The dissensions around one of the seven wonders on the planet, the Taj Mahal in Agra, are spiraling. While some say that there was a Shiv Temple on the spot before Taj Mahal, others deny the fact and claim that the Mughal structure is pride of India and that the country is known worldwide only because of the monument built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Shockingly, a few acclaimed intellectuals, historians and journalists have also joined the race to demean the Hindu culture of India and praise the country only for the Taj Mahal built by the Mughal Emperor. On Wednesday, Youtuber Abhisar Sharma in his recent episode of ‘Bol Ke Lab Azaad Hain Tere’ accused the Indian government of deliberately creating controversies over the Taj Mahal and the Qutab Minar. He said that the government by creating controversies around the Taj Mahal was pushing the country in a wrong direction.
“The Hindu people say that there was a Shiv Temple named Tejo Mahalaya on the spot before Taj Mahal. They say that the 22 rooms closed in the Taj Mahal contain the remains of the demolished Shiv Temple. What do these people want? Do they want to demolish Taj Mahal now and built a Shiv Mandir there? What is the guarantee that there are remains of Shiv Temple behind those closed doors?”, he pondered.
He also stated that if the 22 closed doors of Taj Mahal are opened, the entire Mughal sturcture might be in a danger. He accused the government of deliberately pushing the country to fight over the Taj Mahal and the Qutab Minar. He sated that some of the Hindu people last week had warned that they would recite Hanuman Chalisa in the premises of the Qutab Minar. This is after the VHP stated that the Qutab Minar was actually a ‘Vishnu Stambh’ and that it was built with materials obtained after demolishing 27 Hindu-Jain temples, he said.
Vinod Bansal, the spokesman of VHP had also said that the structure of the Qutab Minar was built only to tease the Hindu community. Sharma in the video also alleged that those seers who were protesting against the structure of Qutab Minar by reading ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ themselves did not know the Hindu religious verse. “Does the government lack real issues? Why does it want people to protest against the age old monuments?”, he pinned the Modi-led government.
While the claim of an ancient temple at the Taj Mahal site is disputed, it is well known fact that the Qutub Minar was built after demolishing 27 Hindu and Jain temples in Delhi. The various structures and ruins in the Qutub Minar complex still have several proofs of their past, but liberals like Abhisar Sharma will not accept this.
It is important to note that the Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking to open 22 closed rooms in the Taj Mahal. “Are these issues debatable in a court of law? Please, don’t make a mockery of the PIL system”, the Court said. The PIL was filed by Rajneesh Singh, a BJP youth media in-charge, before the Lucknow bench. It s ought the directions to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to probe the 22 closed doors in the Taj Mahal to ascertain the presence of the idols of Hindu deities.
‘India is known worldwide because of Taj Mahal’, says YouTuber Abhisar Sharma-
Sharma in the video further blatantly stated that the country of India was known worldwide because of Taj Mahal and that there was no Shiv Mandir before Taj Mahal. He reiterated that the 22 doors in Taj Mahal were closed due to the security reasons. “Taj Mahal is a world heritage. Anyone who wants any changes to be made in the structure needs to discuss the matter with the UNESCO”, he quoted.
Pertinently, YouTuber Sharma slipped by saying that Taj Mahal was the only identity of India. He forgot that India has been known as land of temples for centuries and that there are many religious temples, monuments and marvelous structures other than Taj Mahal that are the identity of the country. Structures like the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, the Virupaksha temple in Hampi, the Badami Shiv Temple in Karnataka, the Ajanta-Ellora cave in Maharashtra, the Konark Sun Temple, the Kailasha temple in Aurangabad, etc have been built before the Taj Mahal and represent India’s heritage and culture.
Temples and marvelous structure of India predating Taj Mahal-
Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his allegedly favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was built in the 17th century and is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around Rs 32 million.
However, marvelous temples like the Virupaksha temple in Hampi, the Badami temples were built in the 7th century. The Virupaksha temple is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Bhutanatha group of temples in Badami were built in between the 7th to 12th century. The temples are the superlative example of the Dravida architecture style and are looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India.
The Konark Sun temple meanwhile was built in the 13th century (year 1250) and it truly represents the country’s cultural heritage. Konark Sun Temple is dedicated to Hindu Sun God Surya and has the appearance of a 30 m high chariot with immense wheels and horses, all carved from stone. The temple is depicted on the reverse side of the Indian currency note of Rs 10 to signify its importance to Indian cultural heritage.
The Ajanta caves date back to 2nd century and are located in the Auranagabad district of Maharashtra. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art. This site is also under the care of the Archaeological Survey of India and since 1983, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Also, the Hindu temple of Lord Shiva, the Kailash temple in Maharashtra was constructed in the 8th century. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temples at the Ellora Caves and is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world because of its architecture and sculptural treatment.
UNESCO designated Taj Mahal as World Heritage Site for being ‘the jewel of Muslim art’-
While these many and many more temples and historical monuments have been the identity of India and have represented the Indian culture globally, it would be a grave mistake to state that ‘India is known worldwide only because of Taj Mahal’. Sharma must note that the Taj Mahal, the Mughal structure was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being ‘the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage’. It is regarded by many as the best example of ‘Mughal architecture’.
