These
days there are a lot of debates about the Taj Mahal’s identity of being a tomb
or temple. The follower of both the religion claims it to be an integral part
of their culture. There are certain questions to be answered before we jump on
any conclusion.
Shah
Jahan’s empire extended from present day Khandhar (now Afganistan) to Bengal (now
Bangaladesh). The first question arises here is that when he was the owner of
such a vast land then why would he construct the tomb of his favorite wife only
on a Shiva temple.
Secondly,
during the reign Shah Jahan, he banned the construction of new temples but he
never ordered the demolition of the old existing Hindu temples. Another point
is worth mentioning here is that his mother Jagat Gosain was also Hindu. She
was never compelled either by her husband Jahangir or son Shah Jahan to embrace
Islam. It shows that Mughal emperors were liberal.
Thirdly,
most of the workers were Hindus and if the Taj was constructed on a temple then
the workers would have refused to work.
Fourthly,
the account of the foreign travelers. For
example John
Albert de Mandesto, a German traveler, who reached Surat in 1638 A.D. Peter
Mundy (1630-34 A.D) an Italian traveler who visited India during the reign of
Shah Jahan. He gives valuable information about the living standard of the common
people. Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1638-1663 A.D.) a French traveler who visited
India six limes. His account covers the reign of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. All
of the travelers specially Tavernier, mentions about the construction of Taj
Mahal by Shah Jahan. None of them ever mentioned about any revolt or
controversy related to the Taj Mahal.
The
archaeologists do not agree with the myth of Shiva temple, as no strong
evidences favoring this theory could be put forward. The Taj Mahal was an
Indo-Islamic structure. The Mughal’s brought with them Persian architecture. It
consisted of dome, arches and minarets. Although, according to the Islamic laws
depiction of life is prohibited. But Akbar, the third Mughal emperor overlooked
them. Being a liberal emperor he started making use of both flora and fauna.
The same tend was followed by his generations. If the construction is done
following Islamic laws then its decoration was done in an Indian/Hindu way.
At
the same time, we do not find any reference in any of the contemporary books.
No reference was made by any of the Mughal court writer or Shah Jahan.
Just
one reference in Purushottam Nagesh Oak’s book “The Taj Mahal” cannot change
the history. History is entirely based on evidences. We must be proud of our
history and culture instead of presenting it in distorted form.
In
2000 India's Supreme Court dismissed Oak's petition to declare that a Hindu
king had built the Taj Mahal and reprimanded him for bringing the action,
saying he had a "bee in his bonnet" about the Taj. In 2005 a similar
petition was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court. This case was brought by
Amar Nath Mishra, a social worker and preacher who says that the Taj Mahal was
built by the Hindu King Parmar Dev in 1196
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