Taj Mahal Controversy: A petition has been filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking directions to open 20 rooms of Taj Mahal to check for presence of Hindu Idols. The petition has been filed by Rajneesh Singh.

The petitioner has argued that several Hindutva groups claim that the Taj Mahal is actually Tejo Mahalaya, an old Shiva temple. He has sought directions from the Allahabad HC to the Archaeological Survey of India to open the rooms inside the monument to ascertain facts and check whether there are any idols or inscriptions hidden inside. 

The petitioner asserted that there is no harm in opening these rooms and settling all controversies to rest. The writ petition was filed at the High Court on May 7, 2022. It will first be processed by the registry of the Lucknow bench and then taken up for hearing. 

Taj Mahal Petition: Key Claims

As per reports, the petition claims that King Paramardi Dev had built the Tejo Mahalaya temple palace in 1212 AD. The temple was then passed down to rulers and it was annexed by Shah Jahan in 1632 from king Jai Singh and converted it into a memorial for his wife.

The petitioner claimed that it was absurd and beyond reality that the construction of a mausoleum takes 22 years for completion. He further stated that in many books, the wife of Shah Jahan is described as Mumtaz-ul-Zamani not Mumtaj Mahal.

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The petition seeks to set aside the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Act, 1951, under which Taj Mahal along with other monuments was declared as a historical monument.

The petitioner seeks that correct and complete historical facts about the monument should be disclosed to the public since crores of money is being invested for the preservation of the ancient monument.

What is the controversy over Taj Mahal?

Taj Mahal controversy is a long persisting controversy that has been gaining momentum since the past decade. There have been petitions filed in the past as well raising questions on whether the historical monument is Taj Mahal or Tajo Mahalaya?

A group of seven petitions had filed their petitions before the Agra civil judge in 2015 seeking permission for hindu devotees to visit the Taj Mahal to conduct prayers, as they believe that the iconic 16th-century historical monument was originally a Shiva temple named Tejo Mahalaya.

The petitions sought permission from the court to allow Hindu devotees to perform darshan and aarti within the monument, claiming that only Muslim devotees are allowed to offer prayers at the mosque that is located adjacent to the World Heritage monument. 

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The petitions also sought directions to open the locked rooms inside the Taj Mahal premises. The main petitioner was Hari Shankar Jain who claimed that at least 109 archaeological features and historical evidence establish beyond any doubt that the property is a Hindu temple.

However, the petition was not successful and is still pending in the trial court in Agra. The petitioners subsequently filed an application in the Agra court on October 25, 2017 seeking permission for videography and photography of the closed chambers of Taj Mahal, a plea that was turned down.

The petitioners filed revision against this order of Civil Judge Agra and the date has been fixed for reply in the court of Additional District Judge (II) Agra on May 25, 2022.

No evidence of any temple in Taj Mahal: Union Culture Ministry

The Union Ministry of Culture informed the Lok Sabha in November 2015 that there was no evidence of any temple in the Taj Mahal. Several historians also refuted these claims. A veteran historia, RC Sharma, stated that there are historical documents about Shah Jahan’s land purchase from Raja Jai ​​Singh of Jaipur for the construction of the monumnt on the banks of river Yamuna.

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