Arvind Ghosh
Shah Jahan did not build the Taj

(Prologue: The stunning revelation in the following pages, backed by conclusive proof, that the world-famous Taj Mahal is after all not the creation of the cruel, lecherous Moghul sultan Shah Jahan but an ancient majestic Hindu palace, should shame generations of scholars of Indian history, who have from their high academic and governmental perches misled the public and the governments, the world over.

A conclusive and disarming confession by the fifth generation Mughal sultan Shah Jahan's own court chronicler that the world famous Taj Mahal is an erstwhile Hindu palace commandeered for use as a Mohammedan tomb has been recently discovered.

The confession is contained in the "Badshahnama", a chronicle containing an account of Shah Jahan's reign by his court employee, Mulla Abdul Hamid Lahori. Printed copies of the "Badshahnama" (Bibliotheca Indica Series of the Asiatic Society of Bengal) are now available in all prominent historical libraries. A photostat of the relevant extract in Persian is provided herewith. The pasage reads:

"Before this (i.e. being taken over) it was the manzil of Raja Mansingh. At this time, it was in the occupation of Raja Jaisingh, his nephew. This was selected for Mumtaz's heavenly abode...Although Raja Jaisingh deemed the take over of the grand mansion (Ala manzil) as a great honor done to him yet as a matter of etiquette and since it (taking over without compensation) is not permitted by religious convention - he was paid a (certain sum for it from the royal treasury."

In the following pages, we have presented, for the information of our readers, the "Badshahnama" in its three versions: (1) In the original Persian version; (2) In its Roman Persian form; and (3) in its English translated version.)

The original Persian version:

The above photostat copy is from page 403 VOL I of 'BADSHAHNAMA'
(Bibliotheca Indica Series of the Asiatic Society of Bengal) written by Mulla Abdul Hamid Lahori who was Shah Jahan's court employee.
From lines 23 to 34 appears the sensational discovery.



In Roman Persian Form:
Har do ra az ham juda mee sakht wa ba hamin
zorhae beja beemar shudah
Pas az chande dar zindagi e pidar sipare shud,
saabiqa chun Fateh Khan
Pisare ambar ba waseelae Yaminuddoulah
Asif Khan arzah dasht mehtawe bar
Dowlat khwahi wa hawa jooee firishtadah
maarooz dashta bood keh ein
Khidmatguzar ikhlas shiaar benizamra keh az
kotah bini wa shaqawat
Guzeenee bad sagaali wa mukhalifate awliya-e
-dowlat-e-abad meeaad mee namood
Muqayyad sakhteh ummidwar-i marahim-i bad
shahi ast, wa dar jawabe aan farman
Qazah jiriyan (sic) izze sudoor yafteh
bawad keh agar guftar-e-oo faroghe an farman
Jahan ra az aalaaishe wajoode besawaad-e-oo
pak gardaanad chun Fateh Khan
Bad az warude hukme jahan-mutah burhane-
be-nizam bad farjam ra khufah namudeh
Shoharat dad keh ba ajale tabiye dar guzasht,
wa Hussein nam pisare Darsalae
Ura janashin-e-an badayin gurda need. Wa
arzh dashti mabni az
Haqiqat-e-ein waqyeh ba dast-e-Muhammad
Ibrahim keh az nowkarane muatamade oo
Bud, ba dargahe salatin panah firistad
misale lazimul imtisal sabir shud keh
Iqbale ra ke ba darune hisare Dowlatabad
burdeh az qillate azuqah (supplies)
zaayai khwahand
Shud an ra ba nafis jawahar wa murasseh
alate be nizam hamrahe pisare
Kalane khud ba rasme peshkash usal numayad
ta multimasate oo, izze qubul yabad
Wa ba nanshure nawazish kahpoh murassah wa
da yake Iraqi ba zine-tila'
Diagare Turki rah war ba zin-mutala'
mashube Shukrullah Arab wa Fateh Khan
Ba Dowlatabad farishtadand. Udajiram ba
bename chihal hazar rupiah sarfaraz gardeedeh
Rooze juma' hafdahum Jamadilawal nashe
muqaddase musafire aqleeme
Taqaddus hazarat mehd alia Mumtzuzzamanira
keh ba tariqae a amanat mudafun.


Bud masahube Badshezadeh namdar Muhammad
Shah Shuja' Bahadur a Wazir Khan
Wa sati (sic) Unnisa Khanam keh ba mijaz
shanasi wa kardani ba darjae aolai pesh
Dasti wa waqalat elan Malike Jahanmalikae
jahaniyan rasidah bud, rawane-e
Darul khalafae Akbarabad namudand wahakun
shud ke harroz dar rah aashe bisiyar
Wa darahim wa dananire beshumar ba fuqra
wa nayazmdan bibihand, wa zamine dar
Nihayet rifat wa nizahat keh janubrooe an
misr jama' astwa
Pesh az ein Manzile Rajah Mansingh
bud wadari waqt ba Rajah Jaisingh
Nabirae taalluq dasht barae madfan e an
bahisht muwattan bar guzeedand
Agarcheh Raja Jaisingh husule ein dawlatra
foze azeem danisht anmab
Az rooe ahtiyat keh dar jamiye shewan
khususan umure diniyeh naguzir ast
Dar' awaz an ali manzile az khalisae
sharifah badu marahmat farmoodand
Bad az rasidane nash ba an shahare karamat
bahar panz dahun Jamadiussanieh
Sale ayandeh paikare nurani-e-an asmani
jowhar ba khakepak sipurdeh amad
Wa mutasaddiyane darul khilafah be hukme
muallae ajalatul waqt turbate falak martabate
An jahan iffatra az nazr poshidand. Wa
Imaarate aalishan wa gumbaze
Rafi bunyan keh ta rastakheez dar balandee
yadgare himmate gardoon rafaat
Hazrate Sahib Qarahe sani bashad wa dar
ustuwari namudare istigamat
Azayam bani tarah afgandand wa muhandisane
doorbin wa meamaraane saanat
Afreen chihal lakh rupiah akharajate ein
imaarat bar awurd namudand.


In English translated form:
Both were separated from one another and
with those unjust atrocities fell ill
After some time during his father's time
(he) passed away. Prior to this since Fateh Khan
Son of Ambar through Yaminuddaulah Asaf Khan
had submitted a petition;
Declaring his allegiance and loyalty and
praying that this
Loyal servant full of sincerity requests
that because of the shortsightedness and cruelty
Ill will and opposition of the royal
offcials came into play
And putting me under rigorous imprisonment -
and I hope to receive Royal mercy and in
validity of that death-inflicting - Royal order...
has had the honor of being
issued and if that statement has any truth in it
Then this world should be relieved of the
existence of such a person since Fateh Khan
After receiving the Royal order - obeyed by
the world - he advanced arguments and
excuses for his bad administration
And publicized it to appear as a natural
death and Hussein named son of Darsaleh was...
Made successor illegally and a petition
far from the
Reality of this event (was) sent through
Mohammed Ibrahim - one of his
trusted employees
And the court of the Protector of Kings -
issued an order which had to be strictly
complied with
That the confessor be taken inside
Dulatabad fort and starved to death.
And he with all the splendor and glory and
fanfare accompanied by his son
Eldest (son) as per tradition be given a
send off, so that his requests were accepted
And equipped with the gracious charter
(order) and with two horses - one Iraqi
with golden saddle through Shukrullah Arab
and Fateh Khan -
Were sent to Daulatabad - and Udajahan was
honored with a reward of Rs. 40,000
Friday - 15th Jamadiulawal the sacred dead
body of the traveler to the kingdom of
Holiness, hazrat Mumtazul Zamani - who
was buried temporarily, was sent -


Accompanied by prince Mohammed
Shah, Shuja Bhadur, Wazir Khan -
And Satiunnisa Khanam - who knew the
temperament of the (deceased) so intimately
And was well versed in the job and
represented the views that queen of queens etc.
Was brought to the capital Akbarabad (Agra)
and an order was issued that every day
During the journey countless coins be
distributed among the fakir and needy. The site
covered with a majestic magnificent lush
garden, to the south of that great city and (which)
Amidst which (garden) the building known as
the palace (Manzil) of Rajah Mansingh, at
prsent owned by Rajah Jaisingh,
Grandson (of Mansingh), was selected
for the burial of the Queen whose
abode is in heaven.
Although Rajah Jaisingh valued it greatly
as his ancestral heritage and property
yet he would have been agreeable to part
with it gratis for the Emperor Shah Jahan.
(Still) out of sheer scrupulousness so
essential in matters of bereavement
and religious sanctity (thinking
it improper to take his palace gratis)
he (Jaisingh) was granted Sharifabad
(in exchange)
In exchange of that (ala Manzil) grand
palace, he (Jaisingh) was granted
government land
After the arrival of the dead body
in that great city (Agra) on 15th Jamadussanieh
Next year that illustrious body
of the heavenly Queen was laid to rest...
The officials of the capital, according to
the royal orders of the day, under the
sky-high lofty mausoleum,
Hid (the body of) that pious lady from the
eyes of the world, and this palace
(Imarate alishan) so majestic and
(capped) with a dome
So lofty that in its stature (it) is a
memorial to the courage of
sky-dimensions
(of) Sahib Qarani Sani - (the King) and
in strength so mighty.
In his resolution so firm - the
foundation was laid and geometricians with
far sight and architects of talent
Incurred an expenditure of Rs. 40 lakhs
on this building.

(Epilogue: To make the passage a little more coherent we would like to explain a few points. Shah Jahan's wife Arjumand Banu died in Burhanpur in 1630-31. Her body was buried in a garden there. It was exhumed some six months later and brought to Agra for re-burial. This simple and well-known fact should have been enough to alert discerning people that Shah Jahan must have come by a ready-made and handy mausoleum, in Agra. No one disturbs an already buried body to carry it to a place some 600 miles away! Who likes to transfer a dead body from one grave to another? Even a commoner's body is not trifled with in this manner.

Then again, those among our readers who have visited the Taj, must have noticed the extreme finesse and precision in the stone work. Now, how can one expect such precision among bands of fornication-prone rowdies whose sense of distance is measured only by the length between one watering hole and the next. The GoI has hired only Mohammedans in most historical outfits and these gooks, descendants of paan-bidi-wallahs dream of Moghul ancestry; as a result, most seekers of knowledge are thwarted by these employees and no one is permitted to go through the right documents. That is a shame!)

Relevant Links:
Books on shocking truths about the Taj Mahal and other subjects by Purushottam Nagesh Oak
Taj Mahal - A Hindu Temple Palace
TAJ MAHAL AND THE GREAT BRITISH CONSPIRACY : Part I
TAJ MAHAL AND THE GREAT BRITISH CONSPIRACY : Part II
Hindu Temples: What Happened To Them?
Destruction Of Hindu Temples By Muslims - Part I
Destruction Of Hindu Temples By Muslims - Part II
Destruction Of Hindu Temples By Muslims - Part III
Destruction Of Hindu Temples By Muslims - Part IV

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