“Compensation was given in lieu of the land but how much was it, whether it was accepted or not, I cannot say this because I have not studied the records which are there in our ‘pothikhana’. But the land belonged to our family and Shah Jahan had acquired it,” news agency PTI quoted Kumari as saying.Since there was no judiciary, no appeal could have been made at that time. Things will be clear only after examining the records,” she said.
Kumari’s remarks come after a petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court that sought a fact-finding inquiry into the “history” of the Taj Mahal and the opening of its “22 rooms” to find the “truth” about the monument.
She also supported the petition, filed by BJP leader Rajneesh Singh, and said an investigation should be done to find more about the rooms.People should know why the rooms are locked there. There could have been anything before the Taj Mahal, may be a temple. People have the right to know what was there originally before the ‘maqbara’,” PTI quoted Kumari as saying.
“What I am saying is on behalf of what I have learnt and heard. I have not studied the records. We can provide the records to the court if necessary. Only after examining the records, we can reach a conclusion,” she added.
This is not the first time when questions have been raised over the origins of the Taj Mahal, which is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Several right-wing outfits have claimed that the Taj Mahal was a Lord Shiva temple.
