India be very generous in its dealings with Pak , but now keep quiet and evade when the complete criminality of the entire Pak state and its complicity ( Army in organizing the attack and now the civilian govt and trhe judiciary in the cover up ) in 26/11 terrorist attacks in exposed.

These thugs, including those in Indian media, should be held accounatble and should explain themselves.

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Pakistani as usual spewing lot of propogansih garbage on Kashmir . Most likely they are even unaware that it was not only the Maharaja of Kashmir but the most popular, democratically elected leader of Kashmir Muslims, Mr Sheikh Abdullah ( who had the stature in Kashmir like Gandhi had in India ) , who preferred to join India over Pakistan.

Anyway, respected research scholar , Ishtiaq Ahmad ( of Pakistani Punjabi Origin ) , has researched and written extensively on this subject. Incidentally his findings mirror the Indian version of what transpired in Kashmir war , the folly and deceit of Pak invasion and how Jinnah ( duplicitous as usual ) acted.

This is actually the 3rd opinion piece by him on the subject. The previous two, I guess should be accessible in dailytimes.com.pk archive.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20103\30\story_30-3-2010_pg3_2

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Iwould like some journalist, to interview people like IK Gujral, Kuldip Nayer who have argued that India be very generous in its dealings with others.Its really great source of knowledge present here in this post regarding separation and its process.

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Undoubtfully great article as for me. I’d like to read more about that theme. Thnx for giving that data.

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In the Quran, God says that He is with those who remain patient (under any circumstances). No where in the Quran did He say that He is with those who perform ritual prayers or religious rites. Patience in poverty, sickness, adversity, anger, pain and pleasure is the key to maintain one’s calm which would lead to happiness. Being patient under any circumstance does not mean remaining inactive, unresponsive or a passive surrender of course; patience is a restraining and calming measure to maintain our cool and be calm under any situation.

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… Cont…) During invasion of tribal’s in 1947. Large scale massacres in J&K took place in which people from all communities were killed which include Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs Christians, Buddhists ( in gilgit ballista area) several thousand Muslims were massacred in Jammu in first week of Nov.1947, We know starting at Muzzafarbad on 22nd & 23rd Oct-1947, several thousand Hindus (three times than that of Muslims) were slaughtered at the hands of Pakistani Raiders, its army, their J&K civilian traitors in the border areas of Kashmir when they entered the Valley and then in Jammu Province at Deva vatala, Bhimber, Rajauri, Kotli, Mirpur, Poonch and at Gilgit, Askardu. In first week of Nov-1947 in Jammu several thousand Muslims were taken to forests in kathua & murdered in cold blood there.

In the event, on October 26, the tribals were still on the rampage in Baramula, killing, burning, looting. Of Baramula’s 14000 inhabitants, only 3,000 were alive the next day. The atrocities committed by these tribals are too well known to every person to need any rebuttal, even Barbarians will be ashamed.

Author can read in links , I stated above how at Muzzafabad on 22/10/1947 , “Raiders play deception. They asked males among Sikhs to come out, telling them, “We have nothing to do with Sikhs”. The latter felt relieved but as they ran back towards the bridge they found the gate on the other side of the bridge closed. The raiders began firing on them, and killed them mercilessly. Then they began pushing the dead bodies down the railing of the bridge with shoes into Kishenganga river. The bridge was clear again. The raiders then asked ladies to segregate themselves from the main crowd. All the ladies in the age group of 11-45 years were huddled into 30-35 buses, waiting on Kohala side and were taken to Waziristan etc. Small children in the lap of their mothers were thrown on to the road, where they fell victim to starvation or dogs. The children of once rich people were now at the mercy of dogs. Just to tell you Non Muslim women abducted from J&K by Tribal’s were sold on the streets of NWFP for Rs 15.00 & the children for Rs 5.00, I do not know you know this or not ? Members of the minority community had been put in jail in Muzzafarabad, Raiders were all the time looking for young ladies. The father-in-law of a lady had been shot dead when he tried to resist attempts of raiders to abduct his daughter-in-law. She never came back. Outside the jail groups of raiders would rape women in full public view. At times there would be gang-rape. Only few ladies returned to their families after abduction and rape. There were instances where ladies were killed after rape. You will read in link even dead were not buried, even uncivilized people like Huleghu Khan allowed to bury dead, but this was a strange islamic army of tribal looters did not.

During the tribal raids in Kashmir Andrew Whitehead the BBC journalist. had written sometime back how tribal raiders entered St. Joseph’s Convent and Mission hospital on the Jhelum Valley Road that links Srinagar with Muzaffarbad, and killed people including. a patient, Mrs Motia Devi Kapoor, Lt. Col D.O.T. Dykes and his wife Biddy, who had come to the hospital to give birth her Baby, the husband of the hospital doctor, Mr Baretto & after raping the 29-year-old Spanish nun Sister M. Teresalina Joaquina & a nurse Miss Philomena they killed them in its precincts.

I know many of people will not know this. Col. Habibur Rahman Khan who had fought with Subhash Chander Bose in INA became the murderer of Non Muslims at Bhimber along with tribal lashkars. He died in pain. Listen about brutal burning of Rajouri where 25000 people were burnt to death during Diwali of 1947 & I do not know you know it or not Hindus in rajouri today do not celebrate Diwali even today in memory of those massacred in 1947. Col. Rahamtullah Khan was one time in army of Hari Singh, his son Aslambeg Khan are called Rajouri butchers, & were instrumental in all this loot. they were arrested later by Indian army. Maharaja got them released as they were his old servants. what happened to them is another story. Mahraja thought that they will help him in getting his accounts in Lahore banks unfrozen. But nothing happened. Rahamtullah died of cancer and his son was killed by dacoits. I hope you have heard about the Alibeg Gurudwara in Mirpur, which was turned into a concentration camp for non-Muslims & scores of men were slaughtered, women raped & children sold. And for this those persons of Muslim conference that rule in POK now were responsible, and some of them claim to be now the Mujahid-i-awwal, but the fact is they should be tried for war crimes.

In the words of Pakistan they have made POK , Azad Kashmir which they say is free, but if we analyze it today as a citizen of J&K a complete exchange of Non-Muslim population has taken place from that so-called Azad Kashmir to Indian Part of Kashmir as a result of that bloodshed. If there were non-Muslim remnants in So-called Azad Kashmir, there that has been converted, it is 100% Muslim today. Does it indicate some thing? I hope you meet some day the persons who have settled in Jammu from Mirpur, from Muzzafarabad, from Poonch, Rajouri, & and listen to them how their and near ones were butchered in these areas and by whom and who connived with whom in this massacre? You will be more objective later. ARE WE TO ALSO SUPPORT THIS AZADI TODAY THEN?

Having said so but if we analyze the population ratio on both sides of LOC more ethnic diversity on Indian side & none on POK side, why? Did Indian soldiers kill all Muslims or All non-Muslims were killed or converted on POK side & by whom, by GOVT there along with army, else how can it happen that not a single soul of Non Muslims live there. The result was that POK is now 100% Muslim with not even a soul of Non-Muslims that in itself is an indicator. I have been asking this many writers from valley this question but they do not have any answer to it. I repeat once again not even a single soul of Non-Muslims that also after 1947, what happened to all of them? We know the answer but writers from valley do not like yet to answer it.

That is why I said Bigger Question are you going to make J&K on Indian side a state on 100% on religious basis or what, and more bigger question is how can a person with gun saying that politically he is 100% right and the person who is un-armed and raising political voice against it how can he be politically in-correct on whose behest ethnic cleansing has been done in valley & parts of Jammu.

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Maybe their new social media monitoring team from Defiance will notice this and inform Nissan. Lets see how competent is thier social media monitoring team.

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It is the attitude of the people in the region to be blamed not fully on Nissan.Other side Nissan made a big mistake in outsouring their sales to a mumbai based Hover Automotive.Compared to Suzuki ..Nissan products are much stronger in the strength of the structure. If Indian govt make a stringent crash requirement most of the Suzuki cars and all Tata cars will not pass.

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Life in America is very hard. Traffic from maryland to DC, oh my!!I its crazy.

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Islam doesn’t preach peace at all. It’s a religion which promotes violence. Why do you blow the planes away and plant bombs everywhere if Allah is gonna punish them himself. Why does he need your help?

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They have only responded to set examples that Muslims can’t mess with USA. if you do more of such pathetic acts which you are doing, other Muslim counties will follow the same future.

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Muslims killed at least 1000 times more muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Muslims just don’t seem to know how to stop the hating and killing of each other and anyone else they constantly get angry with. They are extremely unpredictable. There are countless cases of Muslims that were awarded visas that ended up ploting against the U.S., G.B. Spain and other European countries. It is also because the “moderates” don’t speak out against all of the violence very much. In Islam is it sanctioned that it is ok to lie to “infedels”. So how do any of you expect to ever be trusted? Many people from many countries, faiths and backgrounds are denied visas, not just Muslims. We just can’t afford to let every single person in all at once that want to come. We just can’t afford to let people in without checking out their backgrounds. Even the Muslims here want to feel safe here. We are just trying to keep everyone here safe. BTW, Islamic countries are way more discriminatory than western countries. We all know that.

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better be safe than be sorry.

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yeah the same book also says to “go forth and destroy the unbelievers” . The book if you look at it is a book of contracdictions for a simple reader, but for some one who has gone through the history, one can say that he was no better than a simple war lord who fed his stomach by looting caravans, killing travelers and selling their women and kids to slavery.

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It is cold war. All countries suffer from Muslim violence. We have the reasons to stop Muslim immigration. I don’t know why they still trade with Muslims on International level. Muslims you hate us, we are white pigs, don’t talk with us then, don’t socialise with us, don’t ask visas to our countries.

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