Not Just 22, There Are Over 100 Sealed Cells In Taj Mahal & No Idols Inside: What ASI Said

Amid the ongoing controversy and court cases by some Hindutva groups to prove that the Taj Mahal in Agra was once a Hindu temple called Tejo Mahalaya, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials have rejected all such claims.

A senior ASI official told The Times of India that contrary to the claim made by the petitioners in the Allahabad High Court, the 22 rooms, in the basement are not always closed.

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Are there idols hidden inside Taj Mahal? NO

The petitioner, Rajneesh Singh, had approached the court seeking to open the doors of 22 sealed rooms within the Taj Mahal to enable research that would lead to the alleged “real history” of the structure.

Many conspiracy theories have claimed that the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu temple and the idols of Hindu gods are still present inside the structure.

They argue that the 22 rooms in the basement are kept locked to hide the idols from being seen by the public.

However, according to ASI officials, the 22 "cells" - are "not permanently closed" and they were only recently opened for conservation work. And that all records scrutinised so far over the years "have not pointed to the presence of any idols".

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They also added that unlike what the petitioners have claimed there are more than 100 'cells' inside the Taj Mahal that is kept locked for various reasons.

Basement cells not unique to Taj Mahal?

KK Muhammed, Former Regional Director (North), Archaeological Survey of India also rejected the claims made by the petitioners.

“The basement rooms of the Taj Mahal are not sealed, they are only placed under a lock to prevent tourists from venturing into the basement. The ASI maintains all these basement rooms. When I was the ASI Agra chief, I never saw any religious motifs inside these rooms,” he told India Today.

Muhammed who was a key figure in the Ayodhya dispute and stated that there was a Ram Temple on the site before the Babri Masjid was built, said that there are many Mughal monuments in Agra that were built on such underground rooms and the Taj Mahal's architecture is not unique in that sense.

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The land belonged to Jaipur Royal Family?

The Allahabad HC verdict came days after a BJP MP from Rajasthan, Diya Kumari claimed that the land on which the Taj Mahal was built originally belonged to Jaipur’s ruler Jai Singh, and Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan acquired it.

While acknowledging that neither she nor her family have any records to prove that there was a Hindu temple before the Taj Mahal was built, the MP, a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family said the claim should be investigated.

"It should be investigated what was there before the monument was built, and people have the right to know. There are records available with the Jaipur family, and it would provide these, if required," she said.

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