Agra’s Taj Mahal, one of the Seventh Wonders of the World, is actually a Mughal monument or a Hindu temple with a history behind it.Controversial in the country for a long time. The Allahabad High Court has sought affidavits from the central government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in this regard. Center and ASI authorities have to give a clear answer to the question whether the Taj Mahal was actually an old Shiva temple called Tejo Mahalaya or not.
Recently advocate Hari Shankar Jain and some others applied to the High Court. According to their demandsThe architectural style of the Taj Mahal has at least 109 historical and archaeological features that only indicate that it was a Hindu temple. They requested the court to appoint an advocate commissioner to inspect the entire structure and take its photographs and videographs. This would make it easier to determine whether the historic monument was actually a Shiva temple, argued the petitioners. They are seeking the declaration of the Taj Mahal as a Hindu temple and permission to worship and pray there, citing their right to freedom of religion under Article 25 of the Constitution.
The petitioners claimed that the Taj Mahal was a Hindu templeThere are several important arguments in favor of this. According to them, the design of lotus petals on the main dome of the Taj Mahal and its pinnacle are completely compatible with Hindu architecture. They claim that old ASI documents even describe it as a structural cowshed inside the Taj Mahal, which is usually found only in Hindu temples.
Another major claim in the petition is that this ancient Shiva temple called Tejo Mahalaya was built by King Paramardi Deva in 1155-56 AD. The temple later came under the control of Raja Man Singh and Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan then added elements of Islamic architecture to the temple and made it a monument to his wife Mumtaz. The Allahabad High Court has sought a response from the central government and the ASI on the sensitive issue.