A petition has been filed in Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court seeking directions to the Archeological Survey of India to open 22 sealed rooms in the Taj Mahal to ascertain the claims about the presence of idols of Hindu deities inside them.
The petitioner Rajneesh Singh, who is a BJP youth media in-charge, has sought direction to the government to constitute a fact-finding committee to investigate, study and publish the real history of the Taj Mahal in order to put all the controversies surrounding it to an end.
The petitioner has submitted that the Taj Mahal was an old Shiva temple which was known as “Tejo Mahalaya” and many historians have supported the same.
“It is respectfully submitted that since many years one controversy is at peak which is related to the Taj Mahal @ Tadj Mahall @ Tejo Mahalaya. Some Hindu Groups and reputable Sants are claiming this monument as old Shiv Temple supported by many historians and facts however many historians believe it as Taj Mahal built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan. Some people also believe that Tejo Mahalaya @ Taj Mahal appears to be one of the Jyotirling (Nagnatheshwar) i.e. the outstanding Siva Temples,” the petition stated.
Rajneesh submitted that it is our collective responsibility to end all these controversies by investigating them properly to avoid any clashes between the two religious groups.
“It is said that Taj Mahal was named after the name of Shah Jahan’s Wife Mumtaz Mahal however in many books the name of the wife of Shahjahan was described as Mumtaz-ul-Zamani not Mumtaj Mahal, also the fact that the construction of a mausoleum takes 22 years for completion is beyond the reality and totally an absurdity,” the plea stated.
In the plea, it is stated,
“It is there in many History books that in 1212 AD, Raja Paramardi Dev had built Tejo Mahalaya temple palace (presently Taj Mahal). The temple was later inherited by Raja Maan Singh, the then Maharaja of Jaipur. After him, the property was held and managed by Raja Jai Singh but was annexed by Shah Jahan (in 1632) and later it was converted into memorial for the wife of Shah Jahan.”
Close to 22 rooms situated in the upper and lower portion of the four storied building of Taj Mahal are permanently locked and historians like PN Oak and many Hindu worshippers believe that in those rooms lie the temple of Shiva. In an RTI, questions were asked about the reason behind the locking those doors, hidden Rooms and in the Reply by Archeological Survey of India, Agra it was said that due to security reasons those doors are locked.
The Taj Mahal is a mark of history of heritage and the glorious achievement of Indian Art and Archaeology, and has to be named and recognised in its true perspective and origin as a monument of world importance must not be allowed to be the victim subject of a “Historical fraud” as an infringement of Indian tradition and heritage if the said monument is wrongly and falsely identifying and recognized as a mausoleum giving a go bye to its origin and actual creation as a Palace/Temple in the redemption of fact and restoration of history.”
