Tourism minister: Taj Mahal never was a Shiva temple

AGRA, India – Dispelling the theory floated by a few historians like PN Oak that the Taj Mahal is actually an ancient Shiva temple, which was known as Tejo Mahalaya, Union minister for tourism Mahesh

AGRA, India – Dispelling the theory floated by a few historians like PN Oak that the Taj Mahal is actually an ancient Shiva temple, which was known as Tejo Mahalaya, Union minister for tourism Mahesh Sharma told Rajya Sabha on Thursday that there is no such record of any structure having existed. The response comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed by six lawyers in an Agra court contending that the Taj Mahal is a Shiva temple. Notices were also sent to the ministry of culture, the home secretary and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to file their replies. The next hearing of the case is on May 13.

Sharma was replying to question by Odisha MP, A U Singh Deo, seeking to know whether the ASI has conducted any research on the existence of any structure before the Taj Mahal was constructed on the site as claimed by the various religious organizations.

Sharma clarified the government does not intend to conduct any research in this regard and no organization has approached ASI with such request.

The claim of ownership of Taj Mahal has been raised periodically by various organizations and individuals.

UP minister Azam Khan in the past made statements the 17th century monument should be handed over to the central Waqf Board, as it is the tomb of two Muslims. Later, BJP UP chief Laxmikant Bajpai claimed the ownership of Hindus for the monument, stating that it was a temple.

Experts said it was absurd to claim that the white marble mausoleum built by Shah Jahan in the 17th century was once a temple ‘Tejo Mahalaya’, built by Rajputs. They added Rajputs were worshippers of Lord Vishnu and would have built his temple and not of Shiva as claimed by Bajpai.

The temple controversy was first raised by one P N Oak, who in his book, Taj Mahal: The True Story, claimed that the monument was originally a Shiva temple.

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Linda Hohnholz

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