The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Union culture ministry to clarify its stand, if Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Shahjahan or a Shiva temple gifted to the Mughal emperor by a Rajput king.
The question of its origin has been the subject of various court cases, and is presented as an alternative narrative of history, reached the CIC through an Right to Information (RTI) plea and is now at the culture ministry's door.
In an recent order Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu asked Union Ministry to put to rest the controversy and clarify doubts about the history of the white marbled mausoleum, considered one of the wonders of the world.
The CIC was pulled into the debate after an applicant, B K S R Ayyangar, approached the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) through an RTI application asking whether the monument in Agra was the Taj Mahal or "Tejo Mahalaya".
Ayyangar had asked in his RTI plea, "Many people stating that Taj Mahal is not Taj Mahal and it is Tejo Mahalaya: that this was not constructed by Shahjahan, but was gifted by Raja Maan Singh; hence give the facts as per ASI reports-details with evidences,"
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Is Taj Mahal a mausoleum or a Shiva temple?
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