Taj Mahal

128 ebba koch EBBA KOCH THE TAJ MAHAL: ARCHITECTURE, SYMBOLISM, AND URBAN SIGNIFICANCE Much has been written on the Taj Mahal, but little has been said about its architecture. There has been only one interpretation of the symbolism of the mausoleum,1 and the urban situation of the monument in the city of Agra has been almost entirely neglected. In brief form, this essay presents the main results of a recently completed monograph in which I address these issues. 2 The Taj Mahal is the Mughals’ great contribution to world architecture, and, as the contemporary sources reveal, it was conceived as such from the very beginning (? . 1). In the words of Shah Jahan’s early historian Muhammad Amin Qazwini, writing in the 1630s: And a dome of high foundation and a building of great magni? cence was founded—a similar and equal to it the eye of the Age has not seen under these nine vaults of the enamel-blue sky, and of anything resembling it the ear of Time has not heard in any of the past ages†¦it will be the masterpiece of the days to come, and that which adds to the astonishment of humanity at large. 3 Not only was the monument to be a magni? cent burial place for Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s beloved wife (d. 631), but also—and this is explicitly pointed out by the emperor’s main historian {Abd al-Hamid Lahawri—it was to testify to the power and glory of Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58) and Mughal rule: They laid the plan for a magni? cent building and a dome of high foundation which for its loftiness will until the Day of Resurrection remain a memorial to the sky-reaching ambition of His Majesty, the Sahib Qiran-Thani (Second Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction of the Planets Jupiter and Venus), and its strength will represent the ? rmness of the intentions of its builder. In other words, the Taj Mahal was built with posterity in mind, and we the viewers are part of its concept. I came to study the Taj Mahal in the conte xt of a survey of the palaces and gardens of Shah Jahan that I have been conducting since 1976 as part of a larger survey of Mughal architecture. With the assistance of Dr. Yunus Jaffery from Dr. Zakir Hussain College in Delhi,5 I have established from the Persian sources a corpus of thirty-? ve Shahjahani palaces (sing. dawlatkh? na) and garden residences (sing. b? gh), of which twenty-four proved upon ? ld investigation to exist in varying sizes and states of preservation. In the whole of Islamic architecture, this is the largest extant body of palaces built by a single patron. Entirely new measured drawings of seventeen palaces were prepared by the Indian architect Richard A. Barraud, who drew them on the basis of measurements he and I made during extensive ? eldwork,6 which I undertook because many of these complexes are hardly or not at all recorded. Altogether, Mughal architecture, like the Islamic architecture of India in general, is not well documented.The art historian cann ot rely on measured drawings to the same extent possible for the better-documented areas of Islamic architecture or for Western historical architecture in general. The pioneering surveys of the Archaeological Survey of India from the end of the nineteenth and the ? rst half of the twentieth centuries included several Mughal sites, but only a few—such as the monographs of Edmund W. Smith on Fatehpur Sikri and on Akbar’s Tomb at Sikandra—were published. 7 More often than not, when one wants to have an exact plan of a building one has to go and measure it.On the other hand, while establishing this basic documentation, the art historian is confronted by all the questions the discipline has developed in the span of its existence, during which the approach has moved from formal assessment and analysis towards contextual studies. I began my survey of the palaces at Agra and, during the 1980s, spent months in the Red Fort, measuring and photographing its buildings. From here the Taj Mahal was always before my eyes at a distance across the river Yamuna, popularly called Jamna (? g. 2), and one of these views eventually became the cover image of my book Mughal Architecture (1991), in which he taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance 129 Fig. 1. Agra, Taj Mahal (1632–43), mausoleum and flanking buildings seen from the upper level of the gate. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1996) I dealt with the Taj Mahal for the ? rst time, albeit only brie? y. 8 I felt overwhelmed by its perfection, splendor, and sheer size. Eventually I realized that as a scholar I was not alone in my awe of the famous building. The vast literature on the Taj Mahal comprises surprisingly few serious scholarly studies and, as I pointed out at the beginning, there is as yet no monograph or modern analytical treatise dedicated to its architecture. At the same time I came to realize that many answers to my questions about Shah Jahan’s palaces and gardens lay in the Taj Mahal as the ultimate project of his architectural patronage. The ? nal incentive to study it in detail came in 1994, when the editors of the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam asked me to write the article on the building. 10 This started my project of newly documenting and analyzing the entire mausoleum complex; I am the ? rst Western scholar since India gained independence in 1947 to have received permission for such an undertaking, through the generosity of the Archaeological Sur- ey of India. With Richard Barraud I have been measuring and photographing the buildings of the complex in intermittent expeditions during the last ten years. 11 The survey has brought me into the remotest corners of the Taj Mahal, and this close encounter with the architecture has revealed the contribution of the anonymous workmen who inscribed their mason marks on the stones. 12 I began my analysis by looking at the entire complex of the Taj Mahal and at its urban situation. I could not help noticing that the Taj Mahal invites an approach that coincides with what since the 1970s might be termed a â€Å"deconstructive reading. According to Jaques Derrida, the main propagator of this method of disassembling and questioning established notions, all Western thought is based on the idea of centers—Origin, Truth, Ideal Form, Fixed Point, Immovable Mover, Essence, God, and Presence—that guarantee all meaning. The problem with these centers is that they attempt to exclude. In doing so they ignore, repress, or marginalize others. 13 Even those 130 ebba koch Fig. 2. Taj Mahal, mausoleum flanked by mosque (right) and Mihman Khana (left), seen across the river Jamna. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1985) ho are tiring of deconstruction will see that the idea of center-and-margin illustrates the perception of the Taj too tellingly not to be included in this discussion. Traditionally, the white building of the mausoleum takes the position of the center in the conception of th e beholder, who hardly notices the large complex at the end of which it stands. Due to the prominence of the tomb, its surrounding architecture has received very little attention—in other words, it has been marginalized. It thus seems important ? rst to consider the entire complex, especially its subsidiary courtyards, which emerge as integral components of its design.In addition, I have extended the investigation of the surroundings of the Taj to its larger environment, to its relationship to the city of Agra. ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLEX The mausoleum is set at the northern end of the main axis of a vast oblong walled-in complex that mea- sures 896. 10 x 300. 84 m (? g. 3), which works out to 1112. 5 x 374 Shahjahani gaz. Of this complex, the tomb garden and its forecourt are fully preserved; we measured it as 561. 20 x 300. 84 (300) m, that is, 696 x 374 (373) gaz (? g. 4). 14 The Shahjahani linear yard, called gaz or zir? , corresponds to about 81–82 cm, or 32 inches; o ur ? eld studies have shown that it was not an exact unit but a relative, proportionally used one, the length of which could vary slightly, even within one and the same building complex. For the overall length of the Taj complex, the average gaz ? gure comes to 80. 55 cm. The tomb garden consists of two main components: a cross-axial, four-fold garden—in the form of a classical ch? rb? gh (? g. 3: B)—and, towards the river, a raised terrace on which are placed the mausoleum and its ? anking buildings (? g. 3: A).In this, the Taj Mahal garden follows the form of the typical garden of Mughal Agra, the waterfront garden. As I have shown elsewhere, this is a speci? c form of the ch? rb? gh developed by the Mughals in response to the the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance geographic conditions of the Indo-Gangetic plain, and more speci? cally for the riverfront situation at Agra. Here the water source was not a lively spring on a mountain slope, as i n the Mughals’ native Central Asia, but a large, slow-? owing river, from which the desired running water had to be brought into the garden by means of water lifts.Accordingly, the Mughals conceived a garden type to take advantage of this waterfront situation; the main building was not placed in the center of the garden, as in the classical Mughal ch? rb? gh, but rather on an oblong terrace (kurs? ) running along the riverfront. The garden component was on the landward side of the terrace. This shift towards the riverfront provided the main garden pavilions with the climatic advantages of running water and presented a carefully composed front to viewers on a boat or across the river (? g. 2). From the garden itself, the buildings presented an equally satisfying backdrop (? . 1). 15 URBAN CONTEXT Mughal Agra consisted of two bands of such riverfront gardens lining the Jamna, of which only a few survive today. The key to my reconstruction of this riverfront scheme, which formed the urban context of the Taj, is a plan of Agra dating from the 1720s, in the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum in the City Palace in Jaipur; to my knowledge it is the earliest plan of the city (? g. 5). 16 It shows forty-four garden complexes (including the Agra Fort) along the river and gives their names, which are usually those of their owners, in Devanagari script. 7 Information about these gardens can also be pieced together from the Mughal histories and eulogistic descriptions of Agra, in which gardens of members of the imperial family and of nobles are occasionally mentioned, especially in the context of an imperial visit. Another source is topographical descriptions of Agra written in Persian by local informants for British administrators after the British took Agra in 1803. In his Tafr? h al-{im? r? t (1825–26), Sil Chand describes the gardens of Agra by the same names as feature on the Jaipur plan. 8 The main owners of the riverfront gardens of Agra were the emper ors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, members of their imperial family, and their nobility the amirs and man? abd? rs. Even Mumtaz Mahal had a garden at Agra, which she bequeathed to her daughter Jahanara; what is left of this Bagh-i Jahanara is now known by the corrupted name Zahara Bagh and lies south of the 131 Ram Bagh, originally Nur Jahan’s Bagh-i Nur Afshan (? g. 5: 3 and 4; ? g. 6). 19 The evidence indicates that most of these gardens followed the riverfront design, with the main building on a terrace overlooking the river and a ch? rb? gh on the landward side. 0 ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLEX RESUMED The design of the Taj garden thus introduces an established Mughal residential garden type into the context of a monumental imperial mausoleum. The waterfront scheme not only determines the shape of the funerary garden of the Taj, it is also a key element in the planning of the entire Taj complex. At the part of it to the south of the garden is a large rectangle (? g. 3: C) whose centr al square forms the Taj forecourt, called jilawkh? na by Shah Jahan’s chroniclers, the of? cially appointed court historian {Abd al-Hamid Lahawri and Muhammad Salih Kanbu, who wrote on his own account.Both provide us with almost identical detailed descriptions of the entire Taj Mahal complex, on the occasion of its of? cial completion on 17 Dhu ’l-Qa{da 1052 (February 6, 1643). 21 Both historians are remarkably consistent in their use of architectural terms; I follow their terminology. The jilawkh? na square (? g. 3: 11) is framed on both of its shorter sides by two smaller courtyard enclosures. An open bazaar street (? g. 3: 12a, 12b) divides these courtyards and provides the main access to the jilawkh? na and, beyond that, through a monumental gateway (? g. 3: 9), to the tomb garden.The northern pair of courtyards contained the residential quarters for the tomb attendants, the khaw p? ras (? g. 3: 10a, 10b). The southern pair contained subsidiary tomb gardens of less er wives of Shah Jahan, whose identity is still under debate (? g. 3: 13a, 13b). These tomb enclosures echoed the design of the main tomb garden on a smaller scale because they followed the characteristic waterfront scheme of a cross-axial ch? rb? gh combined with an oblong terrace on which stood the tomb structure and its ? anking buildings. (These buildings, with one exception, are no longer preserved. On the outside of the Taj complex are three buildings, two to the west (? g. 3: 20, 21) and one to the east; the latter represents another subsidiary tomb complex of this type (? g. 3: 13c). The waterfront scheme is thus transferred to a landlocked situation in these miniature replicas of the main garden. Not only that, but the waterfront garden is also used as the ordering scheme for the entire sub- 132 ebba koch Fig. 3. Site plan of the Taj Mahal with terms derived from the Persian descriptions by Lahawri and Kanbu of 1643: A. riverfront terrace (kurs? ), B. tomb garden (b? gh), C . omplex of the forecourt (jilawkh? na), D. complex with cross-shaped (ch? r s? ) bazaar and four caravanserais (sar? }? ), 1. mausoleum (raw ¬a), 2. mosque (masjid), 3. assembly hall (mihm? n kh? na), 4a–f. wall towers (burj), 5. pool (haw ¬), 6. first temporary burial site of Mumtaz Mahal, 7a, b. garden wall pavilions ({im? rat) popularly called Naubat Khana (Drum House), 8. double arcaded galleries to the south of the garden (? w? n dar ? w? n), 9. gate (darw? za), 10a, b. quarters for tomb attendants (khaw p? ra), 11. forecourt (jilawkh? na), 12a–f. bazaar streets (b? z? r), 13a–c. ubsidiary tombs (maqbara) all popularly called Saheli Burj (Tower of the Female Friend), 14. gates (darw? za): 14a. popularly called Fatehpuri Gate, 14b. popularly called Fatehabad Gate, 15. gate (darw? za) popularly called Sirhi Darwaza, 16. caravan> the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance 133 Fig. 4. Plan of the preserved complex. (Drawing: Richard A. Barraud and Ebba Koch) serai (sar? }? ) known since the eighteenth century as: 16a Katra (Market) Omar Khan, 16b. Katra Fulel (Market of Perfumes), 16c. Katra Resham (Silk Market), 16d. Katra Jogidas, 17. entral square (chawk), 18a, b. west and east gates of the bazaar and caravanserai complex, 19. south gate of the bazaar and caravanserai complex popularly called Dakhnay Darwaza, 20. outer western tomb, 21. mosque popularly called Fatehpuri Masjid. (Drawing: Richard A. Barraud and Ebba Koch) 134 ebba koch Fig. 5. Plan of Agra, drawn with added numbering after a plan painted on cloth datable to the 1720s, 294 x 272 cm, in the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, City Palace, Jaipur (cat. no. 126): 3. Ram Bagh (Bagh-i Nur Afshan), 4. Zahara Bagh (Bagh-i Jahanara), 9. Tomb of I{timad al-Dawla, 17.Mahtab Bagh, 20. Taj Mahal, 28. Agra Fort. (Drawing: Richard A. Barraud and Ebba Koch) sidiary complex of the Taj. In order to understand the complete design, we must turn to contemporary desc ription and look at eighteenth- and nineteenthcentury plans (compare ? gs. 3 and 7). 22 From these it becomes apparent that south of the jilawkh? na there was another courtyard complex with a cross-axial arrangement (? g. 3: D). It was formed by open, intersecting bazaar streets (? g. 3: 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f), which corresponded to the walkways of the garden, and four squarish sar? }? , that is, caravanserais or inns (? g. 3: 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d), taking the place of the four gar- den plots. We meet here with a unique and highly creative transfer of a ch? rb? gh design onto a complex of utilitarian civic architecture. Hence the con? guration of the rectangular unit containing the jilawkh? na and the cross-axial unit to its south echoed the waterfront scheme of the Taj garden. The entire complex of the Taj Mahal thus consisted formally of two units following the waterfront design—that of the Taj garden, a true waterfront garden, and that of the landlocked variant of the subsidiar y units.The tomb garden and the subsidiary complex were the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance 135 Fig. 6. Plan of preserved and reconstructible building substance of the so-called Zahara Bagh, identified as Bagh-i Jahanara (late 1620s to 1630s), Agra. (Drawing: Richard A. Barraud and Ebba Koch) connected not only formally but also functionally. The utilitarian unit serviced the funerary unit of the tomb garden. By imperial command the upkeep of the tomb was ? nanced by the income generated from the bazaars and caravanserais, in addition to that of thirty villages from the district of Agra. 3 The service unit was the counterpart (qar? na)24 of the tomb complex, linked to it by design and function. The two zones, the funerary and the â€Å"wordly,† relate also to the dialectics of the Islamic concept of d? n waduny? }, the domains of the spiritual and the material life. 25 Furthermore, the addition to the mausoleum complex of quarters for merchants and foreign travelers ensured â€Å"that the whole world should see and admire its magni? cence,† in the words of the French jeweler and traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who was in Agra in 1640–41, and again in 1665. 6 Its reception through world travelers—jah? n-naward? n or rawandah? – 136 ebba koch yi {? lam, as the Mughals called them27—thus forms an integral part of the concept of the Taj Mahal. Of this two-part service unit, the southern cross-axial component is the great mystery of the Taj Mahal: we do not really know how much of it survives. Hardly anybody who walks through the southern gate of the jilawkh? na (? g. 3: 15) and enters the narrow street with the marble inlay workshops realizes that this area, known as the Taj Ganj, was originally part of the Taj complex.Here a densely built city quarter has grown up in which the architecture of Shah Jahan has been buried almost entirely; today one can make out only fragments of the wings of the original bazaars and caravanserais. The four gates of the central square or chawk are preserved (although two only in part) and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (? g. 8). The Taj Ganj is, however, an integral part of the Taj Mahal, an indispensable component of its planning. It has been lost, but there is no doubt that it should be given back to the Taj by some means.I am planning to do this in the form of an architectural model that will reconstruct the entire complex of the Taj Mahal, the River Jamna, and the imperial garden called Mahtab Bagh on the opposite side of the river. The model will enable visitors to understand that the Taj is unique not only because of the grandness of the tomb building but also because of the carefully planned creative design, the scale, and the multifunctional complexity of the entire compound. It will also draw attention to the Taj Mahal as a constituent part of the urban scheme of Agra.I envisage placing the model in the new Visitors ’ Center at the Taj Mahal, in the eastern and western courtyards of the khaw p? ras (? g. 9), today called, respectively, Fatehabad Gate Court and Fatehpuri Gate Court. The Taj Mahal Visitors’ Center is part of a new initiative for â€Å"the conservation and restoration†¦of the Taj Mahal and surrounding areas and a new site visitor management,† realized since 2001 in a partnership between the Indian government, represented by the Archaeological Survey of India, and the private sector—the Indian Hotels Company Ltd. that is, the Tata Group of Hotels. The project is monitored by the Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative, directed by the conservation architect Rahul Mehrotra and by Amita Baig, and advised by a body of global experts of which I am part. 28 Fig. 7. Plan of the entire Taj Mahal complex with designations of the main buildings in Persian, late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, Museum fur Indische Kunst, Berlin, MIK 10060. the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance 137 Fig. 8. Taj Mahal, bazaar and caravanserai complex (fig. : D), gate of the central chawk (square) leading to the northeastern caravanserai today called Katra Fulel (fig. 3: 16b). The area is now built in and over by the city quarter Taj Ganj; in the background can be seen the gate of the Taj Mahal garden, behind it part of the mausoleum, and to the right the Mihman Khana. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1999) THE TAJ AS BUILT ARCHITECTURAL THEORY The reconstruction of the original complex of the Taj establishes the determinant role of the waterfront garden in its planning.The complex of the Taj Mahal not only explores the potential of the waterfront garden as an ideal funerary and a utilitarian worldly form, it also expresses canonically the architectural principles of the period. We have no texts to turn to because the Mughals had no written architectural theory, and one wonders to what extent they were affected by the ancient Shastric traditi on of building theory. The Sanskrit texts translated in an extensive program under Akbar did not include the outstanding Indian genre of art and architectural theory, the shilpa sh? stras and v? st? sh? tras, respectively; theorizing about art was not a Mughal literary preoccupation. True, it was hardly a major theme elsewhere in the Islamic world, but one would have expected the Mughals to become interested in the ancient Indian textual tradition of art theory, all the more since, like the Muslim dynasties in India before them, they continued to absorb Indian artistic conventions into their art and architecture, and even newly revived them. However, the fact that no texts exist does not mean that architectural theory was absent from Mughal thinking, especially in the time of Shah Jahan.My investigations have shown that theory was laid down in the architecture itself. As in painting—and I have tried to establish this for the historical images illustrating Shah Jahan’s history, the P? dsh? hn? ma29—the ruler’s buildings and formal gardens express these concepts so systematically that we can derive them from their form itself. The Taj is 138 ebba koch Fig. 9. Taj Mahal, view from the roof level of the gate towards southeast onto the khaw p? ra (quarter of attendants) now called Fatehabad Gate Courtyard (fig. 3: 10b) and the subsidiary tomb to the east of the jilawkh? na (fig. 3: 13b). Photo: Ebba Koch, 1995) â€Å"built architectural theory,† which can be read almost like a literary text once we have mastered the grammar and vocabulary of the architectural language. The buildings speak to us â€Å"with mute eloquence† (bazab? n b? zab? n? ), as Lahawri puts it. 30 We note here the purest expression of a consistent formal systematization characteristic of the entire art of Shah Jahan; it represents a distinctive and outstanding contribution speci? c to this period. The principles of Shahjahani architecture, which interact closely with one another, can be identi? ed as follows: 1. Geometrical planning. . Symmetry. Favored in particular is bilateral symmetry, for which we even have a term in contemporary descriptions of buildings, namely, qar? na,31 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. an Arabic word that expresses the notion of pairing and counterparts but also of integration, thus ? tting conceptually into the ideas of universal harmony that played a great role in the imperial ideology of Shah Jahan. In a typical Shahjahani qar? na scheme, two symmetrical features, one mirroring the other, are arranged on both sides of a central, dominant feature. Hierarchy. This is the overriding principle, which governs all the others.Proportional formulas expressed in triadic divisions. Uniformity of shapes, ordered by hierarchical accents. Sensuous attention to detail. Selective use of naturalism. Symbolism. the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance 139 Fig. 10. Agra Fort, courtyard now called Machchhi Bhawan, originally the â€Å"Ground Floor Courtyard of the Hall of Private Audiences† (Dawlat Khana-i Khass), south wing with marble baldachin for Shah Jahan’s throne, 1630s (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1980) A palace wing of the so-called Machchhi Bhawan (1630s) in the Agra fort illustrates these principles very clearly (? . 10). The wing consists of uniformly shaped arcades with a hierarchical accent in the center, in the form of the emperor’s marble baldachin. The central feature and the identical arcades on both sides express in a triadic division bilateral symmetry, or qar? na. The baldachin attains its hierarchical accentuation by the use of nobler material—namely, white marble—and with selective naturalism: it is formed of organic baluster columns, decorated with naturalistically sculpted acanthus leaves that also appear in stucco as decoration of the interior cupola.These elements are shaped with sensuous attention to detail and are in stark contrast to the plainer arcades of the wings. The organic plant forms of the baldachin symbolize the emperor, whose throne stood below it, as the generator of blossoming and wellbeing. 32 This is underlined by the pot with over? owing leaves out of which grows each of the four columns—a p? r? a ghata or p? r? a kalasha, in Indian architecture an ancient symbol of growth, fecundity, and prosperity (? g. 11). 33 This example is meant to suggest that the same principles govern the entire architecture of Shah Jahan— palaces, gardens, mosques, and mausoleums.They are, however, expressed most grandly and most consistently in the Taj Mahal, whose architecture epitomizes the Shahjahani system. THE PRINCIPLES OF SHAHJAHANI ARCHITECTURE AS EXPRESSED IN THE TAJ MAHAL First, a rational and strict geometry is ensured by the use of grid systems based on the Shahjahani gaz. Different modules are used for the garden and the subsidiary 140 ebba koch gate (darw? za) to the garden (? g. 3: 9), the fore court (jilawkh? na) (? g. 3: 11) and its southern gate (? g. 3: 15), the square (chawk) (? g. 3: 17), and the southern gate of the bazaar and caravanserai complex (? g. : 19). These elements are ? anked on both sides by pairs of identical buildings: the mosque (masjid) (? g. 3: 2) and the assembly hall (mihm? n kh? na) (? g. 3: 3), two garden wall pavilions (cim? rat), now called Naubat Khana (? g. 3: 7a, 7b), and, to accentuate the corners of the enclosure wall and the terrace step, three pairs of tower pavilions (burj) (? g. 3: 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f). The elements of the subsidiary unit (? g. 3: C, D) are arranged in the same mirror symmetry. Integrated into the overall qar? na symmetry are centrally planned elements, namely the four-part garden (b? gh) (? g. : B), the four-part bazaar-and-caravanserai complex (? g. 3: D), the miniature ch? rb? ghs of the subsidiary tombs (? g. 3: 13a, 13b); the individual buildings of the mausoleum (? g. 3: 1) and gate (? g. 3: 9) are raised ove r central plans (compare ? gs. 3 and 4). Each element plays an indispensable part in the composition; if just one part were missing, the balance of the entire composition would be destroyed. Bilateral symmetry dominated by a central accent has generally been recognized as an ordering principle of the architecture of rulers aiming at absolute power—a symbol of the ruling force that brings about balance and harmony.For Earl E. Rosenthal, this is expressed in the palace built into the Alhambra in Granada by Charles V in 1526 as a statement of the Christian Reconquista of Spain, â€Å"a striking symbol of the strati? cation of aristocratic society under centralized authority. †35 Third, triadic divisions bound together in proportional formulas determine the shape of plans, elevations, and architectural ornament of the Taj. A leitmotif is the tripartite composition consisting of a dominant feature in the center ? anked by two identical elements; the con? uration relates in turn to hierarchy as well as to qar? na symmetry (? gs. 1 and 12). Fourth is the hierarchical grading of material, forms, and color down to the minutest ornamental detail. Particular striking is hierarchical use of color: the only building in the whole complex faced entirely with white marble is the mausoleum. All the subsidiary structures of the Taj complex are faced with red sandstone; special features such as domes may be clad in white marble (? gs. 1, 2, 12). This hierarchic use of white marble and red sandstone is typical of impe- Fig. 11.Marble baluster column of the baldachin of Shah Jahan’s throne, topped with an acanthus capital and growing out of a pot with overflowing acanthus leaves, the Indian pur? a ghata. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1979) complexes, and even individual buildings have their own grid. The unit of the garden and the riverfront terrace is based on a grid with a 23-gaz module, and the unit of the jilawkh? na and bazaar and caravanserai complex on a 17-gaz mo dule. In the planning of the mausoleum a 7-gaz module is used and in that of the gate a 3-gaz module. 34 Second, there is perfect symmetrical planning with emphasis on bilateral symmetry (qar? a) along a central axis on which are placed the main features. The main axis running north-south is represented by the garden canal and the bazaar street in its extension. On it are set the dominant features: the mausoleum (raw ¬a) (? g. 3: 1), the pool (haw ¬) (? g. 3: 5), the the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance 141 Fig. 12. Taj Mahal, Mihman Khana (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1996) rial Mughal architecture, but here it is explored with unparalleled sophistication. It represents the clearest link to pre-Islamic Indian Shastric concepts and expresses social strati? cation.The Mughals elaborated here an architectural praxis that already had been adopted by the early sultans of Delhi and that conforms to older Indian concepts laid down in the Shastric literature. The Vishnud harmottara, an authoritative compilation composed in Kashmir in about the eighth century, recommended white-colored stone for Brahmin buildings and red for those of the Kshatriyas, the warrior caste:36 â€Å"White, it would seem, is opposed to red as the purity of the Brahmin is opposed to the ruling power of the Kshatriya. † The synthesis of the two colors had an auspicious connotation. 7 By using white and red in their buildings, the Mughals represented themselves in the terms of the two highest levels of the Indian social system: architecturally speaking, they were the new Brahmins and the new Kshatryas of the age. Until Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperors were concerned to de? ne themselves as rulers in Indian as well as Muslim terms; the historian {Abd al-Qadir Bada}uni (d. 1004/1595–96), who was an orthodox Muslim and wrote a history of Akbar on his own account, criticized the emperor for letting himself be addressed as an incarnation â€Å"like Rama, Krishna, and ot her in? del kings. 38 Fifth is the uniformity of shapes, ordered by hierarchical accents: for instance, only one type of columnar support—the Shahjahani column—is used in the entire complex. It has a multifaceted shaft, a muqarnas capital, and a base formed of multicusped-arched panels39 and is always combined with a multicusped arch. The proportions and details of the columns may vary according to their position in the complex. In the galleries on both sides of the gate (? g. 3: 8a, 8b) they form monumental arcades (? g. 13, and cf. ?g. 10); on the roof level of the mausoleum similar arcades on a smaller scale are set in the back sides of the p? ht? qs (portals), and Shahjahani half-columns 142 ebba koch Fig. 13. Taj Mahal, galleries south of garden on both sides of the gate (fig. 3: 18), Shahjahani column with faceted shaft, muqarnas capital, and base formed of four multicusped panels, each enriched with a flowering plant in relief. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1995) Fig. 14. Taj Mahal, roof level, pillar with paired Shahjahani half-columns of roof chhatr? (kiosk), behind the back side of the p? sht? q (porch) with gallery formed of Shahjahani columns and multicusped arches. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1996) ?ank the pillars of the four marble chhatr? (kiosks) surrounding the main dome (? g. 14). This uniformity is true of the entire architectural vocabulary and its decoration; it applies to the paneling of the walls with shallow multicusped niches and cartouches, and to the treatment of vaults. One type of decorative facing is used for the main vaults and the half vaults of the mausoleum and gate (? gs. 15, 16)—a network developed from points arranged in concentric circles, which Shah Jahan’s authors described as q? lib k? r? , or mold work, because in the original plaster form of the vault the pattern was applied by means of molds (? g. 15).The design was transferred into marble in the central dome and half vaults of the p? sht? qs of the mausoleu m (? g. 16). Sixth, the principle of sensuous attention to detail is expressed most exemplarily in the ? owers of the mausoleum dado and in the exquisite pietra dura (literally, â€Å"hard stone†: gemstone inlay) decoration of the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan and the screen that surrounds them (? gs. 17, 18, 20, 21). Seventh, in the Taj the selective use of naturalism emphasizes hierarchy. The most naturalistic decor appears in the chief building of the entire complex, the mausoleum (? s. 17, 18, 20, 21). Eighth, the sophisticated symbolism in the architec- the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance 143 Fig. 15. Taj Mahal, garden gate, half vault of the southern p? sht? q showing plaster facing with q? lib k? r? , that is, a network forming kite-shaped compartments developed from stars arranged in concentric tiers. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1996) Fig. 16. Taj Mahal, mausoleum, central dome with q? lib k? r? in marble relief. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1996) 1 44 ebba koch brought to its ultimate monumentalized design; thus it was raised to a level above the sphere of mortals.The concept of the eschatological house also governs the elaborate program of the inscriptions, designed by Amanat Khan Shirazi. Z. A. Desai and Wayne Begley have shown that passages of the Qur}an selected for the inscriptions focus on themes of the Last Judgment, divine mercy, the reward of the faithful, and Paradise (? g. 19). 42 Such themes are entirely ? tting for the mausoleum in their evocation of the abode prepared for Mumtaz in Paradise. Begley, however, uses the evidence for another, less close-at-hand reading and sees in the Taj Mahal an architectural realization of an Islamic cosmological scheme—namely, the oncept of the Throne of God on the Day of Judgment, as envisaged and recorded in a diagram by the thirteenth-century Spanish mystic Ibn al-{Arabi in his Fut t al-Makkiyya (1238). 43 Why then, as Maria Eva Subtelny has pointed out, 44 is the famou s Throne verse (Qur}an 2:255) extolling God’s majesty45 absent from the inscriptional program of the Taj Mahal? Begley’s interpretation ignores not only that, but also the use of an established Agra garden plan for the layout of tural program expresses, as I have suggested, the concept of the mausoleum as earthly realization of the mansion of Mumtaz in the garden of Paradise.This is clearly formulated by Lahawri in the of? cial history of the emperor’s reign: †¦the exalted mausoleum, which imitates the gardens of Rizwan [the guardian of Paradise], and which gives an impression of Paradise (literally, the holy enclosures) (raw ¬a-i mu}all? ki az riy?  ¬-i Ri ¬w? n hik? yat kard wa az ha }ir[rat al-] quds nish? n dahad). 40 Mughal eulogistical references have a complexity of their own; while they may represent a purely literary convention, they can also have a direct bearing on the work of architecture or art that they praise.In order to arrive at their meaning, the metaphors used in such eulogies thus have to be carefully evaluated against the evidence brought forth by formal analysis. 41 In the Taj Mahal, every aspect of the architecture supports the concept of the paradisiacal mansion. It is expressed in the overall planning of the entire complex. The waterfront garden, a typical residential garden form of Agra, was realized in ideal forms and Fig. 17. Taj Mahal, p? sht? q of mausoleum, marble dados with rows of naturalistic flowers representing heavenly flowerbeds. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1978) he taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance 145 Fig. 18. Taj Mahal, p? sht? q of the mausoleum, dado flowers of mixed botanical species, detail. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1978) the mausoleum. 46 He also disregards another highly relevant aspect, that is, the ? oral decoration that forms an integral part of the building. In a direct appeal to our senses, the concept of the paradisiacal garden house is expressed in the delicate ? ow ers that appear on the dados, at the eye level of the beholder. They are carved in sensuous detail and represent naturalistic but not necessarily identi? ble botanical species47 that transform the lower walls of the mausoleum into ever-blooming paradisiacal ? owerbeds (? gs. 17, 18). The naturalistic decoration culminates in the interior, in the central ensemble of the cenotaphs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan and the screen that surrounds them. These are covered with spectacular ? owers and plants inlaid with semi-precious stones, in commesso (composition) di pietre dure; the Mughals called the technique parch? n k? r? (literally: â€Å"driven-in work†) (? g. 20). The poet Abu Talib Kalim tells us that the painterly effects that could be obtained with parch? k? r? made it possible to create the desired naturalistic ? owers, permanent and thus superior images of their counterparts in nature: On each stone a hundred colors, paintings, and ornaments Have become apparent through the ch isel’s blade. Fig. 19. Taj Mahal, interior of the central hall, south arch. End of the inscription of Qur}an 39:53–54, with the colophon of the calligrapher, reading â€Å"Finished with His [God’s] help; written by the humble faqir Amanat Khan al-Shirazi, in the year one thousand and forty-eight Hijri [1638–39], and the twelfth of His Majesty’s auspicious accession. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 2001) 146 ebba koch Fig. 20. Cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal (1632) and Shah Jahan (1666) in the main tomb hall. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 1981) Fig. 21. Cenotaph of Shah Jahan in the lower tomb chamber (â€Å"crypt†). Detail of poppies and yellow flowers set in cartouches, inlaid with semi-precious stones in pietra dura/parch? n k? r? technique. (Photo: Ebba Koch, 2002) the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance The chisel has become the pen of Mani48 Painting so many pictures upon the translucent marble (? b-i marmar). †¦.Pictures become manifest from every stone; In its mirror behold the image of a flower garden. They have inlaid flowers of stone in the marble: What they lack in smell they make up with color. Those red and yellow flowers that dispel the heart’s grief, are completely out of carnelian and amber. †¦. When of such stones the surface of a tomb is made, The deceased will [want to] clasp the flower pictures to her heart. 49 147 and to provide a lasting memorial to his fame. Strict formal principles served to express within each work of art and each building the hierarchy and timeless order of Shahjahani rule.With their successful appeal to our senses, the seductive aesthetics make the message the more persuasive. It is the fusion of the intellectual and the sensuous that has made the Taj Mahal such a successful monument up to the present day. Lastly, the close connection between form and meaning in Shahjahani art makes it a methodological exemplar of general art-historical relevance; it reminds us tha t formal analysis should not be in opposition to a contextual approach but rather a starting point for art as history.Institute fur Kunstgeschichte University of Vienna NOTES Author’s note: A visiting fellowship from the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University in autumn 2002 enabled me to work on the manuscript of Taj Mahal, and to present my ? ndings in a lecture in the Aga Khan Program Lecture Series on Nov. 14, 2003, which forms the basis of this article. I thank Gulru Necipoqlu, David Roxburgh, Jeffery Spurr, Andras Riedlmayer, and Sunil Sharma for their interest in my research and their help during my stay in Cambridge.For supporting my project of the documentation and analysis of the Taj Mahal, I wish to thank the Jubilaumsfonds der Osterreichischen Nationalbank, the Bundesministerium fur Unterricht und Kulturelle Angelegenheiten, Austria, and Mr. E. Alkazi. 1. W. E. Begley, â€Å"The Myth of the Taj Mahal and a New Theory of its Symbolic Meanin g,† The Art Bulletin 61 (1979): 7– 37. Begley’s interpretation of the building as a replica of the Throne of God became widely known, probably because of its eccentricity and also because there was no proposed alternative; it even made its way into the popular travel guide literature: see Lonely Planet: India, 8th ed. Hawthorne: Victoria, Australia, 1999), 392. 2. The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra (London: Thames and Hudson, forthcoming 2006). 3. Mu? ammad Am? n Qazw? n? , P? dsh? hn? ma, British Library Asia, Paci? c, and Africa Collections (henceforth BL APAC), Or. 173, fol. 234b (librarian’s refoliation 235b), my translation; cf. the translation of this passage in W. E. Begley and Z. A. Desai, Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb: An Anthology of Seventeenth-Century Mughal and European Documentary Sources (Cambridge, MA: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture and Seattle: University of Washington Press, ca. 989), 42. 4. {Abd al-Yam? d L? hawr? , The B? dsh? hn? mah (Persian text), ed. M. Kab? r al-D? n A? mad and M. {Abd al-Ra m (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1865–72) vol. 1, pt. 1, 403, my trans. ; cf. the trans. of this passage in Begley and Desai, Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb, 43. 5. I thank Dr. S. M. Yunus Jaffery for his continuing assistance in reading and translating Mughal source material. On both cenotaphs of Shah Jahan, which were placed next to those of Mumtaz after his death in 1666, the decoration with paradisiacal ? owers was given preference even over inscriptions.Inscriptions had decorated the sarcophagus-like element of both cenotaphs of Mumtaz, the one in the lower and the other in the upper tomb chamber, and full ? owering plants appear only on the platform of her upper cenotaph. But both of Shah Jahan’s cenotaphs are covered all over with ? owers (? gs. 20, 21); the only epigraphy appears in the form of a brief historical epitaph at the south end of each cenotaph. The w eight given to ? oral decoration is in tune, on the one hand, with the overall concept of the mausoleum as paradisiacal garden house, but the exclusively ? oral decoration of the emperor’s cenotaphs makes a more speci? statement, relating, even after his death, to the use of ? ora in his court settings to express imperial propaganda. The court poets and writers tell us that Shah Jahan was â€Å"the spring of the ? ower garden of justice and generosity,†50 the renewer (mujaddid) under whose rule â€Å"Hindustan has become the rose garden of the earth, and his reign†¦has become the spring season of the age in which the days and nights are young. †51 CONCLUSION From our investigations, the reign of Shah Jahan emerges as a time when the visual arts were most consistently and systematically explored as a means of promulgating imperial ideology.The written texts and the arts were seen as equally necessary means to represent the ruler and his state for a wider pub lic 148 6. ebba koch My ? eld research provides the material for a constantly expanding archive, which today comprises several hundred architectural drawings prepared mainly by Richard A. Barraud and ca. 50,000 photographs taken by myself. E. W. Smith, The Moghul Architecture of Fathpur-Sikri, Archaeological Survey of India: New Imperial Series (henceforth ASINIS) 18, 4 vols. (1894–98, repr.Delhi: Caxton Publications, 1985); idem, Akbar’s Tomb, Sikandarah near Agra, Described and Illustrated, ASINIS 35 (Allahabad: Superintendent Government Press, United Provinces, 1909). In the second Indian edition (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002), 98–101. The most useful studies are Muhammad Abdulla Chaghtai, Le Tadj Mahal d’Agra (Brussels, 1938); R. A. Jairazbhoy, â€Å"The Taj Mahal in the Context of East and West: A Study in Comparative Method,† Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 24 (1961): 59–88; Dieter Brandenburg, Der Taj Mahal in Agra (Berlin, 1969); R.Nath, The Immortal Taj Mahal (Bombay, 1972); and Lisa Golombek, â€Å"From Tamerlane to the Taj Mahal,† in Islamic Art and Architecture: In Honor of Katharina Otto-Dorn, ed. A. Daneshvari, Islamic Art and Architecture, 1 (Malibu, 1981), 43–50. Muhammad Moin-ud-din, The History of the Taj (Agra, 1905), recorded for the ? rst time the inscriptions of the Taj; his pioneering effort was superseded by Begley and Desai, Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb. For excellent photographs by Jean Nou, see Amina Okada and M. C.Joshi, Taj Mahal (New York, London, and Paris: Abbeville Press, 1993): unfortunately the illustrations are only partly identi? ed. For further literature on the Taj Mahal, see Ebba Koch, â€Å"T? dj Ma? all,† Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. (henceforth EI2) (Leiden: Brill, 1960–2004), vol. 10, 58–60, and idem, Complete Taj Mahal. Koch, â€Å"T? dj Ma? all,† ? g. 4 presents my new overall plan of the complex for the ? rst time. A brief assessment based on this survey is idem, â€Å"The Taj Mahal,† in The Seventy Architectural Wonders of Our World, ed. Neil Parkyn (London: Thames and Hudson, 2002), 57–61.We measured the buildings with metal and plastic tapes and with a laser measuring instrument called Disto Basic, made by Leica. Based on our survey, Richard Barraud did the scale drawings by hand; I took the photographs with a Nikon FS Photomic. All plans and photographs illustrating this article are part of this survey. A selection is published in Koch, â€Å"Taj Mahal,† 60. Jaques Derrida, â€Å"Structure, Sign, and Play,† Writing and Difference, trans. A. Bass (Chicago, 1978). The width of the complex at the southern, jilawkh? na, end measures 300. 84 m; at the riverfront it is 300 m. This is explained by Richard A.Barraud in his pioneering study â€Å"The Modular Planning of the Taj Mahal,† based on our measurements and illustrated with three drawings, in Koch, Complete Taj Mahal. Barraud refutes Begley’s assumption that the planning of the Taj can be reconstructed by putting a decimal grid over the whole complex and explaining away the features that do not ? t into it. See Begley and Desai, Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb, ? gs. 13–15, and W. E. Begley, â€Å"The Garden of the Taj Mahal: A Case Study of Mughal Architectural Planning and Symbolism,† in Mughal Gardens: Sources, Places, Representations, and Prospects, ed. J. L. Wescoat, Jr. and J.WolschkeBulmahn (Washington, DC, 1996). In earlier publications I have given differing measurements of the complex. In Koch, â€Å"T? dj Ma? all,† 58, a misprint occurred in the rendering of the gaz equivalents of the preserved part, which are indicated as 690 x 313 gaz instead of 696 x 374 gaz. In my essay in Seventy Architectural Wonders, 61, the overall length of the complex is given as 897. 3 x 300 m, because we took it from the outer face of the southernmost g ate, which projects 1. 20 m from the enclosure wall. From this comes the overall length of 1114 gaz cited in Koch, â€Å"T? dj Ma? all,† 58, which differs from the one given here as 1112. gaz. Ebba Koch, â€Å"The Mughal Waterfront Garden,† in Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim Empires: Theory and Design, Supplements to Muqarnas, 7, ed. Attilio Petruccioli (Leiden, New York, and Cologne: Brill, 1997), 140–60, repr. in Ebba Koch, Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001), 183–202. Cat. no. 126. The plan is painted on cloth and measures 294 x 272 cm. I have studied it since the mid-1980s and discussed it in several publications: see Ebba Koch, â€Å"The Zahara Bagh (Bagh-i Jahanara) at Agra,† Environmental Design 2 (1986): 30– 37; idem, â€Å"The Mughal Waterfront Garden† in M.C. Beach, Ebba Koch, and Wheeler Thackston, King of the World: The Padshahnama: An Imperial Mughal Manuscript from the Roya l Library, Windsor Castle (London: Azimuth Editions and Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 1997), cat. no. 29, 185–87 and cat. no. 45, 209–10, ? g. 132. I thank Dr. B. M. Jawalia, Keeper of Manuscripts, for assisting me in reading the inscriptions of the plan in July 1985 and Feb. 1986, and Dr. A? ok Kumar Das, then Director of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, Jaipur, for the permission to study and to publish it. As no. 45 on the line drawing of ? g. I have added a further complex, which represents the Chhatri of Jaswant Singh (d. probably 1678), a well-preserved funerary complex that does not appear on the Jaipur map. L? lah S? l Chand, Tafr? h al-{im? r? t, compiled for James Stephen Lushington, Acting Collector and Magistrate of Agra, 1825–26, BL APAC, Pers. Or. 6371. I have used the copy prepared in 1836–37 for James Davidson, Sessions Judge, Agra, BL APAC, Pers. ms. 2450. Koch, â€Å"Zahara Bagh (Bagh-i Jahan ara). † For a full discussion of the Agra riverfront scheme, see Koch, Taj Mahal, chap. 1. L? hawr? , B? dsh? hn? ma, vol. 2, 322–31; and Mu? ammad O? li?Kanb? , {Amal-i O? li? , 3 vols. (Lahore, 1967–72) vol. 2, 315– 20; both trans. Begley and Desai in Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb, 65–82. On Mughal historiography, see the new study by Stephan Conermann, Historiographie als Sinnstiftung: Indopersische Geschichtsschreibung wahrend der Mogulzeit (932–1118/ 1516–1707) (Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2002), 422 (on L? hawr? ) and 125, 395–96, and passim (on Kanb? ). In his painstaking assessment, Conermann regrettably does not consider art and architecture as sources of history, as I have pleaded for in the introduction to Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, xxiii–xxvii.The ? rst dated plan of the entire complex is by the British landscape artists Thomas and William Daniell, who had it prepared in Agra in 1789 and published in th eir Two Views of the Taje Mahel at the City of Agra in Hindostan Taken in 1789 (London, 1801). A similar plan, but painted on cloth, is in the 7. 8. 9. 15. 16. 17. 10. 18. 11. 19. 20. 21. 12 . 13. 14. 22. the taj mahal: architecture, symbolism, and urban signi? cance Museum of the Taj Mahal (acc. no. 22), in the pavilion set in the western wall of the garden; another plan of this type, 280 x 85 cm, is in the Museum fur Indische Kunst, Berlin, no. I 10 060.It has been published in Pratapaditya Pal, Janice Leoshko, Joseph M. Dye III, and Stephen Markel, Romance of the Taj Mahal, exhibition catalogue (London: Thames and Hudson and Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989), 55, ? g. 41. The plans differ in the areas of the jil? wkhana and the caravansarais. L? hawr? , B? dsh? hn? ma, vol. 2, 329–30; Kanb? , {Amal-i O? li? , vol. 2, 319–20. See also Begley and Desai, Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb, 75, 81. For the term, see below. For d? n wa-duny? , see L. Gardet , â€Å"D? n,† EI2, vol. 2, 293–96, in particular 295. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Travels in India, 2 vols. English trans. V. Ball, 2nd ed. ed. William Crooke (London: Oxford University Press, 1925; repr. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, 1977), vol. 1, p. 90. See, e. g. , L? hawr? , B? dsh? hn? ma, vol. 1, pt. 1, 155. The aims of the venture have been laid down in Taj Mahal Agra Site Management Plan, brought out by the Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative together with the Archaeological Survey of India (March 2003); for my mission statement, delivered on Sept. 28, 2001, at the end of the ? rst advisors’ meeting on the conservation of the Taj Mahal (Sept. 25–28, 2001), see 5–6; for the model, see 66–67 and 70, ? g. 12.Ebba Koch, â€Å"The Principles of Shah-Jahani Painting,† in Beach, Koch, and Thackston, King of the World, 131–43; repr. in Ebba Koch, Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, 130–62. L? hawr? , B? ds h? hn? ma, vol. 1, pt. 1, 149. See, e. g. , L? hawr? , B? dsh? hn? ma, vol. 2, 327 with regard to the Taj Mahal, namely, the placement of the Mihman Khana and mosque to both sides of the mausoleum. This concept of rulership is explained in more detail below. On the adoption of the p? r? a ghata in Mughal architecture, see R. Nath, History of Decorative Art in Mughal Architecture (Delhi, Varanasi, and Patna: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976), 6– 10.Barraud, â€Å"Modular Planning of the Taj Mahal,† in Koch, Complete Taj Mahal. E. E. Rosenthal, The Palace of Charles V in Granada (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985), 249–50. See Priyabala Shah, trans. , Shri Vishnudharmottara, a Text of Ancient Indian Arts (Ahmedabad: The New Order Book Co. , n. d. [1990]), 268, 271. Brenda E. F. Beck, â€Å"Colour and Heat in South Indian Ritual,† Man: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, n. s. , 4: 553–72; the quoted passage is on 559. Beck investig ates the use of the two colors, red and white, in South Indian ritual; her ? ndings tally with the recommendations of the Vishnudharmotara. Abd al-Q? dir Bad? }? n? , Muntakhab al-Taw? r? kh, English trans. (vol. 2) W. H. Lowe, 2nd ed. (Bengal: Asiatic Society, 1924; repr. Delhi: Idarah-i-Adabiyat-i-Delli, 1973), 336. For Akbar representing himself on Indian terms, see Ebba Koch, â€Å"The 149 39. 40. 41. 23. 24. 25. 26. 42. 27. 28. 43. 44. 45. 46. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 47. 34. 35. 36. 48. 49. 37. 50. 38. 51. Intellectual and Artistic Climate at Akbar’s Court,† in John Seyller, The Adventures of Hamza: A Monument of Early Mughal Painting (London: Azimuth Editions and Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2002), 18–31.Koch, Mughal Architecture, 93. L? hawr? , B? dsh? hn? ma, vol. 2, 323; trans. E. Koch; cf. trans. of Begley and Desai in Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb, 66. E. Koch, introduction to Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, xxiii–xxiv; see also idem, â€Å"Diwan-i {Amm and Chihil Sutun: The Audience Halls of Shah Jahan,† Muqarnas 11 (1994): 143–65, in particular 149–52, repr. in Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, 229–54, in particular 242–43. For a compilation and translation of the inscriptions, see Begley and Desai, Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb, 195–244; for a discussion of their meaning, see W. E.Begley, â€Å"Amanat Khan and the Calligraphy on the Taj Mahal,† Kunst des Orients 12 (1978–79): 5–39; W. E. Begley, â€Å"The Myth of the Taj Mahal and a New Theory of Its Symbolic Meaning,† The Art Bulletin 61 (1979): 7–37. Begley, â€Å"Myth of the Taj Mahal,† in particular 25–27. Personal communication, Toronto, Dec. 5, 2002. For the frequent use of the Throne Verse in epigraphical programs, see E. D. Cruikshank Dodd, â€Å"The Image of the Word: Notes on the Religious Iconography of Islam,† Berytus 18 (1969): 35–61, 59; S. S . Blair, Islamic Inscriptions (New York: New York University Press, 1998), 69, 198, 214.I pointed this out in Mughal Architecture, 99; and in â€Å"The Mughal Waterfront Garden,† 143–44, repr. in Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, 196; but I could not convince Laura Parodi, â€Å"‘The Distilled Essence of the Timurid Spirit’: Some Observations on the Taj Mahal,† East and West 50, 1–4 (Dec. 2000): 535–42, in particular 539, where she considered my interpretation of the â€Å"ideal paradisiacal garden for the deceased† as â€Å"reductive† and preferred Begley’s Throne of God hypothesis. I have come back to the issue in the introduction to Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, xxiv.Both Begley and Parodi overlook the fact that, however spectacular their realization, the themes of Shahjahani art were conventional, as be? tting a ruler aspiring to classical equilibrium. Robert Skelton ? rst drew attention to the ambivalence of these ? oral creations in â€Å"A Decorative Motif in Mughal Art,† in Aspects of Indian Art: Papers Presented in a Symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Oct. 1970, ed. Pratapaditya Pal (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1972), 147–52. The founder of the Manicheans, and in Persian lore the ultimate painter. Ab? lib Kal? , P? dsh? hn? ma, Persian ms. , BL APAC, Ethe 1570, fol. 164a margin; my translation differs somewhat from that of Begley and Desai, Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb, 83. I thank Sunil Sharma for his advice. Bah? r-i gulist? n-i {adl u karam: Y? jj? Mu? ammad J? n Quds? , Zafarn? ma-i Sh? h Jah? n, BL APAC, Persian ms. Ethe 1552, fol. 129a. Kanb? , {Amal-i O? li? , vol. 3, 24; see also Ebba Koch, â€Å"Mughal Palace Gardens from Babur to Shah Jahan (1526–1648),† Muqarnas 14 (1997): 143–65, quotes on 159; repr. in Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, 203–28, quotes on 227.

Analysis of Special Economic Zones in India Essay

* INTRODUCTION: SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market oriented than a country’s typical or national laws. â€Å"Nationwide† laws may be suspended inside a special economic zone. The category ‘SEZ’ covers the following: * free trade zones (FTZ), * export processing Zones (EPZ) * free Zones (FZ) * industrial parks or industrial estates (IE) * free ports * free economic zones * urban enterprise zones Usually the goal of a structure is to increase foreign direct investment by foreign investors, typically an international business or a multinational corporation (MNC), development of infrastructure and to increase the employment. India was one of the first countries in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965. In order to overcome the shortcomings experienced on account of the multiplicity of controls and clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and an unstable fiscal regime and with a view to attract larger foreign investments in India, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy was announced in April 2000. * HISTORY: The world first known instance of SEZ have been found in an industrial park set up in Puerto Rico in 1947. In the 1960s, Ireland and Taiwan followed suit, but in the 1980s China made the SEZs gain global currency with its largest SEZ being the metropolis of Shenzhen.From 1965 onwards, India experimented with the concept of such units in the form of Export Processing Zones (EPZ). But a revolution came in 2000, when Murlisone Maran, then Commerce Minister, made a tour to the southern provinces of China. After returning from the visit, he incorporated the SEZs into the Exim Policy of India. Five year later, SEZ Act (2005) was also introduced and in 2006 SEZ Rules were formulated. The SEZ Act, 2005, was an important bill to be passed by the Government of India in order to instill confidence in investors and signal the Government’s commitment to a stable SEZ policy regime and with a view to impart stability to the SEZ regime thereby generating greater economic activity and employme nt through their establishment, a comprehensive draft SEZ Bill prepared after extensive discussions with the stakeholders. A number of meetings were held in various parts of the country both by the Minister for Commerce and Industry as well as senior officials for this purpose. The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June, 2005. The draft SEZ Rules were widely discussed and put on the website of the Department of Commerce offering suggestions/comments. Around 800 suggestions were received on the draft rules. After extensive consultations, the SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on 10 February 2006, providing for drastic simplification of procedures and for single window clearance on matters relating to central as well as state governments. The remaining part of India, not covered by the SEZ Rules, is known as the Domestic tariff area. Exports from Indian SEZ totalled 2.2 Trillion in 2009-10 fiscal. It grew by a stupendous 43% to reach 3.16 Trillion in 2010-11 fiscal. Indian SEZs have created over 840,000 jobs as of 2010-11. Within SEZs, a units may be set-up for the manufacture of goods and other activities including processing, assembling, trading, repairing, reconditioning, making of gold/silver, platinum jewellery etc. As per law, SEZ units are deemed to be outside the customs territory of India. Goods and services coming into SEZs from the domestic tariff area or DTA are treated as exports from India and goods and services rendered from the SEZ to the DTA are treated as imports into India. Currently, there are about 143 SEZs (as of June 2012) operating throughout India[5] and an additional 634 SEZs (as of June 2012) that have been formally/principally approved by the Government of India [6]: State/Union Territory| Number of operational Special Economic Zones (June 2012) * BENEFITS OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES: * Providing state-of-the-art infrastructure. * Access to a large well-trained and skilled work force * Incentives which include 100% income tax exemption for a period of five years and an additional 50% tax exemption for two years thereafter. * 100% FDI is also provided in the manufacturing sector. * Exemption from industrial licensing requirements and no import license requirements is also given to the SEZ units. Attractive incentive and great investment opportunities have attractive many business tycoons to step into the SEZ all over the country. The first step was taken by the Mahindra World City at Chennai. The SEZ was promoted by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and later on by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd holds 89% equity in the same. Later on, Reliance Industries also signed a pact with the Haryana government for setting up of the Rs. 25,000 crore multi products SEZ near Gurgaon in 2006. * OBLIGATIONS UNDER SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES: It is compulsory for every SEZ units in India to achieve positive net foreign exchange earning as per the formula given in paragraph Appendix 14-II (para 12.1) of Handbook of Procedures, Vol.1. For this particular purpose, a legal undertaking is required which has to be executed by a separate unit of the Development Commissioner. The is responsible for providing periodic reports to the Development Commissioner and Zone Customs as provided in Appendix 14-I F of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.1 * ROLE OF STATE GOVERNMENT IN ESTABLISHMENT OF SEZ UNITS: State Governments play a very active role to play in the establishment of SEZ unit. Any proposal for setting up of SEZ unit in the Private / Joint / State Sector is routed through the concerned State government who in turn forwards the same to the Department of Commerce with its recommendations for consideration. Before recommending any proposals to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Department of Commerce), the States Government properly checks all the necessary inputs such as water, electricity, etc required for the establishment of SEZ units. The State Government has to forward the proposal with its recommendation within 45 days from the date of receipt of such proposal to the Board of Approval. The applicant also has the option to submit the proposal directly to the Board of Approval. Representative of the State Government. * ADVANTAGES: * Allowed to carry forward losses. * No license required for import made under SEZ units. * Duty free import or domestic procurement of goods for setting up of the SEZ units. * Goods imported/procured locally are duty free and could be utilized over the approval period of 5 years. * Exemption from customs duty on import of capital goods, raw materials, consumables, spares, etc. * Exemption from Central Excise duty on the procurement of capital goods, raw materials, and consumable spares, etc. from the domestic market. * Exemption from payment of Central Sales Tax on the sale or purchase of goods, provided that, the goods are meant for undertaking authorized operations. * Exemption from payment of Service Tax. * The sale of goods or merchandise that is manufactured outside the SEZ (i.e., in DTA) and which is purchased by the Unit (situated in the SEZ) is eligible for deduction and such sale would be deemed to be exports. * No routine examination by Customs officials of export and import cargo. * Setting up Off-shore Banking Units (OBU) allowed in SEZs. * OBU’s allowed 100% income tax exemption on profit earned for three years and 50 % for next two years. * Since SEZ units are considered as ‘public utility services’, no strikes would be allowed in such companies without giving the employer 6 weeks prior notice in addition to the other conditions mentioned in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. * The Government has exempted SEZ Units from the payment of stamp duty and registration fees on the lease/license of plots. * External Commercial Borrowings up to $ 500 million a year allowed without any maturity restrictions. * DISADVANTAGES: * Revenue losses because of the various tax exemptions and incentives. * Many traders are interested in SEZ, so that they can acquire at cheap rates and create a land bank for themselves. * Terms and conditions: Only units approved under SEZ scheme would be permitted to be located in SEZ. 1. The SEZ units shall abide by local laws, rules, regulations or laws in regard to area planning, sewerage disposal, pollution control and the like. They shall also comply with industrial and labor laws as may be locally applicable. 2. Such SEZ shall make security arrangements to fulfill all the requirements of the laws, rules and procedures applicable to such SEZ. 3. The SEZ should have a minimum area of 1000 hectares and at least 35 % of the area is to be earmarked for developing industrial area for setting up of processing units. 4. Minimum area of 1000 hectares will not be applicable to product specific and port/airport based SEZs.. * FUNCTIONING/ SET UP OF SEZ: The functioning of SEZs is governed by a three-tier administrative set-up. The Board of Approval is the apex body and is headed by the Secretary, Department of Commerce. The Approval Committee at the Zone level deals with approval of units in the SEZs and other related issues. * Board of Approval The Board of Approval has been constituted by the Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred under the SEZ Act. All the major decisions are taken by the Board of Approval. The Board of Approval has 19 Members * Unit Approval Committee All the request for setting up of units in the SEZ is approved at the Zone level by the Approval Committee consisting of Development Commissioner after a discussion with the Customs Authorities and representatives of State Government. All post approval clearances in matters related to importer-exporter code number, change in the name of the company or implementing agency; broad banding diversification, etc. are given at the zonal level by the Development Commissioner. A separate units is also there who monitor the performance of the SEZ units on a periodic basis and is governed by the Approval Committee. SEZ units are liable for penal action under the provision of Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, in case of any violation in the rules formulated by the Approval Committee. * Development Commissioner SEZs / EOUs, each zone are headed by a Development Commissioner, who is also heading the Unit Approval Committee. Development Commissioner is the nodal officer for SEZs and help in resolution of problem, if any, faced by the units or developer. In all SEZ’s, the statutory functions are controlled by the Government while the rest of the operations are privatized. * DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FREE TRADE ZONES(FTZ) AND SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES(SEZ): A free trade zone (FTZ) , also called foreign-trade zone, formerly free port is an area within which goods may be landed, handled, manufactured or reconfigured, and re exported without the intervention of the customs authorities. Only when the goods are moved to consumers within the country in which the zone is located do they become subject to the prevailing customs duties. Free-trade zones are organized around major seaports, international airports, and national frontiers—areas with many geographic advantages for trade. . The world’s first Free Trade Zone was established in Shannon, County Clare, and Shannon Free Zone.[3] This was an attempt by the Irish Government to promote employment within a rural area, make use of a small regional airport and generate revenue for the Irish economy. It was hugely successful, and is still in operation today. The number of worldwide free-trade zones proliferated in the late 20th century A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country’s typical or national laws. â€Å"Nationwide† laws may be suspended inside a special economic zone. PROMINENT EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES IN INDIA: * Kandla Free Trade Zone (KAFTZ), Kandla, Gujarat * Santa Cruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ), S. Cruz, Maharashtra * Cochin Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), Cochin, Kerala * Falta Export Processing Zone (FEPZ), Falta,West Bengal * Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ), Madras, Tamil Nadu * Noida Export Processing Zone (NEPZ), Noida, Uttar Pradesh * Visakhapatnam Export Processing Zone (VEPZ), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh * While the Santa Cruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) is meant exclusively for the exports of electronics and gems and jewelry, all other zones are multi-product zones. 100% foreign equity is welcome in EOUs and EPZs * INDUSTRIAL PARKS: Industrial parks are usually located on the edges of, or outside the main residential area of a city, and normally provided with good transportation access, including road and rail.[1] One such example would be the large number of Industrial Estates located along The River Thames in The Thames Gateway area of London. Industrial parks are usually located close to transport facilities, especially where more than one transport modes coincide: highways, railroads, airports, and ports. This idea of setting land aside through this type of zoning is based on several concepts: * To be able to concentrate dedicated infrastructure in a delimited area to reduce the per-business expense of that infrastructure. Such infrastructure includes roadways, railroad sidings, ports, high-power electric supplies (often including three-phase power), high-end communications cables, large-volume water supplies, and high-volume gas lines. * To be able to attract new business by providing an integrated infrastructure in one location. * Eligibility of Industrial Parks for benefits[2][3] * To set aside industrial uses from urban areas to try to reduce the environmental and social impact of the industrial uses. * To provide for localized environmental controls that are specific to the needs of an industrial area. * CRITICISM: Different industrial parks fulfill these criteria to differing degrees. Many small communities have established industrial parks with only access to a nearby highway, and with only the basic utilities and roadways. Public transportation options may be limited or non-existent. There may be few or no special environmental safeguards. * FREE ZONES: Free Zone are a geographically distinguished areas, possess a particular laws and regulation varies than those applied within the state. Free zone investors enjoy the particular incentives and privileges associated to these areas, such as: * Freedom to initiate any legal form for the activity * The investor has the freedom to determine prices of his services or products and the profit margin he desires. * The investor enjoys the exemption of Capital assets assets, productions supplies and imports and exports from customs, sales or any type of taxes or fees.

Cystic Fibrosis and CFTR

Organelles can contribute or cause a disease like Cystic Fibrosis. First the organelle itself may be defective because its molecules do not function well or because there has been damage to it by exposure to some harmful substance such as a chemical. Within the endoplasmic reticulum or ER where the synthesis of this protein occurs there may be a disturbance in the functions. Normally the proteins are coded within the ER for normal production and functioning of CFTR. It he protein is misfolded during the processing a disease like Cystic Fibrosis may occur.The belief is that the PH of the CFTR protein is altered and because of this PH changes the surface tension of the CFTR changes. That change in surface tension changes the trafficking of the protein and mucus causing thicker mucus to get trapped in several organs but mostly in the lungs and pancreas. Because the surface tension is changed it becomes nearly impossible for the patient to move the mucus there for it accumulates in the l ungs and is very sticky. Bacteria more easily bind to the sticky protein causing consistent infections in the lungs.The missing or defective membrane proteins that are causing the CF become the reason why there are so many increased secretions but the worst of the problem is that with the change in the PH, the consistency of the secretions have changed and the person with the CF can just not handle them. That with the increased infections and the fact that this continues to happen throughout the other organs causes the patient to be extremely debilitated with the chance of early loss of life.

Development of automobile industry in the united states Research Paper

Development of automobile industry in the united states - Research Paper Example May 2011 brought Volkswagen’s manufacturing plant to America. In addition to manufacturing plants, several manufacturers have opened transmission and engine plants that are working in research and development, design, and testing in the United States. The whole automotive industry and dealership amounts to nearly 3.5 percent Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of the United States. By the end of 2012, auto manufacturers and related industries directly employed 786,000 people (SelectUSA). In addition to manufacturers, there is an extensive network of auto parts suppliers who produced $225.2 billion (4 percent of U.S. manufacturing) in shipments during 2012. According to the study conducted by Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and Information Handling Services, overall automobile industry’s direct employment generation was 3.62 million while indirect influence was the creation of jobs and economic wellbeing in comparison to any other sector (SelectUSA). This research paper examines U.S. automobile industry, its history and development, and finds that it the backbone of manufacturing industry, therefore, plays a vital role in strengthening American economy. During 1900 and 1930, Detroit experienced record growth in comparison to any other city in the United States. The reason behind this unparalleled growth was concentration of auto industry around Detroit, which became the largest industry in the U.S. by 1929(Davis ix). The number of auto firms grew in a gradual manner from 1895 to 1907, reaching at its peak at 82 in 1907. For the next three years, the number of entrants remained high, but after that it dropped sharply. With an average number of 15 firms every year from 1911 to 1922, it fell to only 15 firms from 1923 to 1966. After a few early years, the auto industry’s exit rate was more than 10 percent; moreover, by the year 1910, the number of exit was more than the number of entries. Excluding the two year period from

Asian Human Right Records And Western Criticism Essay

Asian Human Right Records And Western Criticism - Essay Example It describes the human rights record of United States and Western Community as whole and their role towards peace, security and human rights. Asia is a country of splendid ancestry of philosophies and customs based on people. There has been great effort and progress from Asian countries towards the transformation of its policies with a pace even faster than the Western countries. The factor that hinders this progress is not the culture itself but it is the rulers and key players who abstain from such a progress. The point here is that it is not culture but democracy that sets the nation's fate (Kim Dae-jung, 1994) It is not true to say that the Asian countries lack humanitarian activities through and through. Such a perception about Asia is publicised all over the world by western media and authorities and people sometimes fail to see the real picture behind the scene. Most of the world's population inhabit in Asia. The condemnation of such a land covered by huge population from different origins, colors and creed entirely on the basis of human rights even before realising the real truth is not at all just. For much elaboration of this point, according to Sen Amartya (1994), every nation and society bears a right of personal independence for its people. Every country has a right to think and make arrangements to provide its people with basic human rights without any intrusions from the outsiders or externals. Although it is sometimes right for an outsider to object on a severe disrespect of human right by a state but it not at all just to keep on pinpointing the others' mistakes while thoroughly overlooking its own wrong doings that continuously hamper the way to the achievement of a peaceful global village. The distinction pertaining to traditions and norms does exist between Asian and Western countries but according to Weil Robert (1994) the major problem today's world faces is the problem of setting dual-criterion for West and Asia. If we consider the practices of United States itself, as claiming to be the greatest advocator of peace and human rights for everyone in this world, we would see that it has itself been disregarding the concept of human rights and been creating and backing the severe disrupters of human rights. The examples could be the Guatemalan military regime, Tiananmen, Panama City, Tibet, Puerto Rico and above all constant refusal to abide by the global international standards for implementation of world peace and security. One could also illustrate the event when the United States itself rejected and denied the World Court judgment to play a role in the reconstruction of Nicaragua, the time of police coercion, the incidence of Rodney King tortured on TV and the occu rrence of a series of devastating circumstances as the aftermath of the event, the political agitations in United States. A short list for the United States would have to include Leonard Peltier, Puerto Rican incidence, and the black prey of cointelpro imprisoned, murdered, or forced to exile, the case of prison labor and it has even been reported in China by the press that the US government has enhanced its existing exports of goods manufactured by the prisoners. United States itself conceals its acts of disregard to human rights under the mask of world peace regulator. China is among those Asian countries that has been continuously criticised by the West, especially United States for its so-called inhuman

Apple iPhone Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apple iPhone - Research Paper Example This paper presents a detailed analysis of the Apple iPhone and its technology overview. In US, the iPhone was released on June 29, 2007 and people were able to buy it at Apple stores as well as AT&T Mobility. Additionally, the project of iPhone was initiated through the direction of Apple CEO Steve Jobs to Apple engineers to appear into touch-screens technology. All through that time, he was considering on working on tablet personal computers. This was in spite of getting various requests for Apple to produce another PDA. However, the development of iPhone as well as its characteristic and applications developed and released on January 9, 2007; Apple CEO Steve Jobs declared their latest product that was the iPhone. The basic release of the iPhone was done in the 2007 (iPhone scale). After that iPhone 3G was released on July 11, 2008. Apple iPhone has released in approximately eighty territories and countries. After that Apple announced the iPhone 3GS in June, 2009 (Vogelstein). The size of iPhone 3G phone is 2.31 by 0.37 inches and net weight of iPhone 3G is 140 grams. Additionally, the iPhone 3GS is having weighs 137 grams on a postal scale. Consequently in contrast, it is 3 grams heavier. The battery of the iPhone 3G is 5.25 WHr at 3.7V and the iPhone 3GS battery is 4.51 WHr at 3.7V. In addition, in the market IPone is available in two basic colors that are black and white. In the same way the memory space of this phone is available in different memory configurations. Now we can have 4, 8, 16, 32 GB of memory available inside the phone. The main screen of the iPhone is of size 9 cm (3.5 in) with liquid crystal display and touch screen. In addition, this screen offers scratch-resistant glass, as well as 18-bit color (rendering 262,144 colors). Moreover, the touch screen of iPhone is designed in a way that it can sense the bare finger, or multiple fingers in case of multi-touch sensing. The gesture and touch characteristic of the iPhone are

Foreign Policies on Climate Change Memorandum Essay

Foreign Policies on Climate Change Memorandum - Essay Example First, to avert the potential dangers stemming from climate change in Africa and United States, the State has created multiple agencies to fight this menace. The president tasks each agency with specific responsibilities that are related to minimizing the effects of global challenges. This is because if unchecked, temperature increase could lead to food shortage and droughts. These responsibilities feature all probable potential consequences of climate change as well as allow for the addition of the unforeseen effects. Disasters arising from climate change effects, for example, storms are usually under the direct control of FEMA. However, delegate certain disasters like the rise in sea levels fall under the Department of Security. Also, other agencies are tasked with the responsibilities constructing canals and water dam plans in arid and semi-arid parts of the continent. This proposal has the advantage that it requires little funding and few initial resources. Furthermore, it provides helpful guides should any crisis arise. What is more is that responsibilities are made clear thus averting any conflicts that might arise due to inter- agency conflicts. The conflicts could potentially lead to wastage of money time, money, and even risk lives. Secondly, Africa has been hosting climate change summit after every two years. In particular, this helps keep the subject of climate change within the public discourse. It also fosters the pressure that results from an actionable strategy for climate change.

Legal Issues in Reduction of Workforce Case Study

Legal Issues in Reduction of Workforce - Case Study Example How did you balance the legal risk of terminating individuals from a protected class against the business risk of losing valuable talent Are there are any extenuating regulatory circumstances(e.g exceptions to employment at will, or collective bargaining agreement )that would affect the decision to terminate the above referenced employees Collective bargaining consists of negotiations between an employer and a group of employees so as to determine the conditions of employment. The result of collective bargaining procedures is a collective agreement. Employees are often represented in bargaining by a union or other labor organization. Collective bargaining is governed by federal and state statutory laws, administrative agency regulations, and judicial decisions. In areas where federal and state law overlap, state laws are preempted. See, U.S. Constitution, Art. VI The main body of law governing collective bargaining is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). It explicitly grants employees the right to collectively bargain and join trade unions. The NLRA was originally enacted by Congress in 1935 under its power to regulate interstate commerce. See, U.S. Constitution Art. I, Section 8. ... The act prohibits employers from interfering with this selection. The NLRA requires the employer to bargain with the appointed representative of its employees. It does not require either side to agree to a proposal or make concessions but does establish procedural guidelines on good faith bargaining. Proposals which would violate the NLRA or other laws may not be subject to collective bargaining. The NLRA also establishes regulations on what tactics (e.g. strikes, lock-outs, picketing) each side may employ to further their bargaining objectives. State laws further regulate collective bargaining and make collective agreements enforceable under state law. They may also provide guidelines for those employers and employees not covered by the NLRA, such as agricultural laborers. Arbitration is a method of dispute resolution used as an alternative to litigation. It is commonly designated in collective agreements between employers and employees as the way to resolve disputes. The parties select a neutral third party (an arbiter) to hold a formal or informal hearing on the disagreement. The arbiter then issues a decision binding on the parties. Both federal and state law governs the practice of arbitration. While the Federal Arbitration Act, by its own terms, is not applicable to employment contracts, federal courts are increasingly applying the law in labor disputes. Fourty-nine states have adopted the Uniform Arbitration Act (1956) as state law. Thus, the arbitration agreement and decision of the arbiter may be enforceable under state and federal law. Employment Discrimination laws seek to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical disability, and age by

Organisations and Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 2

Organisations and Behaviour - Essay Example The organisational culture plays a very important role in the business and if the culture of an organisation is strong, then the businesses will be faced with a support to face the periods of low business performance. The cultures of an organisation help the business in the overall performance and also permit the organisation to learn from its mistakes and to overcome the challenges. The structure on the other hand refers to the structure of the management and the various levels of management that are present within the organization. Together both these play a very important role in the overall performance of the company and also provide a wide range of impact on the overall business performance. There are a number of factors that affect the individual behaviour at work and these include the MARS Model. Here in this model four interrelated elements have been described as the main cause that affects the employee performance. These include, motivation, Ability, Role Perception and Situational Factors (US Army Handbook, 1973). As explained by Bourassa, 2010, ‘These factors are highly interrelated; for example, a data analyst is skilled in running reports (ability), self taught on how to use the latest tools to extrapolate data (motivation), and understands how this information will help management make decisions (role perception), but does not have the required access to the data files (situational factors). Unless all of the elements of the MARS model are satisfied, employee behaviour and performance will be negatively impacted’ (Bourassa, 2010). Apart from these factors, there are also a number of other factors that impact the employee behaviour at work and these include the leadership styles used within the company and the overall working conditions of the company (Beer, et.al., 1985). a) Michigan Model of

Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 8

Auditing - Essay Example Auditing is the process that involves the assessment of the financial statement of a company to verify whether the contents of such statements comply with the required framework. Auditors are charged with the task of ensuring that the financial statement of the company contains all the information considered as material. In a nutshell, the auditors check whether the content of the financial statement is free of fraud, errors or omission of material information. On that note, an audit risk is the possibility that the auditor will not detect any error, fraud or misstatement of material information when reviewing the financial statement (Thompson & Ward 1993, pp. 2-9). Based on the auditor’s opinions, it is fair to conclude that the financial statements of Mobile Streams PLC present a true and fair financial position. That is; they are free from errors, fraud or material misstatements. However, the auditors should pay more attention to the following three areas of heightened audit risks: foreign currency translation, share-based compensation, and financial income. Based on the financial statement, the company’s foreign currency loss is  £ 1,347. The Foreign currency loss is encountered if the previous spot rate when selling the local currency is higher than the current spot rate when buying the local currency (Annual report: Mobile Streams PLC 2014, pp. 8 & 15). Close to 99% of the company’s revenues are generated outside the United Kingdom. Therefore, a larger part of the company’s operation is exposed to foreign currency risk. Fortunately, there are strategies used to lessen the exposure. However, Mobile Streams PLC does not use any to reduce the risk. The company relies on the prevailing spot rate for transaction purposes. The exchange rates constantly fluctuate. The company could manipulate the exchange rate to reduce the amount of taxable income. Assume that the loss on foreign currency was  £ 690

Food And Wine Tourism in Newzealnd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Food And Wine Tourism in Newzealnd - Essay Example So, in order to enlighten the importance of Special Interest Tourism, this paper talks about â€Å"Food and Wine tourism† in New Zealand. Special interest tourism It is the type of tourism that involves tourist’s holiday choice that is totally inspired and influenced by their specific motivation and desire. There are different forms of special interest tourism, like education, beauty, sports, food, cultural and entertainment (Cook 2007, pp.63). Different countries have different specialties, for example Dubai is famous for its shopping, and New Zealand, Australia, and Turkey are famous for their food. Read defined specific interest tourism as â€Å"The travel for people who are going somewhere because they have a particular interest that can be pursued in a particular region or at a particular destination. It is the hub around which the total travel experience is planned and developed†. (Ritchie, Carr, & Cooper 2003, pp. 28) Food and Wine tourism The special inte rest tourism that has been selected for this paper is â€Å"Food and Wine tourism† in New Zealand. The food and wine do not mean mere eating and drinking, but are related to the respective country’s culture and heritage. ... es of specialist food production regions are the primary motivating factors for travel.†(Buhalis & Costa, 2006) Food is directly related to a country’s heritage, culture, and traditions. Food is considered to be a major component of tourism, whatsoever is the type of tourism; food always acts as a tourist attraction. So, intentionally or unintentionally, the tourists are always seeking excellent quality food and wine when they are on their holidays. Wine tourism Today, wine is making quite a large business for the last few years. Wine production has been increased at a massive level in different countries like New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Europe, and this has resulted in development of the tourism industry in the respective countries. Moreover, â€Å"wine tourism is a subcategory of food tourism, which implies visit for specific high-quality vine to vineries, vineyards and restaurants to a country. The wine tourism also includes visit to the wine festivals in a pa rticular country†. (Buhalis & Costa, 2006) Food and wine tourism does not mean a trip to a restaurant; rather it is the desire to taste and experience a particular type of food or a special traditional cuisine can act as a motivator to travel across the home country (Thach, 2007). Food and wine tourism characteristics and typologies Food and wine tourism is flourishing due to a number of reasons around the world. The most important and predominant reason of promoting the food and wine tourism is to improve economic growth. Moreover, food and wine tourism has gained attention due to increased interest in the other country’s societal values, environmental interest, and their culture. Today, many people and countries are showing interest in dining and cooking, subsequently which has resulted in an

Windeby Girl Essay Example for Free

Windeby Girl Essay The body was found in 1952 in an estate called Windeby in Northern Germany. It was discovered when the owners decided to cut the peat to sell for fuel. During the process, the body of a 14 year old girl was found, however at that time, the machinery had already caused some damage to the body. It severed a leg, a foot and a hand. Work was then immediately stopped to investigate the find. State in which the body was found When the body was first found, parts such as the hand and hair were very well preserved by the bog. Her brain was said to have retained its size and shape. The chest had, at the time, decayed and the ribs were visible. The hair had been shaved on one side and there was a blindfold over her eyes. There was a leather collar around the body’s neck, and due to the long hair and small frame, it was instantly assumed to be a girl. Why did she die? There are different theories as to why Windeby died. The first interpretation when the body was found was that she was killed as punishment for adultery. Her head was shaved, led out naked with a cloth covering her eyes and leather collar around her neck then drowned in the bog. Another body was found about five metres from Windeby Girl, it was that of a man, and at the time was said to be her partner in the acts. However, this was later unproven as further investigation was done on the bodies. Carbon dating showed that Windeby Girl died during the first century AD, whereas her supposed partner lived three centuries earlier. Due to the fact that there were no signs of trauma or struggle according the evidence on the body, ideas that this may have been a sacrificial ritual were proposed. Later Investigation: Windeby Girl is a Boy In 1952, when Windeby Girl was first found, the discoverers assumed that she was girl due to the long hair and small frame. In 1970, Heather Gill-Robinson, a biological anthropologist, examined the body’s skeleton and proposed that the body could in fact be a boy. More than 30 years later, in 2007, a DNA testing was done ad a professor from North Dakota State University proved that the body was indeed male. The DNA and bone testing also showed that the boy may have been malnourished and was often sick during his life. This lead to the theory that the boy may have simply died due to natural causes and the blindfold was there to â€Å"protect the living from the gaze of the dead† or may have merely been a band to hold back his hair and slipped down due to shrinkage of the body. His half bald head maybe have also been due to careless excavation or natural causes such as decay over time.

Trumps Changes to Transgender Bathroom Rules

Trumps Changes to Transgender Bathroom Rules The Proposal for Transgender Bathroom Conversion Now that the Trump Administration has withdrawn Federal enforcement of the transgender bathroom order, it is up to each State to decide what course of action to take, if any (Hersher, Johnson, and para 4-5) It is evident by the number of lawsuits filed against the Federal Government that the constitutionality of Obama’s Executive Order is in question. Recently, the Supreme Court postponed hearing a case involving a Virginian transgender high school’s student, partially due to President Trump’s announcement. The details of the case involve a transgender student, who was already using the boy’s bathroom, but pressure from parents and others forced the school district to change its policy and deny the student’s ability to use the boys’ bathroom. (Liptak, para 2-5). The school adopted a policy that states all students must use the bathrooms/locker rooms according to the gender on their birth certificate and a private bathroom/locker room would be provided for transgender students. The boy sued under protections outlined in the fourteenth amendment stating he was refused civil rights because of his gender. In light of the recent withdraw of Obamaâ₠¬â„¢s order by the Trump Administration, the Supreme Court decided to send the case back to the appellate court of origination for its further review. In August, the Supreme Court decided (5 to 3) that while the student’s case proceeds, temporarily, the school is not compelled to let the student choose his bathroom (Hersher, Johnson, para 17). Besides the lawsuits sparked by the transgender bathroom issue, many religious organizations and activist groups have also voiced concern over the issue. North Carolinians objected so loudly that State legislatures refused to override state laws that stated people had to use the bathroom of the gender corresponding to their birth certificates. In return, the Justice Department sued the State of North Carolina for circumventing the ordering in this manner (Hersher, Johnson, para 11). Other states and communities passed similar laws or already had them in place prior to the order. When there is this much opposition and prejudice it usually stems from a gross misunderstanding of the situation In order to produce any meaningful solutions to this problem, it is paramount to educate the public about the medical realities of hermaphroditic conditions and elicit empathy to replace the anger this subject has released. Once Americans understand that in many cases being transgender is a choice the person’s doctor made for them at birth, it is possible more people will understand the bathroom issue more readily. It is also meaningful to illustrate the costs associated with converting schools to standards acceptable to the entire community, not just the transgender group. A three step plan is proposed that incorporates educating the public about intersex conditions, developing a realistic budget for schools to accommodate transgender bathrooms, and organizing a vote on the issue once the public is better informed.   Many people are opposed to the transgender bathroom because they lack an understanding of the medical issues involving intersex children and the path in life they face. It is difficult for most people to ever imagine having an intersex condition or having a child with a gender identity problem. Educating the public through public service announcements may be an effective way to approach this problem. If more people understood that in some cases, what has happened to an innocent baby at birth should not be the cause of persistent suffering psychologically and physiologically to have a Male XY genetic marker with a vagina. The prejudice transgender people encounter is widespread and educating the ignorant tends to abate some of the prejudice. The transgender community should consider eliciting a well-known or at least well-spoken spokesperson in order to start the process of educating the massed about the transgender plight. The second part of the plan involves preparing budget estimates for school conversions needed to accommodate transgender students. Safety of students seems to be one of the primary concerns of opponents to the bathroom issue, so privacy is of utmost priority. Based on ideas currently being discussed within the Sarasota School District, schools would provide a private, unisex bathroom for transgender students and partition locker rooms to provide a private space there as well. It is currently not known how many specialty unisex bathrooms each school will provide; however, for purposes of this analysis, it is assumed that one per school will be built out. The budget line items represent the total cost of each subcontracted task. For instance, the drywall line item indicates the total cost to partition the locker rooms/private changing areas. Even though not all of the districted schools may have locker rooms, for purposes of this cost illustration, it is assumed each school will requir e the build out. Once the public is sufficiently educated and the costs to convert the schools are properly relayed to the public, it will be time to organize a vote on the issue. Even if Trump rescinded the Federal Executive Order, States must remain concerned and prepared for a ruling by the Supreme Court that may ultimately force State school districts to comply with the initial order after all. In the event this happens, at least the public will be more educated and costs will be spelled out so that voters can make a rational, rather than emotional, decision. It must be emphasized that currently the Transgender Community does not seem to have a ‘famous’ person for their cause. A movement does not move very far without a leader. In the event the State and its voters or the Supreme Court decide to proceed with establishing policies for transgender bathroom availability, it is important to describe the costs that will be associated with revamping schools to fit the new policies. In order to illustrate the cost per school and the impact to the over school district, Sarasota County School District will be used as an example. It should be kept in mind that if legislation impacts all school districts statewide, a further cost analysis will need to be performed. The following budget is based on estimates obtained from local contractors based on a price for completed jobs (Daniel’s Plumbing, Jimenez Drywall). Based on the cost budget analysis, the cost of school bathroom/locker room conversions equal approximately $759,500, or $17.70 per registered student (SSD, Student Enrollment Charts). If the proposed idea of adding unisex bathrooms and converting current locker room space to include a partitioned area wi th showers is acceptable, the costs per student are low enough to justify the conversion.  If more build out is required, this budget analysis will need to be revised to take into consideration any changes. Based on empirical evidence (verbal survey of students from various SSD schools), approximately 0.1% of registered students, or approximately 429 children may be affected by an intersex condition or are transgender. The cost of conversion per transgender child, divided over the 13 years the child is assumed to attend SSD school, equals approximately $136 per child: this amount is rather a small amount to pay for the safety, security, and well-being of all students concerned. It should be noted; the costs contained herein estimates and are for illustrative purposes only.   The time is now for the Transgender movement to strive to educate the public more on the issues that affect them in an effort to reverse some of the prejudice that exists today. It seems imperative for the group to organize and delegate a leader to champion their cause. (Maybe Obama’s free?). Once organized, the group needs to decide how to educate the masses. Next, the group needs to formulate what bathroom arrangements are acceptable and provide a plan that includes cost estimates based on a per child basis in order to make acceptance of any changes more credible. The final phase is for the group to get petitions circulating to get the issue on a ballot and get the voters to approve its proposition. Many movements take years to accomplish their goals: Just think about how long it took women suffragettes, gay right activists, or civil rights leaders to accomplish their goals. The Transgender movement received a head start when Obama made the nation aware of one of its issues; however, the movement needs a powerful leader and some organizational zeal to accomplish its goals. Citations Liptak, A. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Major Cases on Transgender Rights†. Dated March 6, 2017. Retrieved from the New York Times website on April 12, 2017 WEB https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/supreme-court-transgender-rights-case.html?_r=0 Hersher, R. and Johnson, C., â€Å"Trump Administration Rescinds Obama Rule On Transgender Students Bathroom Use†. Dated February 22, 2017. Retrieved from NPR.org website on 4/11/207 WEB http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/22/516664633/trump-administration-rescinds-obama-rule-on-transgender-students-bathroom-use Budget created by Serena Hart on MS Word. Cost estimates based on conversations with two local Sarasota contractors: Daniel’s Plumbing, Jimenez Drywall. Not to be relied on, for illustrative purposes only. For final presentation purposes, this report will be incorporated with an analytical report, also by Serena Hart entitled, â€Å"Color Me Blue†.