Request to open closed rooms of Taj Mahal rejected

 The Allahabad High Court has rejected a request by Hindu nationalist organizations for a survey of the historic building to declare the Taj Mahal a temple.

 Request to open closed rooms of Taj Mahal rejected

 The Allahabad High Court has rejected a request by Hindu nationalist organizations for a survey of the historic building to declare the Taj Mahal a temple.

 Security personnel stationed outside the Taj Mahal (AFP / File photo)

 The Allahabad High Court has rejected a request by Hindu nationalist organizations in India for a survey of the historic building to declare the Taj Mahal a World Heritage Site.

 According to the Indian news agency ANI, the petition was filed by a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in which the Supreme Court was asked to open the doors of 22 locked rooms of the Taj Mahal.

 The court said during the hearing on Thursday that "this is an out-of-court case and it should be left to historians to adopt different methods for resolving it."

 According to the Hindustan Times, a petition filed by Rajneesh Singh, media in-charge of the BJP's youth wing, called on the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a search of 22 closed rooms to ascertain the "reality" of the Taj Mahal.  There are idols of Hindu gods and goddesses and religious books in these rooms.

 According to ANI, the petition filed in Allahabad sought setting up of a fact-finding committee and submission of a report in this regard by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

 According to the agency, the petition also cites claims by some historians and Hindu organizations that the Taj Mahal is an ancient temple of Lord Shiva.

 According to the petitioner, "there are more than 20 rooms in the four-storey building of the Taj Mahal which are permanently vacant and many historians and millions of Hindus are convinced that Lord Shiva is present in these closed rooms."

 Read more

 India: Husband builds Taj Mahal for his wife

 The petitioner also said that "false" history was being read about the Taj Mahal and therefore the truth should be ascertained.

 The Allahabad High Court, in its remarks, said that such discussions could take place in the drawing rooms and not in the court.

 The Archaeological Survey of India is the custodian of this Mughal monument.

 According to historians, the Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz.  Construction of the marble monument began in 1632 and was completed 22 years later in 1653.

 This monument of love was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982.