 The ship was launched as "Viceroy of India" on 15 September 1928 by Dorothy, Countess of Halifax, the wife of the Viceroy of India, E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax.The name had been changed to avoid offending Indians, particularly Muslims, for whom the Taj Mahal mausoleum is sacred.Fitting out at Shieldhall Wharf, Glasgow, began on 8 January 1929.