The Mughal Museum project was approved in 2015 by the Akhilesh Yadav government (File)
A Mughal Museum being constructed in the Taj Mahal city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh will be named after Maratha icon Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Monday. "How can our heroes be Mughals," he questioned in a meeting to review development works in the city, a government statement said. The leader declared that "anything which smacks of subservient mentality" will be done away with by his BJP government.
Yogi Adityanath - who in his three-year rule has renamed several places including Allahabad (now Prayagraj) - later tweeted that in Uttar Pradesh, there was no place for the symbols of "the mentality of slavery".
"Agra's under-construction museum will be known by the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. In your new Uttar Pradesh, there is no space for the symbols of "the mentality of slavery". Shivaji Maharaj is our hero. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!" he tweeted in Hindi.
The Mughal museum project was approved in 2015 by the previous Samajwadi Party government of Akhilesh Yadav. The facility is coming up on a six-acre plot near the Taj Mahal, which was built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in the city 210 KM from Delhi. The museum will focus on Mughal culture, artefacts, paintings, cuisine, costumes, Mughal era-arms and ammunition and performing arts.
The Mughal dynasty ruled India from 1526-1540 and 1555-1857. It is credited with building several monuments in Agra and Delhi, including the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the 16th century Maratha warrior king, fought the Mughals most of his life and is known for his military conquests.
The opposition Congress has often attacked the Yogi Adityanath government saying it is toying with history without focusing on governance and development.