The Twisted Tale of the Taj Mahal

13 Responses

  1. Anjani Choubey says:

    Wow! If this is true as it can be, I believe that as an Indian Hindu I am not living in a democracy. What democracy when we are not even aware of history of our own country? I know that British came and distorted our history by introducing Aryan invasion theory and drawidian concept. But the fact that even after independence, we could not reclaim our history and continue to go with Colonial designs of Both Mughals and British says that Hindus especially lack self respect.

  2. Face_The_Truth says:

    TAJ MAHAL — TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH
    By Dr. Vasudev Shankar Godbole

    TAJ LEGEND EXPOSED IN ENGLAND IN 1980

    Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a reputable Institution in London. In 1980, in their monthly Journal, they published two letters challenging the validity of the usual Taj Legend.

    One was by Mr. P.N. Oak, the other by me. No one has refuted our arguments. Mr. Oak refers to Badshahnama, Volume I Page 403.

    WHAT HAVE I DISCLOSED IN MY LETTER?

    What was Agra City like before Shahjahan came to power? That is the question dodged by all historians.

    In the 17th century, the Dutch like the English were trying to trade in India. They had a Factory (trading post) in Agra. Fransisco Pelsaert was their Senior Factor (Merchant) at Agra from 1620 to 1627.

    In 1626, Fransisco Pelsaert prepared a commercial report for his directors in Holland.

    By strange coincidence, Pelsaert describes Agra City at that time. He says, “The city is narrow and long, because all the rich and influential people have built their palaces on the river bank and this stretches for 10½ miles. I will mention some of the well known ones. Starting from the North there is the palace of Bahadur Khan, Raja Bhoj, … … Then comes the Red Fort. (Pelsaert then describes the Fort) beyond it is Nakhas — a great market, then follow the palaces of great Lords — Mirza Abdulla, Aga Naur, … … … Mahabat Khan, Late Raja Mansingh, Raja Madho Singh.”

    English translation of this report was available since 1925. And yet NO historian refers to it.

    WHY???

    The reason is simple. In 1626, Fransisco Pelsaert said that 10½ mile stretch of the river-bank was full of palaces, the late Raja Mansingh’s Palace being the last but one!

    The Badshahnama says that Shahjahan took over this Palace for burying his wife Mumtaz.

    Thus, what we call Taj Mahal today is nothing but Late Raja Mansingh’s Palace. That is the truth which historians have kept away from us.

    My efforts had one effect. In 1982, the Archaeological Survey of India published a booklet entitled “Taj Museum.” Though the authors repeat the usual false legend, they say “Mumtaz died in Burhanpur and was buried there. Six months later Shahjahan exhumed her body and sent her coffin to Agra, on that site until then stood Late Raja Mansingh’s Palace … …”

    Today that Palace is called the Taj Mahal. Nothing could be simpler!

    What building work is needed for burying a corpse in a Palace?

    Dr. V. S. Godbole
    14 Turnberry Walk
    Bedford
    MK41, 8AZ
    U.K.

    April 2007 (Akshaya Tritiya)

    LINK

    http://www.stephen-knapp.com/taj_mahal_time_to_tell_the_truth.htm

  3. Face_The_Truth says:

    TAJ MAHAL — TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH
    By Dr. V. S. Godbole

    In 1981, while going through some references, I started suspecting that the British rulers knew the true nature of the Taj Mahal for a long time but had deliberately suppressed the truth. Eventually, my research was published in 10 parts in the Quarterly “Itihas Patrika” of Thane (India).

    I collected all the information available on Taj Mahal over the 200 year period from 1784 to 1984, and shown how the British rulers suppressed vital pieces of evidence or twisted the truth. My research continued and was published in 1996 under the title — “Taj Mahal and the Great British Conspiracy.”

    TAJ LEGEND EXPOSED IN ENGLAND IN 1980

    Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a reputable Institution in London. In 1980, in their monthly Journal, they published two letters challenging the validity of the usual Taj Legend. One was by Mr. Oak, the other by me. No one has refuted our arguments. Mr. Oak refers to Badshahnama, Volume I Page 403.

    WHAT HAVE I DISCLOSED IN MY LETTER?

    What was Agra City like before Shahjahan came to power? That is the question dodged by all historians.

    In the 17th century, the Dutch like the English were trying to trade in India. They had a Factory (trading post) in Agra. Fransisco Pelsaert was their Senior Factor (Merchant) at Agra from 1620 to 1627.

    In 1626, Pelsaert prepared a commercial report for his directors in Holland.

    By strange coincidence, Pelsaert describes Agra City at that time. He says, “The city is narrow and long, because all the rich and influential people have built their palaces on the river bank and this stretches for 10½ miles. I will mention some of the well known ones. Starting from the North there is the palace of Bahadur Khan, Raja Bhoj, … … Then comes the Red Fort. (Pelsaert then describes the Fort) beyond it is Nakhas — a great market, then follow the palaces of great Lords — Mirza Abdulla, Aga Naur … … Mahabat Khan, Late Raja Mansingh, Raja Madho Singh.”

    English translation of this report was available since 1925. And yet no Historian refers to it.

    WHY???

    The reason is simple. In 1626, Pelsaert has said that 10½ mile stretch of the river-bank was full of palaces, the late Raja Mansingh’s Palace being the last but one. The Badshahnama says that Shahjahan took over this palace for burying his wife Mumtaz.

    Thus, what we call Taj Mahal today is nothing but Late Raja Mansingh’s Palace. That is the truth which historians have kept away from us.

    My efforts had one effect. In 1982, the Archaeological Survey of India published a booklet entitled “Taj Museum.” Though the authors repeat the usual false legend, they say “Mumtaz died in Burhanpur and was buried there. Six months later Shahjahan exhumed her body and sent her coffin to Agra, on that site until then stood Late Raja Mansingh’s Palace… …”

    Today that Palace is called the Taj Mahal. Nothing could be simpler.

    What…

  4. Face_The_Truth says:

    TAJ MAHAL — TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH
    By Dr. V. S. Godbole

    1903

    Viceroy Lord Curzon declared his intention to partition Bengal to create a Muslim majority province of East Bengal (now Bangladesh).

    1905

    Viceroy Lord Curzon resigned, but put into effect the partition of Bengal Presidency into West Bengal and East Bengal (now Bangladesh).

    1906

    A Muslim delegation led by Aga Khan called upon new Viceroy Lord Minto. Muslims pleaded that in any political reforms Muslims should be treated separately and favourably. This move was obviously engineered by the British rulers.

    December — Muslim League was started in Dacca (now capital of Bangladesh).

    1909

    In the Morley-Minto reforms, Muslims were granted separate electorates.

    We should also remember that during 1873 and 1914, some English officers had translated into English the Persian texts of Babur-nama. Humayun-nama, Akbar-nama, Ain-e-Akbari, and Tazuk-i-Jehangiri, but NOT Badshahnama.

    Judging from above events it is obvious why Mr. Nevill played the mischief when compiling Agra District Gazetteer in 1905.

    It is astonishing that though Maulavi Ahmad (History of Taj, 1905) and Sir Jadunath Sarkar (Anecdotes of Aurangzeb, 1912) repeat that Raja Mansingh’s piece of land was purchased by Shahjahan, they also provide a reference — Badshahnama Volume I Page 403.

    Strange as it may sound, no one had bothered to see what is written on that page!

    In 1964, Mr. P.N. Oak of New Delhi started having his doubts about Taj Mahal. Mr. Oak put forward an argument that Taj Mahal was originally a Hindu Palace. Mr. Oak had to cross swords with many historians. One of his opponents was a Kashmiri Pandit. Eventually they went to Government of India Archives.

    At the suggestion of the Librarian there the Kashmiri Pandit started to read Badshahnama and soon he came to Volume I Page 403.

    One line read — “va pesh azin manzil-e-Raja Mansingh bood, vadari vakt ba Raja Jaisingh.”

    The Kashmiri Pandit confessed that Shahjahan took over Raja Mansingh’s palace for burial of Mumtaz. We owe so much to this honest opponent of Mr. Oak.

    The Kashmiri Pandit gave word by word translation of pages 402 and 403 to Mr. Oak who promptly published it in his book “Taj Mahal is a Hindu Palace” (1968).

    However, Mr. Oak never stated that the translation was NOT his. It was done for him by a Persian expert. That made life of his opponents easy. The opponents said, “Mr Oak’s translation is wrong.”

    I obtained Oak’s book in London in 1977. I made a study for one year. First of all I read all the references generally quoted by historians and writers.That was made possible by my being in England. Mr. Oak did not have that facility.

    All the references led to the same conclusion that the Taj Mahal is a Hindu Palace and it was NOT built by Shahjahan. My booklet entitled — “Taj Mahal: Simple Analysis of a Great Deception” was published in 1986.

    In 1981, while going through some…

  5. Face_The_Truth says:

    TAJ MAHAL — TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH
    By Dr. V. S. Godbole

    BADSHAHNAMA — WHAT DOES IT SAY?

    British Historians have proclaimed that in India, Hindu Kings had no historical sense. Historical records were kept only by the Muslim rulers. Fair enough, then let us turn to the Badshahnama which was written during the reign of Shahjahan. The Asiatic Society of Bengal published the Persian text of Badshahnama in two parts, Part I in 1867 and Part II in 1868. The compilation was done by two Maulavis, under the superintendence of an English Major. The funny thing is that no one quotes Badshahnama to explain how the Taj Mahal was built. Why?

    Elliot and Dowson, two English gentlemen undertook the formidable task of writing history of India from the attack on Sindh by Muhammad bin Qasim in the 8th century to the fall of Marathas in the 19th century. A period covering some 1200 years. But it was written, based on chronicles of Muslim rulers only. Elliot and Dowson’s work was published in 8 volumes during 1867 to 1877. Volume 7 deals with the reigns of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb. And yet in the entire volume we do not find the word “Taj Mahal”.

    The authors should have said, “Though we have presented history of Shahjahan based on his official chronicle Badshahnama, we did not find any reference to Taj Mahal in it.” They did no such thing. And Historians have kept even this information from us for the last 130 years.

    In 1896 Khan Bahaddur Syed Muhammad Latif wrote a book entitled “Agra Historical and Descriptive”. He refers to Badshahnama many times but does not quote specific page numbers. On page 105 he says, “The site selected for the mausoleum was originally a palace of Raja Mansingh but it was now the property of his grandson Raja Jaisingh.”

    Many authors have referred to Latif in their bibliography but have not cared to see what he has said. This truth was also hidden away from us by our Historians.

    In 1905, H.R. Nevill, ICS, compiled Agra District Gazetteer. In it Mr. Nevill changed the words “Raja Mansingh’s Palace” to “Raja Mansingh’s Piece of Land”.

    Ever since all historians have followed suit and repeated “Shahjahan purchased Raja Mansingh’s piece of land, at that time in the possession of his grandson Raja Jaisingh.” This deception has been going on for more than a century.

    One may ask, “Why would an English officer be interested in playing such a mischief?” Well if we look at the political events of those times the reason is clear cut.

    1901

    Viceroy Lord Curzon separated some districts from Punjab to create a Muslim majority North West Frontier Province. Hindus became an insignificant minority in this newly created North West Frontier Province and that marked the beginning of their misfortune.

    1903

    Viceroy Lord Curzon declared his intention to partition Bengal to create a Muslim majority province of East Bengal (now Bangladesh).

    1905

    Viceroy Lord Curzon resigned, but put into effect the…

  6. Face_The_Truth says:

    TAJ MAHAL — TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH
    By Dr. V. S. Godbole

    There are many legends about the Taj Mahal. But one sentence is common in all of them. “For the construction, 20,000 men worked for 22 years.” This is well known throughout the world. The simple question is — where do these figures come from?

    These figures come from a book called “Travels in India” by J.B. Tavernier, a French jewel merchant. Tavernier was a great adventurer who made six voyages to India in the days of Shivaji (1638 to 1668). Tavernier says, “I witnessed the commencement and completion of this monument (Taj Mahal) on which 20,000 men worked incessantly for 22 years.”

    Tavernier’s book was first published in French in 1675. In those days, it was a great adventure for a single man to travel over such a long distance, face many difficulties, deal with peoples of many cultures and languages, adjust to their customs and traditions, and come home safely — that in itself was incredible.

    In addition Tavernier carried out a trade in precious stones like diamonds. He completed such voyages, not once but six times. His book was therefore a great sensation at that time. It was naturally translated into English and during 1677 to 1811; nine editions of the English translation were published, whereas during the same period twenty-two editions of the French book were printed.

    In 1889, Dr. Valentine Ball translated the original French book into English, corrected some mistakes in earlier translation and provided extensive footnotes. He also studied Tavernier’s movements thoroughly and provided details of his six voyages. From this it is clear that Tavernier came to Agra only twice — in the winter of 1640-41 and in 1665. This raises another interesting question.

    Historians say that Mumtaz, wife of Shahjahan died in 1631 and the construction of Taj Mahal started immediately. But if that is the case Tavernier could not have seen the commencement of Taj Mahal, as he came to Agra nearly 10 years later.

    Aurangzeb had imprisoned his father Shahjahan in the Red Fort of Agra since 1658 and usurped power. No historian claims that Aurangzeb completed Taj Mahal. So, Tavernier could not have seen the completion of Taj Mahal either. And that being the case Tavernier’s statement that 20,000 men worked on it incessantly is meaningless.

    Why have historians kept this truth from us for the last 117 years? The reason is simple. It strikes at the heart of the legend.

    BADSHAHNAMA — WHAT DOES IT SAY?

    British Historians have proclaimed that in India, Hindu Kings had no historical sense. Historical records were kept only by the Muslim rulers. Fair enough, then let us turn to the Badshahnama which was written during the reign of Shahjahan. The Asiatic Society of Bengal published the Persian text of Badshahnama in two parts, Part I in 1867 and Part II in 1868. The compilation was done by two Maulavis, under the superintendence of an English Major. The funny thing is that no…

  7. Richard says:

    @Face the truth
    Based on our known history, your statement doesn’t appear to be true in reality.

    Wel you WOULD say that – wouldn’t you.

    Besides which the historicity of St. Thomas visit is not cnetral to my point – which was simply that there is a Christian community in India which predates the arrival of western Roman Catholics and protestants by at least 1000 years and is not associated with any military conquest.

  8. Face_The_Truth says:

    [“Surprising thing is that this REVISIONIST history has been rejected by the present ruling Government of Hindu BJP through its Minister for Culture Dr. Mahesh Sharma himself. Having visited it, I can say that it does not even remotely look like a Temple from inside, outside or from any angle.”]

    Let me criticize Indian “Hindus” of today, which I have never done before apparently.

    Many Indian “Hindus” speak and write in English language, but they do not often use proper English words to mean what they try to say!

    Sounds weird, right?

    I have seen Indian college students — coming from India to the United States for post-graduate studies — say things like “I will give the exam…” when what s/he has literally meant is s/he will sit for the exam or s/he will take the examination that is upcoming.

    If my readers at FaithFreedom.Org website do not understand what I meant in my past sentence, now I am in terrible trouble!

    Because, a student (or pupil) doesn’t give the exam, a teacher or college-professor does.

    A student (or pupil) can only take the exam(s)!!!

    Similarly, many Indians of today do not try to understand the differences in meanings as well as connotation of words such as “Revision” and “Correction”.

    An example of “Revisionism” could be like the actual history of a Nazarene Jew named Joshua Ben-Joseph — who rebelled against the authorities in order for others to cult-worship him as “Son of God” and, as a result, got death penalty from the authorities — being propagated to us (i.e., non-believers) as a genuine divine creature by Christian scribes and Christian hagiographers for 2000 years.

    An example of “Correction of false history” means re-writing history if British Christian imperialists taught us that Tejo Mahalaya (i.e., Taj Mahal) was a de novo construction for the carnal love-affair between a miserly self-proclaimed Mughal emperor named Mirza Shahabuddin Baig Muhammad Khan Shah Jahan (i.e., Prince Khurram) and his chief consort Arjumand Banu Begum, but all material and historical evidences later point out that British Christian imperialists deliberately lied to the world.

    So, re-writing Indian history based on what actually happened instead of silently accepting false stories written by foreign invaders is NOT revisionism.

    Re-writing of Indian history based on what actually happened instead of silently accepting false histories written by foreign invaders is and should be called CORRECTION of false Indian histories, not REVISIONISM.

    However, there are many highly-paid Indian historians (e.g., college professors) today who want to perpetuate — in both academia and media — the historic lies written by foreign invaders.

    There are also so many self-hating or self-disrespecting Indian “Hindus” today who simply want “Hinduism” (i.e., Sanatana Dharma) to completely disappear from earth.

  9. Face_The_Truth says:

    [“…but please don’t forget the St Thomas Christains who go right back to the 1st century and seem always to have lived in peace with their neighbours until they were somewhat disrupted by the arrival of the Portugese invaders in the 17 th century.”]

    Based on our known history, your statement doesn’t appear to be true in reality.

    LINK

    https://controversialhistory.blogspot.com/2007/10/myth-of-saint-thomas-india-visit.html

  10. Richard says:

    foreign Muslim and Christian invaders of Indian subcontinent.

    Foriegn invaders may be true of the later, western backed Christians – but please don’t forget the St Thomas Christains who go right back to the 1st century and seem always to have lived in peace with their neighbours until they were somewhat disrupted by the arrival of the Portugese invaders in the 17 th century.

  11. Think outside the box says:

    Surprising thing is that this revisionist history has been rejected by the present ruling Government of Hindu BJP party through its Minister for Culture Dr Mahesh Sharma himself.
    Having visited it, I can say that it does not even remotely look like a Temple from inside, outside or from any angle.
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34971759

    India’s government has rejected claims by a group of lawyers that the Taj Mahal monument was a Hindu temple.
    Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said the government had not found any evidence to support the claim.
    The lawyers filed a petition in a court last year saying that the monument should be handed over to Hindus.
    The Taj Mahal, a 17th Century mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, a Muslim, after his wife’s death, attracts about 12,000 visitors a day.
    Six lawyers belonging to the city of Agra, where the monument is located, had told a court there was “substantial evidence” to prove that the famous monument was originally a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
    They had urged the court to declare the monument a Hindu temple.
    The Taj Mahal was completed by Shah Jahan in 1653 as a mausoleum for his third and favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child.
    The monument’s complex structure of white marble domes and minarets inlaid with semi-precious stones and carvings is considered the finest example of Mughal art in India.
    In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a Unesco World Heritage site and attracts millions of visitors each year.

  12. Dave says:

    @Louis Palme: You wrote, Muslims and Hindus are relatively recent arrivals in India?? Where did the Hindus or the believers in Sanatana Dharma come from? Akhand Bharata or India has always been the land of Hindus, a historical fact. Please enlighten me.

  13. Face_The_Truth says:

    ====================================================================

    Any researcher interested in a “Hindu” Shiva Temple named Tejo Mahalaya (alias “Taj Mahal”), please click on the following LINK.

    http://www.asccramanandnagar.org/Ebooks/Godbole%20book%20on%20Taj.pdf

    ====================================================================

    Based on my studies, here I try to depict the geo-political scenario of the time of building a “Hindu” Shiva Temple named Tejo Mahalaya (alias “Taj Mahal”) in 13th century A.D. when/or after the widespread killings of millions of Muslims by Genghis Haan and by his grandson Hulegu Haan took place and which significantly decapitated Islamic imperialism on earth.

    “Hindus” of Indian subcontinent were not of one strict lifestyle and not of one strict culture and not of one “Hindu” kingdom by the time followers of newly created Islamic creed of Arabian Peninsula started arriving on the coastal towns of Indian subcontinent from 7th century A.D. and onward.

    “Hindu” rajas (i.e., kings) did not mind at all about different alien faiths’ arrival on Indian shores, rather wholeheartedly accommodated the arrivals of foreign Muslims with full royal help for the sake of millennia-old “Hindu” tradition called “Atithi Devo Bhava” (Sanskrit: Treat your guests as you treat your own God).

    But, Muslims have always been snakes in our known human history and Muslims will always be so.

    Muslims only understand and respect brute force of the opponents!

    After desecrating millions of “Hindu” temples from 7th century A.D. to late 12th century A.D., Muslim invaders did not leave any significant “Hindu” structures left un-destroyed or un-converted to mosques in Indian subcontinent.

    During Islamic rule when Muslim invaders were in power, “Hindus” were NOT allowed to build and renovate any “Hindu” temple.

    So, we can see from our own history, genocidal Islamic imperialism rose from 7th century A.D. and badly ended by 13th century A.D. by the comet-like appearance of Genghis Haan (i.e., a Pagan warrior) on world stage.

    And, when Muslim military power was spectacularly diminished at the late 13th century A.D., there were many outstanding “Hindu” architectural creations such as “Tejo Mahalaya”, “Vishnu Mahalaya”, and “Rudra Mahalaya” that took place under the auspices of Indian “Hindu” kings in their respective kingdoms.

    Speechless stones of those glorious “Hindu” temples today just stare at us and try to tell us about the glorious “Hindus” who built great human civilization and who fought and died for their motherland against foreign Muslim and Christian invaders of Indian subcontinent.

    LINK

    http://www.stephen-knapp.com/distorted_history_of_taj_mahal.htm