Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has called for naming the under-construction Mughal museum in Agra after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj citing the name of the Maratha warrior will “invoke a feeling of nationalism and self esteem”.”How can our heroes be Mughals?” the chief minister said during a review meeting of developmental projects being undertaken in the Agra division. “The chief minister made it clear that his government has always nurtured the nationalist ideology and anything which smacks of subservient mentality will be done away with,” a communique shared by the government read. The museum, designed by noted UK-based architect David Chipperfield’s firm – David Chipperfield Architects and its Indian collaborator Studio Archohm, is coming up on an area of 2.5 hectares near the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal, and will be housing an exhibition space, a resource centre, and stores. Mughal-era artifacts, weaponry, armour, costumes and currency are expected to be part of the exhibits. “It is part of a larger masterplan to improve visitor facilities in the area around the mausoleum, which attracts up to eight million visitors a year,” information available on the architects’ website reads.
