Right-wing groups and revisionist dabblers throughout history have intermittently claimed that the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu Shiva temple named ‘Tejo Mahalaya’.
(Photo Credits: Siraj Qureshi)
Conflict
Right-wing groups and revisionist dabblers throughout history have intermittently claimed that the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu Shiva temple named ‘Tejo Mahalaya’. The claims are rooted in self-styled historian PN Oak’s book Taj Mahal: The True Story (1989), which claimed that the original structure was built by Hindu ruler Jai Singh I, centuries before the arrival of the Mughals.
who is behind it
Recently, BJP leader Rajnish Singh filed a petition, demanding that a fact-finding panel establish the “real history of the Taj Mahal”, and examine 22 sealed rooms for the possible presence of idols of Hindu deities. Before him, BJP leaders Kapil Mishra (in 2020) and Vinay Katiyar (2017) also made similar claims. BJP MP from Rajsamand and former Jaipur royal family member Diya Kumari has recently claimed that the land on which Taj Mahal stands belongs to her ancestors.
where is it going
The Allahabad High Court had dismissed Rajneesh Singh’s petition on 12 May. The court told the petitioner, “Please enroll yourself in MA, then go for NET, JRF and if any university forbids you to do research on such subject, then come to us.” When he insisted on access to “those rooms”, the court remarked, “Tomorrow will you ask me to go to the honorable judges’ chambers?”
“Oak’s theory about the Hindu temple has no historical basis, it is more of a myth,”
– M. Sajjad, Professor of History, AMU
On 15 May, the Archaeological Survey of India released photographs of maintenance work in some underground rooms closed to the public. Agra ASI chief RK Patel said the photos are on the ASI’s website as part of the January 2022 newsletter. According to Mohammad Sajjad, professor of history at Aligarh Muslim University, “Oak’s theory about the Hindu temple has no historical basis, even the courts have never agreed to them. It is more than a myth. “
cover story , temple return movement
In 2017, the ASI had told an Agra court that the Taj was a tomb, not a temple. The current controversy may subside, but dubious claims about the Taj continue to float on the internet.