Raj or Taj - What's our inspiration?

As I read an SMS from a friend about the starkingly obvious absence of MNS chief Raj Thakeray after the Mumbai attacks, I was struck by a thunder bolting thought.

Raj and The Taj!!! Apart from the phonetic similarities in their names, there seemed to be a few more things in common in the idealogies of the two. Probably their complete dislike for the British agenda. While Raj and the Shiv Sena promote the Marathi manoos bandwagon by changing colonial British names to Indian ( Victoria Terminus to Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Bombay to Mumbai), the Taj was built as a result of Jamshedji Tata being deprived the luxury of staying in Watson Hotel, as it was restricted to whites.

But the similarities end there.

While Raj stands for divisive politics dividing the Indian mindset into the North and Maharashtra, the Taj stands for unity as an Indian entity as people from all states, religion, caste, gender and in fact from differennt nations, stood by each other, saved lives risking their own.

While Raj remained silent after the terror attacks, the Taj spoke of its tears, its sorrow, its pain and its triumph.

While Raj stands for fear and destruction, the Taj is a beacon of hope and fearlessness that we will conquer terrorism come what may.