- Taj Mahal Bangladesh
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Coordinates: 23°44′46″N 90°34′03″E / 23.74611°N 90.5675°E
Taj Mahal Bangladesh (Bengali: তাজ মহল বাংলাদেশ) is a copy of the original Taj Mahal (a Mughal mausoleum located in Agra, India) located 10 miles east of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka in Sonargaon. Unlike the original, work on the building took only five years and reportedly cost its wealthy owner USD $58 million. Ahsanullah Moni, a wealthy Bangladeshi film-maker, has told how he built a replica of the Taj Mahal so that the poor of his nation can realise their dream of seeing neighbouring India's famed monument.[1]
The construction of the replica raised anger in India. The Indian High Commission in Bangladesh says it will sue Ahsanullah Moni (Bengali: অহসানুল্লাহ মনি) for copyright infringement of the original building; however, the original Taj Mahal is over 300 years old.[2]
Moni has claimed that he has imported marble from Italy, diamonds from Belgium, and some 160 kilograms of bronze for the dome,[3] but some people claim that it is not a complete replica and was not made with the materials claimed.[4]
Contents
Reception
The building was picked up by many news channels, newspapers and sites, including the BBC,[5] Sky,[6] Reuters,[7] Voice of America,[8] Hindustan Times,[9] Guardian[10] and The Times,[11] and caused large discussion and debate on social networking sites and blogs.[12][13]
See also
References
- ^ "Bangladesh to have its own Taj Mahal | The Pakistani Spectator". Pakspectator.com. 12 December 2008. http://www.pakspectator.com/bangladesh-to-have-its-own-taj-mahal/. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ India Angry Over Fake Taj Mahal Sky News, 12:49 pm UK, Friday 12 December 2008
- ^ Sonargaon, Bangladesh (2 January 2009). "Bangladesh Gets a Preview of Faux Taj Mahal". Voanews.com. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-01/2009-01-02-voa32.cfm?CFID=191024790&CFTOKEN=82862178&jsessionid=de30f3892f178d7b1595505c105e4733334a. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ Hisham, Morocco. "Bangladesh: Bloggers unearth the fake Taj Mahal scam · Global Voices". Globalvoicesonline.org. http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/12/15/bangladesh-bloggers-unearth-the-fake-taj-mahal-scam/. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ Dummett, Mark (9 December 2008). "South Asia | Bangladesh to open own Taj Mahal". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7772579.stm. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Fake Taj Mahal: India Angry Over Bangladeshi Plans To Build Replica Taj Mahal | World News | Sky News". News.sky.com. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Fake-Taj-Mahal-India-Angry-Over-Bangladeshi-Plans-To-Build-Replica-Taj-Mahal/Article/200812215178174?f=rss. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "New Taj Mahal opens in Bangladesh | Video". 9 February 2009. http://www.reuters.com/news/video/videoStory?storyID=ftpo1228961558017. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ Sonargaon, Bangladesh (2 January 2009). "Bangladesh Gets a Preview of Faux Taj Mahal". .voanews.com. http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2009-01-02-voa32-68822327.html. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "India fumes at duplicate Bangladeshi Taj Mahal". Hindustan Times. India. 10 December 2008. http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/bangladesh/India-fumes-at-duplicate-Bangladeshi-Taj-Mahal/Article1-357126.aspx. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ Randeep Ramesh in Delhi. "Bangladeshi director to build mini-Taj Mahal". The Guardian. UK. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/10/bangladesh-taj-mahal-replica. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ Frances Gibb Legal Editor (12 October 2011). "The Times | UK News, World News and Opinion". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/architecture_and_design/article5327562.ece. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Replica Taj Mahal Near Dhaka Welcomes Visitors – Bangladesh Blog | By Bangladesh Channel". Bangladesh.com. http://www.bangladesh.com/blog/replica-taj-mahal-near-dhaka-welcomes-visitors. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Bangla Taj Mahal!! Shame or Pride for us?". Facebook. http://af-za.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48010322921&v=info. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
External links
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