New Delhi (Sputnik) — Acting upon an RTI (Right to Information) query of an individual, the Central Information Commission of India has asked the country’s ministry of culture to clarify whether the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan or a temple dedicated to Hindu deity Shiva gifted to Shahjahan by a king of ethnic Rajput clan.
The head of CIC Sridhar Acharyulu said the culture ministry should clarify the doubts so as to put an end to all the theories and speculations about the Taj Mahal. Serveral cases are pending in the Supreme Court about the origin and intent of the Taj Mahal – considered one of the wonders of the world.
There is a common perception among the certain sections in India that the Taj Mahal was not built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan, as documented in text books, but it was gifted to him by Raja Man Singh, a Rajput king of Rajasthan. According to them, Taj Mahal was basically a Hindu temple which was later converted into the monument.
The Taj Mahal, situated along the banks of the River Yamuna at Agra in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is one of the wonders of the world. Indians take great pride in the splendid monument built of white marble.
