Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,786 playable programmes from the BBC

Treasures of the Indus

Episode 2: The Other Side of the Taj Mahal

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC FourLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Available for 4 months

This is the story of the Indian subcontinent told through the treasures of three very different people, places and dynasties that have shaped the modern Indian world.

The Mughals created the most famous and dazzling empire that India has ever seen, from the Taj Mahal to fabulously intricate miniatures of court life.

But in the process, did they bring civilisation to India or tear it apart?

From the moment the first Mughal emperor Babur arrived from Afghanistan the debate began - were the Mughals imposing their own religion of Islam on a Hindu country, or were they open to the religion and art of the country they were conquering?

The artworks the Mughals left behind over their 200-year empire - even the very buildings which have traces of Hindu architecture as well as Muslim - clearly show how this debate played out, and Sona Datta traces how this most spectacular of all Indian civilisations also sowed the seeds of discord. Show less

Contributors

Presenter:
Sona Datta
Series Producer:
Hugh Thomson
Director:
Hugh Thomson
Executive Producer:
Harry Bell
Participant:
Giles Tillotson
Participant:
Nitin Bhayanan
Participant:
William Dalrymple
Participant:
Ahmed Rashid

About this data

This data is drawn from the data stream that informs BBC's iPlayer and Sounds. The information shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was/is subject to change and may not be accurate. More