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[ippnoida]

Bahrisons arrives in Chandigarh

“A smoke, a book, a cup of coffee. These are the little things that get us through this sometimes weary world and all the rainy days.”

                                                                                                     – R M Engelhardt

Delhi's iconic bookstore Bahrisons has collaborated with Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters to bring the luxury of peace and quiet reading to the residents of Chandigarh.

Bahrisons has carved a niche for itself in the bookstore space with the perfect ambiance for leafing through stacks of books and engaging in literary banter with bibliophiles. The bookstore is reputed for its attention to detail and for its ability to source any book for its customers, no matter how rare or obscure. The aromatic blends of Blue Tokai premium coffees are set to further enhance the creative boost of ideas, inspiration, and stories.

Tapping into the bureaucratic demographic

Anuj Bahri Malhotra, CEO, Bahrisons Booksellers shared in an exclusive interaction with Indian Printer & Publisher, “Greater Chandigarh is a combination of five cities – Mohali, New Chandigarh, Zirakpur, Gorakhpur and Panchkula. It has a huge bureaucratic demographic with a huge prevalence of good reading habits among its settlers. This is why we zeroed in on Chandigarh to expand the Bahri legacy.”

Bahrisons Chandigarh has already started hosting book signings and author interactions. Manan Kapoor, author of A Map of Longings: Life and Works of Agha Shahid Ali; Rahul Pandita, author of Our Moon Has Blood Clots; author and journalist Barkha Dutt; author and historian Aanchal Malhotra; and Arjun Singh Kadian, author of Land of the Gods: The Story of Haryana have visited the store to promote their work.

“I am overjoyed to bring our humble collection of literature and learning to this beautiful city. Our long-standing partnership with Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters is a reflection of India's love for coffee and books, and we are very excited to bring this experience to Chandigarh. This café-cum-bookstore is a perfect spot for the creative community of Chandigarh and with our varied book collection, I hope we can enrich the shelves of personal libraries across the city,” Bahri exclaims.

The Bahrisons café-cum-bookstore is located at SCO 14-15, Ground Floor, Madhya Marg (Near Apollo Clinic), Sector 8C. The cafe will be operational from 8:00 am -10:00 pm and the bookstore from 10:30 am - 8:30 pm on all days.

[amitbchoudhury]

‘A lot can happen inside’ to spread hope and positivity – ET BrandEquity Youth icons Shruti Hassan, Ali Fazal, Barkha Singh, Ayush Mehra and Ashnoor Kaur have come together with 50 youngsters to craft this campaign.

[starfriday]

Paritosh Painter To Release a New Hindi Play Three Cheers,

(L-R) (Seated) SHWETA GULATI, VISHAL KOTIAN SANGEETA GHOSH, (Standing) (L-R) PARITOSH PAINTER, BALVINDER SINGH SURI & JAYESH THAKKAR

Staring Sangeeta Ghosh & Shweta Gulati

Theatre Personality Paritosh Painter is set to release a New Hindi Play THREE CHEERS Staring Sangeeta Ghosh & Shweta Gulati.

Paritosh who has delivered hit comedy plays like Double Trouble, Whose Wife Is It Anyway?, See No Evil, Here No Evil, Speak No Evil, Get Rid Of My Wife, SELFIE, Women Decoded, Liar Liar, Madhouse, Amar Akbar Ann Tony, I Do, I Don’t, I love You 2 - is back with a New Hindi Comedy Play THREE CHEERS.

Paritosh is back to his first love theatre. After delivering hit films like TOTAL DHAMAAL , DHAMAAL, ALL THE BEST and creating & writing some iconic TV shows like TENALI RAMA, AKBAR BIRBAL and PARTNERS  he is back with a new Theatrical Production THREE CHEERS

After working in theatre with artists like Pooja Batra, Gauhar Khan, Ridhi Dogra, Nigaar Khan, Rohit Roy, Darshan Jariwala, Vrajesh Hirjee, Smita Bansal, Urvashi Sharma, Madhurima Nigam, Lucky Morani, Barkha Bisht, Deepshikha, Manav Gohil, Ninad Kamat, Kiku Sharada, Ashiesh Roy, Delnaaz Irani, Kishwer Merchant, Tanaz Irani, Sudhir Pandey, Paintal, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Smilie Suri and Priya Mallik this time Paritosh is set to release THREE CHEERS staring SANGEETA GHOSH, SHWETA GULATI, VISHAL KOTIAN, PARITOSH PAINTER, BALVINDER SINGH SURI & JAYESH THAKKAR

The Play is Presented By Coconut Media and is Written and Directed By PARITOSH PAINTER.

[tasksweekly]

[TASK 058: INDIA]

There’s a masterlist below compiled of over 650+ Indian faceclaims categorised by gender with their occupation and ethnicity denoted if there was a reliable source. If you want an extra challenge use random.org to pick a random number! Of course everything listed below are just suggestions and you can pick whichever character or whichever project you desire.

Any questions can be sent here and all tutorials have been linked below the cut for ease of access! REMEMBER to tag your resources with #TASKSWEEKLY and we will reblog them onto the main! This task can be tagged with whatever you want but if you want us to see it please be sure that our tag is the first five tags, @ mention us or send us a messaging linking us to your post!

THE TASK - scroll down for FC’s!

STEP 1: Decide on a FC you wish to create resources for! You can always do more than one but who are you starting with? There are links to masterlists you can use in order to find them and if you want help, just send us a message and we can pick one for you at random!

STEP 2: Pick what you want to create! You can obviously do more than one thing, but what do you want to start off with? Screencaps, RP icons, GIF packs, masterlists, PNG’s, fancasts, alternative FC’s - LITERALLY anything you desire!

STEP 3: Look back on tasks that we have created previously for tutorials on the thing you are creating unless you have whatever it is you are doing mastered - then of course feel free to just get on and do it. :)

STEP 4: Upload and tag with #TASKSWEEKLY! If you didn’t use your own screencaps/images make sure to credit where you got them from as we will not reblog packs which do not credit caps or original gifs from the original maker.

THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FOR THIS TASK -  examples are linked!

Stumped for ideas? Maybe make a masterlist or graphic of your favourite faceclaims. A masterlist of names. Plot ideas or screencaps from a music video preformed by an artist. Masterlist of quotes and lyrics that can be used for starters, thread titles or tags. Guides on culture and customs.

Screencaps

RP icons [of all sizes]

Gif Pack [maybe gif icons if you wish]

PNG packs

Manips

Dash Icons

Character Aesthetics

PSD’s

XCF’s

Graphic Templates - can be chara header, promo, border or background PSD’s!

FC Masterlists - underused, with resources, without resources!

FC Help - could be related, family templates, alternatives.

Written Guides.

and whatever else you can think of / make!

MASTERLIST!

NB:

Gopi Shankar Madurai (?) Indian - activist - Genderqueer.

Fox Fisher (?) “I am also mixed race. My mum was born in India and I’m proud of my heritage.” - writer and YouTuber - non-binary Trans.

LADIES:

Bindu (76) Indian - actress.

Beena Banerjee (74) Indian - actress.

Shakuntala Barua (70) Indian - actress.

Bharathi Vishnuvardhan (67) Indian - actress.

Nadira Babbar (69) Indian - actress.

Zeenat Aman (65) Indian - actress and model.

Deepti Naval (65) Indian - actress and artist.

Anandavally (65) Indian - actress and dubbing artist.

Chetana Das (62) Indian - actress.

Nafisa Ali (60) Indian - actress.  

Tina Ambani (60) Indian - actress.

Dimple Kapadia (60) Indian - actress.

Shoma Anand (59) Indian - actress.

Bharati Achrekar (59) Indian - actress.

Neelima Azeem (57) Indian - actress.

Poornima Bhagyaraj (57) Indian - actress.

Supriya Pathak! (56) Gujarati Indian - actress.

Rati Agnihotri (56) Indian - actress.

Tanvi Azmi (56) Indian - actress.

Ambika (55) Indian - actress.

Sakina Jaffrey (55) Punjabi Indian and Kayastha Indian - actress.

Sridevi Kapoor (54) Temil and Telugu Indian - actress.

Deepa Sahi (54) Indian - actress and producer.

Bhagyalakshmi (54) Indian - actress.

Anuradha (53) Indian - actress.

Ponnamma Babu (53) Indian - actress.

Chithra (52) Indian - actress.

Deepika Chikhalia (52) Indian - actress.

Sarita Choudhury (51) Bengali Indian / English - actress.

Madhuri Dixit (50) Indian - actress.

Bhanu Priya (50) Indian - actress.

Shagufta Ali (50) Indian - actress.  

Deepti Bhatnagar (49) Indian - actress.

mala Akkineni (48) Indian - actress.

Anu Aggarwal (48) Indian - actress and model.

Bhagyashree (48) Marathi Indian - actress.

Gretchen Barretto (47) Filipino (including Tagalog), some Portuguese, remote Maratha  Indian - actress.

Pooja Bedi (47) Indian - actress and host.

Sheeba Akashdeep (47) Indian - actress and model.

Gabrielle Anwar (47) Indian, Ashkenazi Jewish / English - actress.

Rozonda Ocelean Thomas also known as Chilli (46) Middle Eastern, East Indian, African American, possibly Native American - dancer, singer and actress.

Padma Lakshmi (46) Tamil Indian - actress and model.

Aishwarya (46) Indian - actress.

Madhu Sapre (46) Indian - model.

Ramya Krishnan (46) Telugu and Tamil Indian - actress.

Rozonda Thomas (46) Middle Eastern, East Indian, African American, possibly Native American - dancer, singer-songwriter, actress, and television personality.

Catarina Furtado (45) Portuguese, 1/8 Goan Indian - actress.

Archie Panjabi (45) Sindhi Indian - actress.

Mandira Bedi (45) Indian - actress and fashion designer.

Georgianna Robertson (45) African, East Indian and Scottish Jamaican - model and actress.

Lisa Ray (45) Bengali Indian and Polish - actress.

Beena Antony(45) Indian - actress.

Delnaaz Irani (44) Indian - actress.

Diana Hayden (44) Anglo-Indian- actress.

Indira Varma (43) Indian / Swiss, Italian Genoese - actress.

Aishwarya Rai (43) Tuluva Indian - actress and model.

Rachel Roy (43) Bengali Indian / Frisian, Dutch - fashion designer.

Marjorie Barretto (43) Filipino (including Tagalog), some Portuguese, remote Maratha Indian - actress.

Aamani (43) Indian - actress.

Karisma Kapoor (43) Indian - actress.

Devayani (43) Indian - actress.

Kajol Devgan (43) Indian - actress.

Malaika Arora (43) Malayali / Punjabi - actress, dancer and model.

Jesse Randhawa(42) Indian - model and actress.

Anjali Jay (42) Indian - actress and dancer.

Sarayu Rao (42) Telugu Indian - actress.

Sonali Bendre (42) Indian - actress and model.

Preity Zinta (42) Rajput Indian - actress.

Parminder Nagra (41) Punjabi Indian - actress.

Monica Bedi (41) Indian - actress and presenter.

Sushmita Sen (41) Bengali Indian - actress and model.

Rhona Mitra (41) Bengali Indian, English / Irish - actress, model and singer.

Chippy (41) Indian - actress.

Pooja Kumar (40) Indian - actress, producer and model

Zuleikha Robinson (40) Indian, English, possibly Iranian and Scottish - actress and singer.

Shelley Conn (40) Portuguese, Burmese and Indian - actress.

Saloni Aswani (40) Indian - actress and model.

Navi Rawat (40) Rajput Indian / German - actress.

Pooja Batra (40) Indian - actress and model.

Charmila (40) Indian - actress.

Chitrangada Singh (40) Indian - actress.

Ayesha Dharker (39) Indian / Pakistani - actress.

Lara Dutta (39) Punjabi Indian, Scottish, Swedish, German, English - actress and model.

Bhumika Chawla (38) Indian - actress.

Debelah Morgan (39) Indian / African-American - singer.

Rani Mukerji (39) Bengali Indian - actress.

Emma Heming (39) Indo-Guyanese / possibly English - model and actress.

Reshma Shetty (39) Tulu Indian - actress.

Ujjwala Raut (39) Indian - model.

Chitra Shaji Kailas (39) Indian - actress.

Anu Joseph (39) Indian - actress.

Anju Aravind (39) Indian - actress.

Divya Dutta (39) Indian - actress and model.

Disha Vakani (39) Gujarati Indian - actress.

Juhi Babbar (38) Indian - actress.

Mukta Barve (38) Indian - actress.

Carol Gracias (38) Indian - model.

Bipasha Basu (38) Bengali Indian - actress and model.

Norah Jones (38) Bengali Indian / English, possibly other - singer and actress.

Karen David (38) Khasi / Indian Jewish - actress and singer.

Tatyana Ali (38) Afro-Panamanian, Indo-Trinidadian - model and singer.

Mindy Kaling (38) Tamil Indian, Bengali Indian - actress.

Cindy Burbridge (38) English, Thai, Indian - model.

Claudine Barretto (38) Filipino (including Tagalog), some Portuguese, remote Maratha Indian - actress.

Vidya Balan (38) Tamil Indian - actress.

Dipannita Sharma (37) Indian - actress and model.

Nargis Fakhri (37) Indian - actress and model.

Barkha Bisht Sengupta (37) Indian - actress.

Hannah Simone (37) Indian / Italian, Greek Cypriot, German - actress and model.

Kareena Kapoor (36) Punjabi Indian / Sindhi Indian, British - actress.

Janina Gavankar (36) 75% Indian 25% Dutch - actress.

Amrita Rao (36) Indian - actress and model.

Amrita Arora( 36) Malayali / Punjabi - actress and model.

Angel Coulby (36) Afro-Guyanese, possibly East Indian / English - actress.

Abhirami (36) Indian - actress and host.

Olivia Theresa Longott (36) Indian, Jamaican, Cuban, Native American - singer.

Vashtie Kola (36) Indo-Trinidadian, Afro-Trinidadian - director and artist.

Sameera Reddy (36) Telugu Indian - actress.

Chaya Singh (36) Indian - actress.

Anusha Dandekar (35) Indian - actress.

Sonia Agarwal (35) Indian - actress.

Celina Jaitly (35 Indian - actress and model.

Asha Aravind (35) Indian - actress and model.

Esha Deol (35) Tamil Indian - actress and model.

Tiya Sircar (35) Bengali Indian - actress.

Lesley-Ann Brandt (35) Cape Coloured (English, East Indian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Khoisan, Ashkenazi Jewish) - actress.

Dia Mirza (35) Indian - actress.  

Anjulie (34) Indo-Guyanese - singer.

Shilpa Anand (34) Indian - actress and model.

Aditi Sharma(34) indian - actress.

Katrina Kaif (34) Kahmiri Indian / British - actress and model.

Che’Nelle (34) Indian, Dutch / Chinese - singer.

Melanie Fiona (34) Guyanese (including African, Indian, and Portuguese) - R&B recording artist.

Nazneen Contractor (34) Parsi - actress.

Daisy Bopanna (34) Indian - actress.

Lekha Washington (33) Punjabi-Indian, Burmese, Maharashtrian, Italian - actress and product designer

Neetu Chandra (33) Indian - actress, producer and theatre artist

Surveen Chawla (33) Indian - actress and dancer

Noureen DeWulf (33) Marathi Indian - actress.

Roma Asrani (33) Indian - actress.

Geeta Basra (33) Punjabi Indian - actress.

Aarthi also credited as Harathi (33) Indian - actress and host.

Aaradhna Jayantilal Patel (33) Samoan and Gujarati Indian - singer.

Sayali Bhagat (33) indian - actress.

Barsha Priyadarshini (33) Odia Indian - actress.

Daisy Shah (33) Indian - actress, model, and dancer.

Kajal Aggarwal (32) Indian - actress and model.

Divyanka Tripathi (32) Indian - actress.

Jessica Clark (32) Indian, Nigerian, English, Irish - actress.

Snigdha Akolkar (32) Indian - actress and model.

Sonam Kapoor (32) Indian - actress.

Shweta Tripathi (32) Indian - actress.

Freida Pinto (32) Konkani (Mangalorean) Indian - actress.

Diana Penty (32) Indian - model and actress.

Sandra Amy (32) Indian - actress and video jockey.

Nushrat Bharucha (32) Indian - actress.

Prarthana Behere (32) Indian - actress.

Jennifer Winget (32) Indian - actress.

Isabelle Kaif (31) Kashmiri India/English - actress.

Esha Gupta (31) Indian - actress and model.

Bhairavi Goswami (32) Indian - actress and host.

Andrea Jeremiah (31) Anglo-Indian - actress, musician, dancer and singer

Karthika Menon (31) Indian - actress.

Dilshad Vadsaria (31) Indian, Pakistani, Portuguese - actress.

Jameela Jamil (31) Indian / English - actress and model.

Srinda Arhaan (31) Indian - actress.

Deepika Padukone (31) Konkani Indian - actress.

Meaghan Rath (31) Goan Indian / Ashkenazi Jewish - actress.

Radhika Apte (31) Indian - actress.

Bindu Madhavi (31) Indian - actress.

Lisa Haydon (31) Indian - model, fashion designer, and actress.

Tanya Abrol (31) Indian - actress.

Anjena Kirti (31) Indian - actress and model.

Pinky Sawika Chaiyadech (31) Tamil Indian and Thai - actress, model, and singer.

Dipika Kakar (31) Indian - actress.

Asin Thottumkal (31) Indian - actress.

Huma Qureshi (31) Indian - acress and model.

Neha Bansal (31) Indian - actress and model.

Ramya Barna (31) Indian - actress.

Evelyn Sharma (31) Punjabi Indian / German - actress and model.

Bruna Abdullah (30) - Lebanese/Indian - actress

Kainaat Arora (30) Indian - model and actress

Adah Sharma (30) Indian - actress

Anjali (30) Indian - actress and model.

Charmy Kaur (30) Indian - actress.

Cassie Ventura (30) Filipino / Mexican, African-American, Afro-Caribbean (West Indian) - recording artist, dancer, actress and model.

Shraddha Das (30) Indian - actress.

Zarine Khan(30) Indian - actress and model.

Priya Bapat (30) Indian - actress.

Richa Chadda (30) Indian - actress.

Pearl Mackie (30) West Indian / English - actress, dancer, and singer.

Sonakshi Sinha (30) Kayastha Indian - actress.

Kristina Akheeva (30) Tajikistani-Russian / Russian - actress and model.

India de Beaufort (30) Indian, English, Irish, French - actress and singer.

Kangana Ranaut (30) Rajput Indian - actress.

Aditi Agarwal (30) Indian - actress.

Kainaat Arora (30) Pahari-Punjabi - actress.

Tina Desai (30) Gujarati Indian / Telugu Indian - actress and model.

Ayilya Nair (30) Indian - actress.

Taapsee Pannu (30) Indian - actress and model.

Anchal Joseph (30) Indian - model and actress.

Shraddha Kapoor (30) Indian - actress and singer.

Kainaz Motivala (30) Indian - actress.

Sonia Mann (29) Punjabi-Indian - actress and model

Surbhi Jyoti (29) Punjabi-Indian - actress

Manjari Phadins (29) Idnian - actress

Gayatri Patel (29) Indian - actress and dancer.

Tara Alisha Berry (29) indian - actress.

Pallavi Sharda (29) Indian - actress and dancer.

Anushree (29) Indian - actress and presenter.

Rekitha Rajendra Kurup (29) Indian - actress.

Mandana Karimi (29) Indian, Iranian - actress.

Neha Sharma (29) Indian - actress and model.

Ileana D'Cruz (29) half Konkani Indian - actress.

Ann Augustine (29) Indian - actress.

Parvathy (29) Indian - actress.

Anisha Ambrose (29) Indian - actress and model.

Venus Raj (29) Filipino (Bicolano), Indian - actress and model.

Joan Smalls (29) Puerto Rican [Spanish, Taino, Indian] / African, Irish - model.

Shraddha Arya (29) Indian - actress.

Summer Bishil (29) East Indian/Saudi Arabian, German, English, distant Dutch, Mexican - actress.

Anumol (29) Indian - actress.

Abhinayashree (29) Indian - actress.

Riya Bamniyal (29) Indian - actress.

Anushka Sharma (29) Indian - actress and model.

Suruchi Adarkar (29) Indian - actress.

Hina Khan (29) Indian - actress.

Rachmi Guatam (28) Indian - actress

Deepika Singh (28) Indian - actress.

Adaa Khan (28) Indian - actress and model

Yami Gautam (28) Indian - actress and model.

Regina Cassandra (28) Indian - actress.

Raai Laxmi (28) Indian - actress and model.

Pallavi Batra (28) Indian - actress.

Parineeti Chopra (28) Punjabi Indian - actress.

Lilly Singh (28) Punjabi Indian - YouTuber.

Varsha Ashwathi (28) Indian - actress.

Elle Varner (28) Cape Verdean, French, African American, Indian, Dutch, Irish - singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Annet Mahendru (28) Indian, Russian - actress.

Prachi Desai (28) Indian - actress.

Tina Ahuja (28) Indian - actress.

Tia Bajpai (28) Indian - actress.

Kriti Kharbanda (28) Indian - actress.

Nia Sharma (27) Indian - actress

Dimple Jhangiani (27) Indian - actress.

Deeksha Seth (27) Indian - actress and model.

Chitrashi Rawat (27) indian - hockey player, actress, and host.

Nandita Shwetha (27) Indian - actress and model

Monical Gill (27) Indian-American - model

Catherine Tresa (27) indian - actress and model.

Nathalia Kaur (27) Half-Indian - model, actress

Dharti Bhatt (27) Indian - actress.

Mansha Bahl (27) Punjabi Indian - actress.

Sonia Dara (27) Indian - model.

Tamannaah Bhatia (27) Indian - actress.

Kriti Sanon (27) Indian - actress.

Anusree Nair (27) Indian - actress.

Sakshi Agarwal (27) Indian - actress.

Ashika Pratt (27) stated as being “of Indian descent“ - model.

Anjli Mohindra (27) Punjabi Indian - actress.

Semmalar Annam (27) Indian - actress.

Deepa Sannidhi (27) Indian - actress.

Sakshi Choudhary (26) Indian - actress and model

Srabanti Chatterjee (26) Indian - actress

Pragya Jaiswal (26) Indian - actress

Rashi Khanna (26) Indian - actress

Rakul Preet Singh (26) Indian - actress and model

Ciara Renée (26) African-American, European, Indian, Native American - actress and musician.

Pooja Hegde (26) Indian - model and actress.

Karthika Adaikalam (26) Indian - actress.

Sandhja Kuivalainen (26) Indo-Guyanese / Finnish - singer.

Hansika Motwani (26) Indian - actress.

Sonali Raut (26) Indian - model and actress.

Mandeep Dhillon (26) Punjabi Indian - actress

Poonam Pnadley (25) Indian - model.

Bidita Bag (25) Indian - actress and model.

Bala Hijam (25) Indian - actress.

Saiya,i Kher (25) Indian - actress and model

Mannara (25) Bihari Indian - actress and model

Abhinaya (25) Indian - actress and model.

Nora Fatehi (25) Indian, Moroccan - model.

Ena Saha (25) Indian - actress.

Sheena Bajaj (25) Indian - actress.

Charli XCX (25) Ugandan Indian / Scottish - singer.

Kiara Advani (25) Sindhi / Scottish, Irish, Portuguese, Spanish - actress.

Disha Patani (25) Indian - actress and model.

Aksha Pardasany (25) Indian - actress.

Melinda Shankar (25) Indo-Guyanese - actress.

Michelle Khare (25) Indian and Unspecified White - YouTuber.

Safiya Nygaard (26) Indian / Danish - YouTuber.

Aparnaa Bajpai (26) Indian - actress.

Piaa Bajpai (25) Indian - actress and model.  

Richa Panai (24) Indian - actress

Deeksha Panth (24) Indian - actress

Erica Fernandes (24) Indian - actress, model and youtuber

Navneet Kaur Dhillon (24) Indian - actress and model

Sonarika Bhadoria (24) Indian - actress, model, dancer, singer, and social activist

Kiara Advani (24) Indian - actress

Seerat Kapoor (24) Indian - actress and choreographer

Naomi Scott (24) Gujarati Indian / Scottish - actress.

Anandhi (24) Indian - actress.  

Pranitha Subhash (24) Indian - actress and model.

Seerat Kapoor (24) Indian - actress.

Anju Kurian (24) Indian - actress.

Sanskruti Balgude (24) Indian - actress.

Alia Bhatt (24) Gujarati Indian / Kashmiri Indian, German - actress and singer.  

Avantika Hundal (24) Indian - actress.

Wamiqa Gabbi (23) Indian - actress.

Amulya (23) Indian - actress.

Urvashi Rautela (23) Indian - actress and model.

Zoya Afroz (22) Indian - actress and model

Kelly Gale (22) Indian / English - model.

Anu Sithara (22) Indian - actress.

Neelam Gill (22) Sikh Indian - model.

Nazriya Nazim (22) Indian - actress.

Normani Kordei (21) African-American, Indian, French - singer.

Liza Koshy (21) Malayali Indian / Swiss-German, German, some English  - actress.

Lakshmi Menon (21) Malayali Indian - actress and singer.

Niveda Thomas (21) Indian - actress.

Aparna Balamurali (21) Indian - actress and playback singer.

Cymphonique Miller (21) Black, Filipino, French, Indian, Hawaiian, Spanish, and Chinese - singer and actress.

Avika Gor (20) Indian - actress.

Namitha Pramod (20) Indian - actress.

Ulka Gupta (20) Indian - actress.

Julia Barretto (20) Filipino (including Tagalog), some Portuguese, remote Indian (Maratha) - actress.

Surangana Bandyopadhyay (19) Indian - actress.

Soma Bhatia (19) Indian - actress.

Rubina Ali (18) Indian - actress.

Ahsaas Channa (18) Indian - actress.

Eisha Singh (18) Indian - actress.

Grace Martine Tandon also known as Daya (18) Indian, German - singer.

Aryana Engineer (16) Parsi Indian / Scottish - actress.

Roshni Walia (15) Indian - actress.

Arisha Razi (born in 2002) Indian - actress and host.

Aarathi (born in 1956) Indian - actress.

Abir Abrar (born in 1985) Indian - actress.

B. V. Radha (born in 1948) Indian - actress.

Rani Agrawal (born in 1994) Indian - actress.

Leema Babu (born in 1994) Indian - actress.

Nikita Anand (born in 1983) Indian - actress and model.

Agam Darshi (born 1980) Indian - actress.

Kamma Ranawat (?) Indian - actress

Shilpa Reddy (?) Indian - fashion designer and producer

Rekha Sharma (?) Indian - actress.

Aluna Francis (?) Indian, Tanzanian / Afro-Jamaican - vocalist.

Ninja Singh (?) Indian - model.  

Aysha Kala (?) Indian - actress.

Aashritha (?) Indian - actress.

Abitha (?) Indian - actress.

Kirti Adarkar (?) Indian - actress.

Aditi Ravi (?) Indian - actress.

Nisha Agarwal (?) Indian - actress.

Reena Aggarwal (?) Indian - actress.

Shruti Agarwal (?) Indian - actress.

Shubhi Ahuja (?) Indian - actress.

Sasha Agha (?) Indian - actress and singer.

Dolly Ahluwalia (?) Indian - actress and costume designer.

Shubra Aiyappa (?) Indian - actress.

Deepika Amin (?) Indian - actress.

Maya Alagh (?) Indian - actress.

Rekha Shankar (?) Indian - actress.

Saadhika Randhawa (?) Indian - actress.

Dana Jeffrey (?) Ojibwe, Thai, Indo Guyanese, Afro Guyanese, Mexican, and English - actress.

Priya Anand (?) Tamil / Telugu, Marathi - actress and model.

Sabitha Anand (?) Indian - actress.

Anjali Aneesh (?) Indian - actress.

Athmiya (?) Indian - actress.

Alice T. (?) Indian and Chinese - YouTuber.

Lin Laishram (?) Manipuri Indian - actress and model.

Kanchan Awasthi (?) Indian - model and actress.

Nilambur Ayisha (?) Indian - actress.

Saba Azad (?) Indian - actress and musician.

Meera Rohit Kumbhani (?) Indian - actress.

Kiran Deol (?) Indian - actress.

Amrapali Ambegaokar (?) Indian - actress.

Bhumika Arora (?) Indian - model.

Nishi Munshi (?) Indian - actress.

Barsha Rani Bishaya (?) Indian - actress.

Bhavana Rao (?) Indian - actress.

Bhavana (?) Indian - actress.

Trans Ladies:

Ravina Jagtap (35) Indian - musician.

Chandni Suvarnakar (34) Indian - musician.

Bhavika Patil (27) Indian - musician.

Fida Khan (24) Indian - musician.

Asha Jagtap (24) Indian - musician.

Komal Jagtap (22) Indian - musician.

Bobby Darling (?) Indian - musician.

Karpaga (?) Indian - musician.

Kalki Subramaniam (?) Indian - musician.

Rose Venkatesan (?) Indian - musician. .

Amelia Maltepe (?) Indian - musician.

Grace Banu (?) Indian - activist.

MEN:

Dilip Kumar (94) Indian - actor.

Prem Chopra (81) Indian - actor.

Zubin Mehta (81) Parsi Indian - classical music conductor.

Dharmendra (81) Indian - actor.

Shashi Kapoor (79) Indian - actor.

K. J. Yesudas (77) Indian - singer. Neeraj Kabi

Jeetendra (75) Indian - actor.  

Amitabh Bachchan (74) Indian - actor.

Sir Ben Kingsley (73) Gujarati Indian, English, possibly Ashkenazi Jewish - actor.

Amol Palekar (72) Indian - actor, director and producer.

Randhir Kapoor (70) Indian - actor.

Danny Denzongpa (69) Indian. Bhutia - actor, singer and director

Naseeruddin Shah (67) Indian - actor.

Rakesh Roshan (67) Indian - actor and producer.

Rajinikanth (66) Indian - actor.

Sarath Babu (66) Indian - actor.

Nana Patekar (66) Marathi Indian - actor.

Erick Avari (65) Parsi Indian - actor.

Rishi Kapoor (64) Indian - actor.

Tinnu Anand (64) Indain - actor.

Rangaraj Subbaiah also known as Sathyaraj (62) Indian - actor.

Anupam Kher (62) Indian - actor.

Kamal Haasan (62) Indian - actor and singer.

Annu Kapoor (61) Indian/Asian - actor

Gulshan Grover (61) Indian/Asian - actor

Chiranjeevi (61) Indian - actor.

Johnny Lever (60) Indian - actor and comedian.

Sunny Deol (60) Indian - actor.

Jackie Shroff (60) Indo-Aryan - actor

Anil Kapoor (60) Punjabi Indian - actor.

Mukesh Khanna (59) Indian/Asian - actor

Sanjay Dutt (58) Indian - actor.

Mohnish Bahl (58) Indian - actor.

Shakti Kapoor (58) Indian - actor.

Rajit Kapoor (57) Indian - actor and director

Kumar Gaurav (57) Indian - actor.

Puneet Issar(57) Indaitn - actor.

Boman Irani (57) Indian - actor, voice actor and photographer.

Nagarajuna Akkiner (57) Indian - actor, producer and dancer.

Jaz Coleman (57) Kashmiri Indian, English / English - singer and musician.

Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair (57) Indian - actor.  

Venkatesh Daggubati (56) Indian - actor

Suniel Shetty (56) Indian - actor.

Kim Thayil (56) Indian - guitarist.

Rajendranath Zutshi (56) Indian  - actor.

Deepak Tijori (55) Indian - actor, director and producer

Danny Huston (55) English, Indian / English, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, distant German, remote Portuguese - actor and writer.

Ashish Vidyarthi (54) Bengali/Malayali - actor

Chunky Pandey (54) Indian - actor

Raju Srivastava (54) India - comedian.

Vijay Raaz (54) Indian - actor and director

Sanjeev Bhaskar (53) Indian - comedian and actor.

Govinda (53) Indian - actor.

Javed Jaffrey(53) Indian - actor, dancer and comedian.

Aamir Khan (52) Indian - actor.

Atul Kulkarni (51) Indian/Asian - actor

Manoj Joshi (51) Indian - actor and comedian

Shah Rukh Khan (51) Indian/Pathan - actor and producer

Ronit Roy (51) Bengali Indian - actor.

Kennedy John Victor (51) Indian - actor.  

Shah Rukh Khan (51) Pashtun Indian - actor.

Milind Soman (51) Marathi Indian - actor and model.

Salman Khan (51) Bengali Indian - actor.

Aasif Mandvi (51) Indian - actor and comedian.

Irrfan Khan (50) Pathan Indian - actor.

Arbaaz Khan (50) Indian - actor.

Vinay Pathak (49) Indian/Asian - actor and producer

Arshad Warsi (49) Indian - actor.

Akshay Kumar (49) Indian - actor and martial artist.

Dilip Joshi (49) Indian - actor.

Rahul Roy(49) Indian - actor and former model.

Naveen Andrews (48)  Indian - actor.

Ajay Devgan (48) Indian - actor.

Manoj Bajpai (48) Indian - actor.

Ajay Devgn (48) Indian - actor.

Vivek Mushran (48) Indian - actor.

Manoj Bajpayee (48) Indian - actor.

M. Night Shyamalan (47) Malayali and Tamil Indian - director, producer, actor.

Saif Ali Khan (47) Indian - actor.

R. Madhavan (47) Indian - actor and writer.

Sohail Khan (47) Indian - actor.

Mukul Dev (46) Indian/Asian - actor

Rajpal Yadav (46) Indian - actor

Sanjay Suri (46) Indian - actor.

Russell Peters (46) Anglo-Indian (Indian, English) - comedian.

Jimmy Shergill (46) Indian - actor.

Rupert Penry-Jones (46) English, Welsh, and distant Indian ancestry - actor.

Ajith Kumar (46) Indian - actor.

Xavier Naidoo (45) German, Indian / Egyptian - singer and actor.

Jay Manuel (45) Malaysian-Indian, Dutch / Italian, Czech - model and host.

Dileep Rao (44) Kannada Indian - actor.

Sonu Sood (44) Indian - actor.

Manu Narayan (44) Indian - actor and singer.

Shiney Ahuja (44) indian - actor.

Arjun Rampal (44) Indian - actor.

John Abraham (44) Malayali / Zoroastrian - actor and model.

Sonu Nigam (44) Indian - singer.

Priyanshu Chatterjee (44) Indian - actor and model.

Uday Chopra (44) Indian - actor.

Sudhanshu Pandey (43) Indian - model and actor.

Fardeen Khan (43) Indian - actor.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui (43) Indiant - actor.

Maulik Pancholy (43) Gujarati Indian - actor.

Hrithik Roshan (43) Punjabi Indian - actor.

Farhan Akhtar (43) Indian - actor and singer.

Sendhil Ramamurthy (43) Kannada Indian / Tamil Indian - actor.

Paul Marazzi (42) Italian, Indian / English - musician.

Raza Jaffrey (42) Indian / English - actor and singer.

Mahesh Babu (42) Indian - actor.

Abbas (42) Indian - actor and model.

Randeep Hooda (41) Indian - actor.

Shreyas Talpade (41) Indian - actor.

Abhishek Bachan (41) Indian - actor and singer.

Dino Morea (41) Indian - actor.

Abhishek Bachchan (41) Indian - actor and singer.

Abhay Deol (41) Punjabi Indian - actor.

Anand Jon (40) Indian - fashion designer.

Niketan Madhok (40) Indian - model.

Vivek Oberoi (40) Indian - actor.

Tusshar Kapoor (40) Idian - actor.

Jisshu Sengupta (40) Indian - actor and ex-cricketer.

Kal Penn (40) Gujarati Indian - actor and civil servant.

Rahul Singh (40) Indian - actor.

Manish Paul (39) Punjabi Indian - host.

Tarun Arora (38) Indian - actor and model.

Emraan Hashmi (38) Indian - actor.

Prabhas (38) Indian - actor

Riteish Deshmukh (38) Indian - actor and producer.

Jamie Cullum (38) English, Ashkenazi Jewish / Indian, Burmese, possibly some Spanish - musician.

Raqesh Vashisth (38) Indian - actor and model.

Danny Pudi (38) Indian / Polish - actor and comedian.

Jeetendra Madnani (38) Indian - actor and presenter.

Jay Sean (38) Punjabi Indian - singer.

Sharman Joshi (38) indian - actor.

Vivan Bhatena (38) Indian - actor and model.

Kunal Kapoor (38) Punjabi Indian - actor.

Arjan Bajwa (37) Indian - actor.

Kunal Nayyar (36) Punjabi Indian - actor.

Vidyut Jamwal (36) Indian - actor.

Vaibhav Talwar (36) Indian - actor.

Harman Baweja (36) Indian - actor.

Vidyut Jammwal (36) Indian - actor.

Kapil Sharma (36) Indian - actor and comedian.

Shahid Kapoor (36) Indian - actor.

Upen Patel (35) Indian - actor and model.

Neil Nitin Mukesh (35) Indian - actor.

Karan Singh Grover (35) Indian - actor and model.

Manish Dayal (34) Gujarati Indian - actor.

Deepak Adhikari (34) Indian - actor and singer.

Pravesh Rana (34) Indian - model.  

Arunoday Singh (34) Indian - actor.

Kunal Khemu (34) Indian - actor.

Adhir Kalyan (34) Indian - actor.

Amit Sadh (34) Indian - actor.

Elyes Gabel (34) English, Algerian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Anglo-Indian, Irish, Portuguese - actor.

Arjun Bijlani (34) Indian - actor.

Hirdesh Singh (34) Indian - actor and rapper.

Ranbir Kapoor (34) Punjabi Indian - actor.

Imran Khan (34) Indian - actor.

Riz Ahmed (34) Pakistani / Indian - actor and rapper.

Aziz Ansari (34) Tamil Indian - actor and comedian.

Allu Arjun (34) Indian - actor.

Mahesh Jadu (34) Mauritian and Kashmiri Indian - actor.

Pulkit Samrat (33) Indian - actor and model.

Diljit Dosanjh (33) Indian - actor and internet celebrity.

Kostja Ullmann (33) German, English, Indian / English, Portuguese - actor.

Satya Bhabha (33) Parsi Indian / Ashkenazi Jewish - actor.

Amit Sebastian Paul (33) Bengali Indian / Swedish - singer.

Utkarsh Ambudkar (33) Indian - actor.

Muzammil Ibrahim (33) Indian - actor and model.

Ranveer Singh (32) Indian - actor.

Karan Kundra (32) Indian - actor.

Jackky Bhagnani (32) Sindhi Indian - actor.

Arjun Kapoor (32) Indian - actor.

Rana Daggubati (32) Indian - actor.

Sangram Singh (32) Indian - actor and wrestler.

Rajkummar Rao (32) Indian - actor.

Sidharth Malhotra (32) Punjabi Indian - actor and model.

Ayushmann Khurrana (32) Punjabi Indian - actor and singer.

Rahul Kohli (31) Indian - actor.

Aditya Roy Kapur (31) Indian / Indian Jewish - actor.

Sushant Singh Rajput (31) Indian - actor.

Dulquer Salmaan (31) Indian - actor.

Karan Wahi (31) Punjabi Indian - actor, model, and former cricketer.

Max Minghella (31) Italian, Chinese, Sephardi Jewish, Parsi Indian, English, Irish, Swedish - actor.

Ali Fazal (30) Indian - actor.

Varun Dhawan (30) Indian - actor.

Vin Rana (30) Indian - actor and model.

Prateik Babbar (30) Indian - actor.

Parys Sylver (30) African American, Native American, Filipino, Irish, Portuguese, Egyptian, Indian - actor.

Arijit Singh (30) Indian - musician.

Suraj Gowda (29) Indian - actor.

Prateik Jain (29) Indian - actor and model.

Nishant Malkani (29) Indian - model and actor.

Harshad Arora (29) Indian - model and actor.

Sahil Salathia (29) Indian - actor and model.

Ritesh Rajan (28) Indian - actor.

Sidhant Gupta (28) Indian - actor.

Rohit Khandelwal (28) Indian - model and actor.

Raja Fenske (28) Indian / White - actor.

Jesse Rath (28) Goan Indian / Ashkenazi Jewish - actor.

Suyyash Rai (28) Indian - actor and singer.

Nitin Chauhan (28) Indian - model and actor.

Dev Patel (27) Gujarati Indian - actor.

Sanjaya Malakar (27) Bengali Indian / Italian, Dutch, Irish, English - singer.

Abhi Sinha (27) Indian - actor.

Jasmeet Singh (27) Indian - comedian.

Tiger Shroff (27) Indian - actor.

Vivaan Shah (27) Indian - actor.

Raymond Ablack (27) Indo-Guyanese - actor and comedian.

Varun Sharma (27) Indian - actor.

Harshvardhan Kapoor (26) Indian - actor.

Prathamesh Maulingkar (26) Indian - footballer.

Samridh Bawa (26) Indian - model and actor.

Kartik Aaryan (26) Indian - actor.

Parth Samthaan (26) Indian - actor.

Avan Jogia (25) Gujarati Indian / English, Welsh, some German - actor.

Arjit Taneja (24) Indian - actor.

Sebastian de Souza (24) Portuguese Indian - actor.

Nikhil Anand (23) Indian - beauty pageant entrepreneur.

Derrick Monasterio (22) Italian, Jamaican (East Indian and Scottish), Lebanese, Sephardi Jewish, Filipino (Tagalog), Spanish (Castilian) - actor.

Kishen Tanna (21) Indian - actor.

Darsheel Safary (20) Indian - actor.

Harris J (20) Indian, Irish - singer.

Suraj Partha (20) Indian - actor.  

Karan Brar (18) Punjabi Indian - actor.

Aramis Knight (17) Pakistani, Indian / English, Irish, German - actor.

Rohan Chand (17) Indian - actor.

Amir Bageria (16) Indian - actor.

Neel Sethi (13) Indian - actor.

Arjun Gupta (born in 1987) Indian - actor.

Kay Kay Menon (born in 1966) Indian - actor.

Vishal Malik (born 1989) Indian - actor

Sean T. Krishnan (?) Indian - actor.

Nikesh Patel (?) Indian - actor.

Arpit Ranka (?) Indian - model and actor.

Nik Dodani (?) Indian - actor and comedian.

Ajay Mehta (?) Indian - actor.

Shawn Parikh (?) Indian - actor.

Paull Walia (?) Indian - actor.

Dante Scott (?) Indian - actor.

Vik Sahay (?) Indian - actor.

Neil Amin-Smith (?) Indian, White - violinist.

Jas Arora (?) Indian - model and actor.

Vivian Fernandes (?) Indian - rapper.

Manu Bora (?) Indian - model.

Mudit Malhotra (?) Indian - model.

Prabh Uppal (?) Indian - model.

Sahil Shroff (?) Indian - model and actor.

Akshit Brar (?) Indian - model.

Himanshu Bhati (?) Indian - model.

Abhimanyu Singh (?) Indian - actor.

Akshaye Khanna (?) Indian - actor.

Aparshakti Khurana (?) Indian - actor.

Bobby Deol (?) Indian - actor.

Pankaj Tripathi (?) Indian - actor.

Sanjay Kapoor (?) Indian - actor.

Sanjay Mishra (?) Indian - actor.

Subham ku Naik (?) Indian - actor.

Don’t want to be rp’d:

Justine Skye

Ick:

Priyanka Chopra - https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/bollywood-mary-kom-priyanka/

Nicki Minaj - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3379421/Nicki-Minaj-posts-selfie-brother-Jelani-paying-100K-bail-following-child-rape-arrest.html

Suraj Sharma- http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/82116326.html

[rollinbrigittenv8]

Taj Mahal Downgraded as Tourism Attraction by India’s Hindu Nationalist Leaders

Indian Muslims offer Eid al-Fitr prayer at Shahi Masjid at the famous Taj Mahal in Agra, India. India's famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm with some members of India's ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture. Rajesh Kumar Singh / Associated Press

Skift Take: India’s radical religious leaders have been doing their best to make the country inhospitable to anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs, and they are extending this approach to tourists as well now.

— Jason Clampet

India’s famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm, with some members of the country’s ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture.

The most recent attack came this week when Sangeet Som, a lawmaker from the Bharatiya Janata Party, called the 17th century monument “a blot on Indian culture” that was built by “traitors.”

But Som wasn’t the first to attack the mausoleum that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built in the northern city of Agra in memory of his favorite wife.

Last month, Yogi Adityanath, the controversial head monk of a famed Hindu temple who is now the top elected official of Uttar Pradesh state, where the Taj Mahal is located, said foreign dignitaries visiting his state should be gifted a copy of the Hindu religious book “Bhagvad Gita” instead of replicas of the Taj Mahal.

This isn’t the first time that India’s Islamic past has come under attack by members of the BJP or smaller Hindu groups.

The federal government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has also been accused of attempting to rewrite history textbooks, especially where India’s past Muslim medieval rulers are concerned.

In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, the state government even deleted the profile of the Taj Mahal from its official tourism booklet published earlier this month.

The brochure listed Hindu pilgrimage destinations such as Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur, which Adityanath heads, and also included plans for new attractions such as a tour of locations related to the Hindu mythological text Ramayana.

Emperor Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, after her death. He also planned on being buried next to her, and the complex houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several other graves of lesser Mogul royalty.

The stunning monument is India’s biggest tourist draw, with about 3 million visiting every year.

The tourism business it drums up keeps some 200,000 people employed, and Agra’s economy moving.

Som, the lawmaker who called the Taj Mahal a “blot” on Monday, went on to address criticism that the government had kept the iconic monument out of its tourism brochure.

“Taj Mahal should have no place in Indian history, as it was built by traitors,” he said in the rabble-rousing style he’s known for at a rally in Meerut, a city 300 kilometers (186 miles) southwest of the Uttar Pradesh state capital, Lucknow.

“Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan wanted to wipe out Hindus. If these people are part of our history, then it is very sad and we will change this history,” Som said.

Som, who was inaugurating a statue of the eighth century Hindu king Anangpal Singh Tomar, went on to add, incorrectly, that Shah Jahan had killed his own father. In fact, it was Shah Jahan who was imprisoned and killed by his son Aurangzeb.

Som’s comments drew angry condemnation from Muslim leader and federal lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi, who asked if the government would urge tourists not to visit the Taj Mahal and other monuments built by India’s former Muslim rulers.

Every year on India’s Independence Day, Prime Minister Modi hoists the Indian flag from the ramparts of the imposing Red Fort in New Delhi. The red sandstone fort and palace was also built by Shah Jahan, in 1639.

“He should stop that because that fort is also built by a traitor,” Owaisi said.

The BJP sought to distance itself from Som’s comments.

The party’s general secretary, Vijay Bahadur Pathak, said the Taj Mahal is part of Indian pride, and that “whatever Som said is his personal view. BJP has nothing to do with it.”

Many criticized Som’s comments on social media.

“Actually, you are the blot for saying such nonsense,” television journalist Barkha Dutt said on Twitter.

But others backed Som’s remarks.

“BJP’s top elites may shun Sangeet Som, but what he said is only logical and true,” tweeted Sonam Mahajan, whose right-wing views attract a huge following on Twitter.

Copyright (2017) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

This article was written by Biswajeet Banerjee from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

[touristguidebuzz]

Taj Mahal Downgraded as Tourism Attraction by India’s Hindu Nationalist Leaders

Indian Muslims offer Eid al-Fitr prayer at Shahi Masjid at the famous Taj Mahal in Agra, India. India's famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm with some members of India's ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture. Rajesh Kumar Singh / Associated Press

Skift Take: India’s radical religious leaders have been doing their best to make the country inhospitable to anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs, and they are extending this approach to tourists as well now.

— Jason Clampet

India’s famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm, with some members of the country’s ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture.

The most recent attack came this week when Sangeet Som, a lawmaker from the Bharatiya Janata Party, called the 17th century monument “a blot on Indian culture” that was built by “traitors.”

But Som wasn’t the first to attack the mausoleum that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built in the northern city of Agra in memory of his favorite wife.

Last month, Yogi Adityanath, the controversial head monk of a famed Hindu temple who is now the top elected official of Uttar Pradesh state, where the Taj Mahal is located, said foreign dignitaries visiting his state should be gifted a copy of the Hindu religious book “Bhagvad Gita” instead of replicas of the Taj Mahal.

This isn’t the first time that India’s Islamic past has come under attack by members of the BJP or smaller Hindu groups.

The federal government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has also been accused of attempting to rewrite history textbooks, especially where India’s past Muslim medieval rulers are concerned.

In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, the state government even deleted the profile of the Taj Mahal from its official tourism booklet published earlier this month.

The brochure listed Hindu pilgrimage destinations such as Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur, which Adityanath heads, and also included plans for new attractions such as a tour of locations related to the Hindu mythological text Ramayana.

Emperor Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, after her death. He also planned on being buried next to her, and the complex houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several other graves of lesser Mogul royalty.

The stunning monument is India’s biggest tourist draw, with about 3 million visiting every year.

The tourism business it drums up keeps some 200,000 people employed, and Agra’s economy moving.

Som, the lawmaker who called the Taj Mahal a “blot” on Monday, went on to address criticism that the government had kept the iconic monument out of its tourism brochure.

“Taj Mahal should have no place in Indian history, as it was built by traitors,” he said in the rabble-rousing style he’s known for at a rally in Meerut, a city 300 kilometers (186 miles) southwest of the Uttar Pradesh state capital, Lucknow.

“Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan wanted to wipe out Hindus. If these people are part of our history, then it is very sad and we will change this history,” Som said.

Som, who was inaugurating a statue of the eighth century Hindu king Anangpal Singh Tomar, went on to add, incorrectly, that Shah Jahan had killed his own father. In fact, it was Shah Jahan who was imprisoned and killed by his son Aurangzeb.

Som’s comments drew angry condemnation from Muslim leader and federal lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi, who asked if the government would urge tourists not to visit the Taj Mahal and other monuments built by India’s former Muslim rulers.

Every year on India’s Independence Day, Prime Minister Modi hoists the Indian flag from the ramparts of the imposing Red Fort in New Delhi. The red sandstone fort and palace was also built by Shah Jahan, in 1639.

“He should stop that because that fort is also built by a traitor,” Owaisi said.

The BJP sought to distance itself from Som’s comments.

The party’s general secretary, Vijay Bahadur Pathak, said the Taj Mahal is part of Indian pride, and that “whatever Som said is his personal view. BJP has nothing to do with it.”

Many criticized Som’s comments on social media.

“Actually, you are the blot for saying such nonsense,” television journalist Barkha Dutt said on Twitter.

But others backed Som’s remarks.

“BJP’s top elites may shun Sangeet Som, but what he said is only logical and true,” tweeted Sonam Mahajan, whose right-wing views attract a huge following on Twitter.

Copyright (2017) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

This article was written by Biswajeet Banerjee from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.