BJP MP Diya Kumari claims Land on which Taj Mahal was built originally belonged to Jaipur Royals

JAIPUR: A member of Jaipur’s former royal family and BJP MP Diya Kumari has claimed that the land on which the Taj Mahal was constructed originally belonged to Jaipur's ruler Jai Singh. In an interaction with the media on Wednesday, Diya Kumari also asserted that the land was acquired by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and records of the same are available with the erstwhile Jaipur royal family.

In addition, the BJP MP has supported a petition in the Allahabad High Court which has demanded an inquiry into ‘the history’ of the Taj Mahal and a re-opening of its 22 rooms for "the truth, whatever it is".

Diya Kumari has virtually claimed that the Taj Mahal, a symbol of love of and one of the seven wonders of the world, was built on property that originally belonged to the former royal family of Jaipur. The BJP MP has claimed that she has documents to show that earlier the Taj Mahal used to be the palace of the old royal family of Jaipur which was captured by Shah Jahan.  When Shah Jahan took that palace and land of the Jaipur family, the family could not oppose him because it was then ruled by him.

Diya Kumari remarked that people have the right to know what was there before the monument was built and the entire issue should be investigated. The member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family further said that there are records available with the Jaipur family to prove all her claims and it would provide them if the need arises.

The BJP MP asserted, “this was the land of our royal family and Shah Jahan had occupied it. At that time the government belonged to him.  I have heard that he was compensated in return, but at that time there was no law to appeal against him or do anything against him.”

MP Diya Kumari further added, 'I will not say that the Taj Mahal should be demolished but its rooms should be opened.  Some rooms in the Taj Mahal are closed and some parts are sealed there for a long time.  It must be inquired and opened so that it can be known what was there and what was not.  All those facts will be established once we have a proper inquiry.”

As is well-known, Ayodhya's BJP leader Dr Rajneesh Singh has filed a petition in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in UP regarding the Taj Mahal.  In his petition, Dr Singh has demanded a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open those 22 rooms of the Taj Mahal which have been closed for a long time.  The petitioner says that the Taj Mahal may contain sculptures and inscriptions of Hindu gods and goddesses.  If the survey is done, then it will be known whether there are Hindu idols and inscriptions in the Taj Mahal or not.

BJP MP Diya Kumari has openly supported that plea and said “it is good that someone raised his voice and filed a petition in the court.” Diya Kumari said that the truth must come out from this and asserted that Documents present in their possession can help to bring out the truth and they are ready to give the same. The BJP MP promised that “if documents are needed, then our royal family of Jaipur is ready to share them.  If the court orders, we will give them all the documents.”

It is worth noting that even when the issue arose regarding the descendants of Ram during the Ayodhya temple, it was claimed by the Jaipur Royal Family that they are the descendants of Ram.  For this, the BJP MP had said that she is ready to testify in court as well.

On the question of whether a petition will also be filed in the court on behalf of the former royal family of Jaipur, Diya Kumari said that we are looking into it now and we will examine what steps should be taken.