Origins and architecture of the Taj Mahal leading classes of Indian social structure and thus defined themselves as rulers in Indian terms. Red sandstone also had significance in the Persian origins of the Mughal empire where red was the exclusive colour of imperial tents. In the Taj Mahal the relative importance of each building in the complex is denoted by the amount of white marble (or sometimes white polished plaster) that is used. The use of naturalist ornament demonstrates a similar hierarchy. Wholly absent from the more lowly jilaukhana and caravanserai areas, it can be found with increasing frequency as the processional route approaches the climactic Mausoleum.
The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel were staying in the Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel at the time of the seizure. The attack was planned using information compiled by David Headley, a Pakistani-American, who had stayed at the hotel multiple times. Soon after (30 November), Tata chairman Ratan Tata said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria that they had received advance warning of the attacks and that some countermeasures had been taken. These may have been relaxed before the attack, but in any case were easily sidestepped by the operatives. The less-damaged sections of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel reopened on 21 December