LUCKNOW: Even as Agra completes half a millennium, the celebrations ----- largely undertaken by local businessmen and tour operators ---- has been somewhat muted, thanks to a marked lack of enthusiasm on the part of the state as well as the Centre.

The reason is not far to seek: Not everyone is willing to accept that Agra is merely 500 years old. There are those who trace its history to “ancient times.”

While there is no denying that it was Sikandar Lodhi, a Muslim ruler, who elevated Agra’s status from a smalltime village to the capital of the Delhi Sultanate in the year 1503, those who trace its history further back see no reason to “celebrate” Lodhi’s move.

“Agra finds reference as the capital of Maharaj Agrasen in ancient India, but we have a tendency of attributing everything to the Muslim period,” Vinay Katiyar, Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, told News India-Times. Katiyar, who is also founder of the militant Bajrang Dal, is one of the accused in the case filed over the demolition of the 16th century Babri Mosque at Ayodhya.

Purshottam Narain Singh, Uttar Pradesh state chief of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said: “I see no logic in tracing Agra’s history to just 500 years, simply because a foreigner-plunderer decided to declare it as his capital.”

The move to celebrate the city’s 500th anniversary is being spearheaded by local tour operators and hoteliers, who have been witnessing a drop in tourist inflow as part of the post-Sept. 11 slump in arrivals. They have been petitioning the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) as well as Uttar Pradesh’s Ministry of Tourism to celebrate the event officially.

“It (an official celebration) could give a tremendous boost to the tourism business,” the owner of a leading hotel in Agra, who did not want to be named, told News India-Times over telephone.

However, there is hope yet. State Minister for Urban Development Lalji Tandon, the seniormost BJP minister in the Chief Minister Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party-BJP ruling coalition, seems inclined to take up the issue.

“I was not aware of this fact that Agra was completing 500 years, otherwise I would have got something organized,” he said. “After all, when they can celebrate 200 years of Kolkata or Mumbai, surely Agra is of greater importance to the nation and the world.”