Land on which Taj Mahal was built belonged to us, says Jaipur royal family scion Diya Kumari

Mangalore Today News Network

Jaipur, May 11, 2022: Bharatiya Janata Party MP and former princess of Jaipur Diya Kumari has claimed the land on which the Taj Mahal was built originally belonged to the Jaipur royal family. Diya Kumari asserted that she has documents that show Jaipur royal family’s claim on the land.

 

Diya Kumari’s remark comes after a petition has been filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court asking the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to examine the 22 locked rooms of the Taj Mahal to check for the presence of Hindu idols.

Speaking in support of the petition, BJP leader Diya Kumari said, “It should be investigated what was there before the monument was built. People have the right to know what was there originally before the ’maqbara’."

She added that there are records available with the Jaipur family and it would provide these, if required.

Diya Kumari claimed that Mughal ruler Shah Jahan had taken possession of the land belonging to her family.

“Compensation was given in lieu of the land but how much was it, whether it was accepted or not, I cannot say this because I have not studied the records which are there in our ’pothikhana’. But the land belonged to our family and Shah Jahan had acquired it,” Diya Kumari said, adding, “Since there was no judiciary, no appeal could have been made at that time. Things will be clear only after examining the records.”

The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. He had commissioned the structure in 1631 and the construction had begun the next year. The marble monument took 22 years and 22,000 workers to be finally completed in 1653.

The plea has claimed that there used to be a Shiv Temple that Shah Jahan converted into his wife’s mausoleum.

A petition has been filed before the Allahabad High Court seeking a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open those 22 rooms of the Taj Mahal, which have been closed for a long time.

The petition, filed by Rajneesh Singh, BJP media in-charge in Ayodhya, cites the claims of some historians and Hindu groups about the mausoleum actually being an old Shiva temple. The petition has sought the ASI to form a special committee to examine the locked rooms and release the report to the public.

Singh said that the demand is not to make the Taj Mahal a temple but to bring out the truth of the matter for the sake of social harmony. He said that the only way to end such controversy is by examining closed doors.

Brief timeline of controversy over Taj Mahal

    * In 1965, historian PN Oak claimed in his book that the Taj Mahal was originally a Shiva temple.
    * In 2015, a petition was filed in the Civil Court of Agra to declare the Taj Mahal as ’Tejomahalay’.
    * In 2017, BJP MP Vinay Katiyar made a demand to UP CM Yogi Adityanath to declare the Taj Mahal as Tejomahal.

Courtesy: India Today