Jaipur royalty claims Taj Mahal built on their land

Jaipur: Amidst all kind of claims and counter-claims about the Taj Mahal, the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur has asserted that the monument is built on land which originally belonged to them.

Diya Kumari, a member of the family and a BJP MP, told media: ‘‘We had a palace on that land. I am glad someone has petitioned the court and demanded that the doors of the Taj Mahal be opened.’’

The BJP MP was referring to a petition filed before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court seeking that the Archaeological Survey of India be asked to examine the 22 locked rooms of the Taj Mahal to ascertain the presence of Hindu idols.

Speaking in support of the petition, she said, “It should be investigated what was there before the monument was built. People have the right to know what was there originally before the 'maqbara'."

Diya further stated that she has documents which reinforce her claim that their palace was taken over by Shah Jahan. “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,” Diya said to India Today’s news portal, adding, “Since there was no judiciary, no appeal could have been made at that time. Things will be clear only after examining the records.”

‘‘If documents are needed, they are there in the record room of the family trust. If the court orders, we will furnish the documents. It is clear from the documents that it was our property which Shah Jahan had acquired.’’

On the question of the existence of a temple on the premises, Diya said, ‘‘I have not seen all the documents.’’

Incidentally, when the question of the descendants of Lord Ram came up during the Ayodhya temple dispute, the royal family had claimed that they were the descendants of Ram and were ready to state this on oath in the court as well.

On the question of whether the TajMahal should be demolished, Diya said, ‘'I will not say that the TajMahal should be demolished, but its rooms should be opened. Some rooms are closed while others are sealed for a long time. It should be looked into.’’

On the question whether they will move the court, she said that they were looking into it.