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Twilight of the Taj Mahal

bbc.co.uk

31–40 of 96 posts

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#31

It might be under-repaired, but entering "Taj Mahal maintenance" into Google shows there are tons of travel articles on their maintenance efforts, and which parts will be under repair when. It seems a bit questionable that this is totally omitted.

This is from the BBC which has a definite negative reporting bias on anything to do with India.

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#32

Seems surprising to me that the supreme court is so involved in this issue. In the United States, the supreme court tries its hardest to avoid answering a question if it can, and certainly tries to avoid anything that looks like it's writing a new law. Can someone who is more knowledgeable comment on this?

Interesting that you bring it up. The Indian Supreme court has always been very active and seems to provide a sense of "balance" to the political chaos that is persistent. There was a very good (albeit very west-centric) article in NYT about this - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/world/asia/india-supreme-... I remember, back in 1995, reading a big banner hung up on a very prominent intersection in the downtown Mumbai area, that celebrated a supreme court decision on a controversial political corruption case by declaring "Thanks to the supreme court, India survives despite it's politicians. That, at that time, summed up the feelings of many urban middle class residents.

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#33
post #27
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree with you, however, the individual in my story was not "poor" - he was part of India's middle class. His father was being paid reasonably well at my dad's firm for the last 20+ years.

So, while his father was being paid reasonably well according to you - he is employed by your father's firm, which leads me to believe you grew up with considerably more resources to be able to pursue your passions then the child in question. As such, the argument still applies that not everyone has an ability or an opportunity to pursue their passions .

My personal situation, on a relative scale, is rather more tragic. I would suggest you not to make that assumption about my upbringing, for you would be quite incorrect.

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#34

Seems surprising to me that the supreme court is so involved in this issue. In the United States, the supreme court tries its hardest to avoid answering a question if it can, and certainly tries to avoid anything that looks like it's writing a new law. Can someone who is more knowledgeable comment on this?

Partly, it is because the US Constitution and Indian Constitution are very different documents. Look especially at Part IV of the Indian Constitution, "Directive Principles of State Policy". See for example Article 43 which requires the Indian government to endeavour to provide a living wage. So, the Indian Supreme Court gets to evaluate (if it wants to) whether the Indian government is doing enough to provide a living wage. By contrast, the US Constitution says nothing about a living wage, so the US Supreme Court has very little constitutional justification to get involved in wage policy.

(Part IV is non-justiciable – you can't sue the government for violating it per se; but, nevertheless, the Courts are supposed to keep it in mind in their decision making, and so I think it does contribute to some of the substantial differences between Indian and American constitutional and judicial cultures.)

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#35
post #10

"Incredible India", as the country's tourism slogan claims, is fast disappearing. I know this may get downvoted by fans of India, but I'm just saying it as I see it. If it matters, I'm of Indian origin too. First of all, India has everything it needs to be amazing. A young workforce, driven, technical people, a nice selection of flourishing industries, bucket loads of natural resources and abundant sources of renewab…

If that's Apollo Hospital remind me never to go there

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>While I was in Delhi about 2 weeks ago, my father asked me to advise the 17 year old son of one of his employees. I met the guy - a studious, fiercly competitive lad, but pleasant nonetheless. He wanted to become a doctor; I asked him "why a doctor?". His response was that he could make a lot of money in that field, specifically because people come to you when they're in need and in trouble. I then asked him "What a…

Agreed wholeheartedly. The word passion is over hyped. And it makes very less sense especially when we are from a poor country like India where people run to make their ends meet.

Are we really poor? Or are we just badly managing ourselves? Seriously, in a country as naturally rich as India, there is no reason for people to be emaciated with poverty during peacetime. If only we had more passionate people willing to stamp out inefficiency and corruption. And btw, passion is not over-hyped - in my experience, it's almost vital when trying to improve your own or society's situation.

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#37
post #7

"The Taj is so wasteful, so decadent and in the end so cruel that it is painful to be there for very long. This is an extravagance that speaks of the blood of the people." VS Naipaul

Irrespective whether it bankrupted the Moghuls and made the successor of the throne, epitome of rape, pillage and plunder.. those dues have been paid, and there is no un-turning. As repulsive the history behind the Taj and its consequences are, ruining it with a cocktail of incompetence, corruption and apathy is not the step forward.

"dues have been paid". was it a direct desposit, sir?

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#38

It might be under-repaired, but entering "Taj Mahal maintenance" into Google shows there are tons of travel articles on their maintenance efforts, and which parts will be under repair when. It seems a bit questionable that this is totally omitted.

Are you claiming Supreme Court of India itself is wrong to pull up Archaeological Survey of India? https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/sc-holds-asi-resp...

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#39

It might be under-repaired, but entering "Taj Mahal maintenance" into Google shows there are tons of travel articles on their maintenance efforts, and which parts will be under repair when. It seems a bit questionable that this is totally omitted.

This is from the BBC which has a definite negative reporting bias on anything to do with India.

Wrong. BBC is as much fair on this issue as Indian Media state or Supreme Court. https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/sc-holds-asi-resp... Also, BBC is quite fair, unlike Indian Media which doesn't have the guts to take Modi in to account for not holding a single press conference in his 4 year rule.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2sc9A2aVtM

Re: Twilight of the Taj Mahal

#40
The problem with maintenance in India is lack of will power in local governments (not national government).

State and local governments in India are filled with incompetent fools (pardon my French) who only want the power and fame. They're often uneducated, often unexposed to the rest of the world and have the ego of a supreme emperor to do anything that would improve their citizen's lives.

Education is a major problem in India. Until they achieve an entire generation of great education all the way down to villages, this will not improve.

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