The present religious turmoil in India is centered on the new Temple Of Ram in Ayodhya. The Mughals were Moslems who once ruled northern India. Many Hindus claim that the Mughals made a policy of demolishing Hindu temples and replacing them with mosques, on the same site, and this is what happened in Ayodhya.
There was once a prominent mosque, built by the Mughals, on the site. In 1992 tens of thousands of Hindus, with crowbars and sledgehammers, stormed the mosque and demolished it. This was the signature event that brought Narendra Modi and his Hindu party to power. The Temple Of Ram has recently been completed on the site.
To provide a sense of perspective it would be good to have a look at the Taj Mahal. This was also built by the Mughals and has become the symbol of India, as well as very likely the most famous building in the world.
I find that the Taj Mahal, the famed mausoleum in Agra, in north central India, looks even more impressive in the imagery of Google Street View than it does in still photos.
There are extensive gardens and reflecting pools around the building. The two red stone buildings alongside the domed mausoleum are a mosque and a guest house, the other red stone structures that are further away are the gates to the garden around the Taj Mahal. One thing that amazes visitors about the Taj Mahal is how the white marble structure interacts with the sun during the course of the day, making it's appearance change at different times of day.This building is certainty the symbol of India. If you want to get an idea of how many restaurants are named for it, try doing a Google search for "Taj Mahal Restaurant". I get over 12 million hits, although that doesn't mean that each one is a separate restaurant.
To see how many other products are named for the Taj Mahal, "Taj Mahal Rice" brings up more than half a million hits. "Taj Mahal Flour" brings up nearly 200,000. "Taj Mahal Grocery Store" brings up over 150,000.
The name of the Taj Mahal even found it's way onto a casino built by Donald Trump, in Atlantic City.
As anyone from Pakistan or Bangladesh, or any Moslem from India, is quick to let you know, the Taj Mahal was built by Moslems. One of the Mughal emperors, Shah Jahan, built it as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz. Mughal architecture was at it's peak during Shah Jahan's reign, and the Taj Mahal is far from his only great building.
This image, from Google Street View, show the tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz, inside the Taj Mahal.
Here is the Taj Mahal, the white-domed structure. The first view shows it in the distance from a vantage point in the city of Agra. The two red buildings adjacent to the Taj Mahal are the mosque and guest house. The red stone structures further away are the gates to the complex. Even on Google Street View, this is truly one of the greatest sights in the world.
These three images of the Taj Mahal are from Google Street View.
This is the front gatehouse.
Below is the guesthouse (top) and mosque (bottom) on opposite sides of the Taj Mahal. The mosque is to the west because that is the direction of Mecca.
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.
Here are some other perspectives, starting close to the Taj Mahal structure, on the side facing the river. Remember that the Taj Mahal is not in the center of it's garden complex, but is on the side facing the Yamuna River.
https://www.google.com/maps/@27.1753234,78.0419936,3a,75y,180.54h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sXY9TYK-YEkNcSH2zMbm-vQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DXY9TYK-YEkNcSH2zMbm-vQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D180.47829%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656
As well as the extensive garden around the Taj Mahal, there is a garden directly opposite on the other side of the river, known as the Mehtab Bagh. It is aligned with the Taj Mahal, and is intended for viewing it. I believe that this is where Shah Jahan planned to build an matching black mausoleum for himself, but the plans were curtailed when he was overthrown by his son. He is buried with his favorite wife, Mumtaz, inside the Taj Mahal.
This image, from Google Street View, is of the Taj Mahal from across the river.
Here is an iconic view of the Taj Mahal from the Mehtab Bagh:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehtab_Bagh#/media/File:Tajmahal_at_Dawn.jpg
Near the Taj Mahal is the Agra Fort. This is where India was governed from, and where Shah Jahan was confined after being overthrown by his son. The first four images of Agra Fort are from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@27.1783248,78.0226401,3a,75y,314.59h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1seCBKAqbq0kqVJN18W3FMVw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DeCBKAqbq0kqVJN18W3FMVw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D317.93259%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656
The Taj Mahal may well be the best-known building in the world. I find it's great significance in the world today lies in the fact that it is the most famous of Moslem buildings, but is not in a majority Moslem country. The Taj Mahal was built when Moslems ruled India but, with the separation of Pakistan and Bangladesh since, it is about 14% Moslem by population. Given India's vast population there are just about as many Moslems in India as in Pakistan, but the vast majority of the population is Hindu.
The Moslems of the world are actually divided into two halves. This does not refer to Sunnis and Shiites, since that is a theological difference and the vast majority of Moslems are Sunni. These two halves are geographical. The practice of Islam to the west, from Pakistan westward, is somewhat different in culture and language from the Islam to the east, from Bangladesh eastward.
The western Moslems include those in Pakistan, Iran, the Middle East, Turkey, north Africa and, east Africa. The eastern Moslems include those in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and, the southernmost island of the Philippines. The holiest places of Moslems is in the west, Mecca, Medina and the Noble Sanctuary (Temple Mount). But the most populous Moslem country is actually Indonesia, which is in the east.
India acts as the great geographical barrier between the eastern and western Moslems. Even though India has a large Moslem population, that population is still very much a minority. Moslems in India are actually the largest minority in the world.
My view is that the Taj Mahal, the most famous Moslem building in the north central part of India, which acts as the geographical barrier between eastern and western Moslems, acts as a psychological "linchpin" to join the two geographical halves of Islam together. I believe that this was one of the intents of it's construction, as well as to make an impression on the non-Moslems ruled by the Mughals.
It is right in the middle of the barrier which separates the eastern and western halves, which is India, and it has become the symbol of that country. This building, which is much-photographed and easily rendered in graphical form has the same effect that we saw in "The Binding Power Of Stone Monuments", on the world and economics blog, https://markmeekeconomics.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-binding-power-of-stone-monuments.html?m=0 , but it's binding power stretches across the entire eastern hemisphere of the world.
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