The Taj Mahal in Agra is the most famous example of
Mughal architecture in India.
This spectacular mausoleum is higher than a modern 20-storey building and
took 22 years to complete with a workforce of 20,000. Craftsmen from as far as
Turkey came to work. Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his favorite wife,
Arjumand Banu Begum, had the Taj built. Who thinks of the large force of serfs
whose labor was exploited to satisfy the love of one man, and how brutal
was the repression of the peasantry in order to increase the revenues for the
state to build the Taj? Beauty seems to always come at the expense of others.
Rupees110 are charged to view the Taj it at
moonlight (only Rupees 20 during the day), an amount that the majority of
Indians don't make in one day's work; while foreigners, regardless of
their income, pay Rupees 970? Does exploitation continues? The Taj is India's largest tourist-revenue earner.