Here are 18 interesting Taj Mahal facts.
1-5 Taj Mahal Facts
1. Natwarlal an Indian con man, repeatedly “sold” the Taj Mahal and Parliament House of India along with its 545 sitting members. He was sentenced to 113 years in prison, but he made daring escapes from different jails eight times in his life. – Source
2. During WW2 the Taj Mahal was covered with a huge scaffold to make it look like a stockpile of Bamboo and misguide any enemy bombers. (It was also camouflaged in 1971.) – Source
3. On Nov 12, 2016, an American man was detained for flying a drone over Taj Mahal. – Source
4. The four 40-metre tall minarets framing the Taj Mahal were designed to fall away from the precious tomb if they were to collapse. – Source
5. The largest Lego set is not from Star Wars or the Avengers, but a set of the Taj Mahal with almost 6000 pieces. – Source
6-10 Taj Mahal Facts
6. It is believed that Shah Jahan planned to construct another Taj Mahal using black marbles on the other side of the river Yamuna which would be connected by a bridge to the original Taj Mahal, but he died before it could be completed. – Source
7. There is a cafe run by acid attack victims near the Taj Mahal. – Source
8. It took 20,000 men to build the Taj mahal that included sculptors from Bukhara, calligraphers from Syria and Persia, inlayers from southern India, stonecutters from Baluchistan, a specialist in building turrets, another who carved only marble flowers. – Source
9. The world’s once largest diamond, the Kohinoor, was inside the Taj Mahal and the British stole it when they conquered India. They haven’t returned it yet. – Source
10. The Taj Mahal is one of the “New 7 Wonders of the World”. – Source
The Kohinoor was not stolen it was acquired legally under the terms of the Treaty of Labore. Due to it not being stolen there is no need for it to be returned.
While I do not agree with the website’s statement that it was stolen, the kohinoor should be returned. It is not a question of legality but one of mutual respect. The Kohinoor being housed in Britain is a reminder of the pain and the racist/imperial attitude that caused it. Such a reminder only serves to fire the imagination of regressive elements and ultra-nationalists in both countries. And I think that in the state the world is in today, these people need to be discouraged as much as possible.