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Shah Jahan Did Not Build The Taj > Page1
(The stunning revelation in this chapter, backed by conclusive proof, that the world famous Taj Mahal is after all not the creation of the cruel, lecherous Moghul emperor Shah Jahan but an ancient majestic Hindu palace, should shame generations of scholars of Indian history, who have from their high academic and governmental perches misled the public and the governments the world over. The Government of India's Tourist Department should now lose no time in correcting the blunder of selling the Taj Mahal to the world at large as a Muslim sepulchral product but should present it for what it is, namely, the majestic palace of a mighty Hindu Maharaja. - The Late Baburao Patel)
A conclusive and disarming confession by the fifth generation Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan's own court chronicler that the world famous Taj Mahal is an erstwhile Hindu palace commandeered for use as a Muslim tomb has been recently discovered.
The confession is contained in the Badshahnama, a chronicle containing an account of Shah Jahan's reign by his court employee, Mulla Abdul Hamid Lahori. Printed copies of the Badshahnama (Bibliotheca Indica Series of the Asiatic Society of Bengal) are now available in all prominent historical libraries. A photostat of the relevant extract in Persian from pages 403 and 404 of Vol. 1 of the Badshanama appears along with the article. The passage reads:
"Before this (i.e. being taken over) it was the manzil of Raja Mansingh. At this time, it was in the occupation of Raja Jaisingh, his nephew. This was selected for Mumtaz heavenly abode...Although Raja Jaisingh deemed the take over of the grand mansion (Ala manzil) as a great honor done to him yet as a matter of etiquette and since it (taking over without compensation) is not permitted by religious convention - he was paid a (certain) sum for it from the royal treasury."
In my view, the compensation part of the above passage is only an eye-wash. What really happened was that Jaisingh was unceremoniously driven out of his hereditary palace and the magnificent building-complex confiscated with all its wealth and rich fixtures. This conclusion is inescapable because that sum which Shah Jahan is supposed to have paid from the royal treasury - an empty high-sounding term - has been deftly glossed over. Had the amount been really paid it would have been definitely mentioned. There is no reason why such an important detail should have been slurred over.
Author : Shri Purushottam Nagesh Oak
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