Taj Mahal, A ‘Shiv Temple? #peektv #thetajstory

The Taj Mahal is actually a Shiv temple called Tejo Mahalaya. If you think this bizarre idea will be limited to a Paresh Rawal film, then welcome to New India. Months after this movie called The Taj Story claimed that there is a Shivling inside the Taj Mahal dome, an Indian High Court in real life is hearing a plea that makes the same claim. So one thing that Paresh Rawal's misleading film got right was that in the India of today, such absurd ideas can get the validation of our judiciary. Nilabat High Court has issued a notice to the Central Government and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea related to the survey of the Taj Mahal. This petition has been filed on behalf of a deity named Lord Shri Agreshwar Mahadev Nangteshwar who is presiding inside the Taj Mahal according to the petitioners. This petition has been filed by the same lawyer who along with his father Vishnu has been a petitioner in at least six such cases. From the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi to the Kutub Minar in Delhi, they have pledged to quote-unquote reclaim all Hindu temples. In this petition, he has cited 109 so-called archaeological features and historical evidence to establish that the monument was actually a 12th century Hindu temple. One such evidence is a kalash decorated with lotus petals on top of the Taj Mahal dome. Now this crown motif that the petitioner is talking about is called a fainel that has a lotus design and resembles a kallush You will find similar motifs on Mughal tombs across India and they represent a pluralistic architectural tradition like Austrian architecture historian Eberkosch regarded as an authority on the Taj Mahal says such finials are motifs of the Indo-Islamic architecture. These are in no way evidence of the Taj Mahal's so-called Hindu origins. The petition also says that Mughal ruler Shah Jahan usurped the Tejo Mahalaya Palace to convert it into a memorial for his dead queen. Now there is no peer-reviewed historical study that establishes this theory and history builds on evidence and not conspiracy theories. From Gyan Vapi, Shahi Eidga, Bhutshala to now the Taj Mahal. If there's an act called the Places of Worship Act that freezes the religious characters of buildings as it stood on the 15th of August 1947, why do petitions like these continue to be filed and heard? The answer lies in a legal complication. The act exempts ancient and historical monuments. But beyond history and legality as well, the question is also moral. How fractured do we want our society to become? No matter what happened in the past, by emboldening such fault lines, we trigger hate and real life violence today. And above all of that, the Taj Mahal is part of our heritage. It has contributed to India's global image. Shouldn't we as Indians be proud of instead of wanting to get it demolished? Isn't that anti-national?