– Manas Dasgupta
AGRA, Sep 15: The Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to change the name of the proposed museum near Taj Mahal from “Mughal Museum” to “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum” because he does not think that Mughals could be “our heroes.”
He made the change stating that the Maratha ruler’s name “will invoke a feeling of nationalism and self-esteem.” He, however, has not so far indicated that the change in the nomenclature would also impact the contents of the museum.
The change was announced at the review meeting of the development works of the Agra division on Monday.
Questioning “how Mughals can be our heroes”, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday decided to name the upcoming “Mughal Museum” in Agra after adding that
The decision was taken at a review meeting of development works of Agra division where Yogi Adityanath took stock of projects worth over Rs 10 crore in the division comprising Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri and Mathura districts. Both the Deputy chief ministers – Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma – along with Rural Development Minister Moti Singh were present in the meeting, which was conducted through video-conferencing.
“Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced to name the under-construction Mughal Museum in Agra after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He made it clear that his government always nurtured the nationalist ideology and anything which smacks of subservient mentality will be done away with,” a government spokesperson announced.
The spokesman quoted the chief minister as saying, “How can our heroes be Mughals? The very name of Shivaji will invoke a feeling of nationalism and self-esteem.”
The officials did not clarify how the name change would have an impact on the nature of the project, but sources close to Yogi said the Chief Minister stressing that “Mughals cannot be our heroes,” the nature of the project was also likely to change too.
The foundation stone for the Mughal Museum in Agra was laid by the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in January, 2016, along with some other projects including Agra Heritage Centre and Taj Orientation Centre.
The museum, proposed to come up on about six acres of land near the eastern gate of Taj Mahal, was conceived to apprise tourists about the Mughal era’s weapons, culture and dresses among others but it is not clear what will be its contents now after Yogi decided to disregard Mughals as “our heroes.”