Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the magnificent red brick covered with white marble Taj Mahal. Construction started in1631 and was mostly completed in seventeen years. The mausoleum was a tribute to Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth with her 14th pregnancy. In 1983 Unesco designated the Taj Mahal a World Heritage Site calling it "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."
The immensity of the Taj Mahal is indicated by the 1000 elephants that were used to transport construction materials. Legend says that after construction was completed, Shah Jahan ordered the amputation of hands or thumbs of many of the craftsmen so that they would never be able to construct a monument as perfect as his wife's mausoleum. Nevertheless, working on the Taj Mahal was no picnic. Indian Minister Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh recently said that the Taj Mahal "was built on the backs of around 22,000 laborers, who were basically slaves." And he added that the cost of 70 billion rupees, more than one billion in today's U.S. dollars, "was collected from impoverished villagers and shopkeepers in the form of oppressive taxation."
Tourists today travel great distances to celebrate these "wonders of civilization," largely founded on slavery. But who can be bothered by the pesky notion of deadly slave labor during a pleasant stroll along he walkways of the Great Wall (10 million visitors each year)? Or while imbibing the fragrances in the magnificent gardens of the Taj Mahal (7-8 million visitors each year)? Does anyone mourn the sacrificed slaves while they breathlessly climb up to the Temple of Apollo Epicurius in the mountains of Arkadia (More than 20 million tourists visit various Greek monuments each year) Or while beholding the awesome Giza pyramids (9 million visitors each year) and the spiritually inspiring Hagia Sophia Church/Mosque/Museum (3 million visitors each year)? Does it occur to anyone wandering through the spectator stands, sprawling performance arena, and gladiator's quarters of the Roman Colosseum that everything seen, touched and walked on bears the handwork of abused Jewish slaves?
Should we recommend tearing down these reminders of inhumanity, suffering, and death? If the governments where the monuments reside object, should we ban travel to these "wonders" of the world?
In proposing to destroy remembrances of your choice of tyrant and objects, you can't escape the extension of that logic to every country and culture throughout history--and today. You can't legitimately argue to destroy your marked choices without the others. If that were to happen, the orgy of purification would lead to chaos and absurdity.
And this question: Would beating up on the past advance or ensure justice and equality for us today and in the future?
History has never looked kindly on the destruction of cultures and cultural artifacts--even if they were creations of despised leaders and unjust societies.
More than three thousand years ago the ancient Egyptians tried to erase the existence of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Queen Nefertiti. They were successful until archeologists in the 19th century uncovered in the desert of North Africa busts of them and other artifacts from the time they ruled. We learned that Akhenaten rejected the plethora of Egyptian gods and introduced the first known instance of monotheism. After deposing him and restoring the traditional Gods, subsequent rulers strived to erase all memories of Akhenaten. Statues of him were destroyed and his name was removed from all written records. Historians mourn that we still have only sketchy knowledge about this fascinating lost period of history.
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