Taj British Conspiracy

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The Tajmahal is Tejomahalay

A Hindu Temple

By P.N.Oak

Probably there is no one who has been duped at least once in a life time. But can the whole world

can be duped? This may seem impossible. But in the matter of indian and world history the

world can be duped in many respects for hundreds of years and still continues to be duped. Theworld famous Tajmahal is a glaring instance. For all the time, money and energy that people over

the world spend in visiting the Tajmahal, they are dished out of concoction. Contrary to what

visitors are made to believe the Tajmahal is not a Islamic mausoleum but an ancientShiva Temple known as Tejo Mahalaya which the 5th generation moghul emperor

Shahjahan commandeered from the then Maharaja of Jaipur. The Tajmahal, should

therefore, be viewed as a temple palace and not as a tomb. That makes a vast

difference. You miss the details of its size, grandeur, majesty and beauty when youtake it to be a mere tomb. When told that you are visiting a temple palace you wont

fail to notice its annexes, ruined defensive walls, hillocks, moats, cascades,

fountains, majestic garden, hundreds of rooms archaded verendahs, terraces, multistored towers, secret sealed chambers, guest rooms, stables, the trident (Trishul) pinnacle on the

dome and the sacred, esoteric Hindu letter "OM" carved on the exterior of the wall of the

sanctum sanctorum now occupied by the centotaphs. For detailed proof of this breath takingdiscovery,you may read the well known historian Shri. P. N. Oak's celebrated book titled "

Tajmahal : The True Story". But let us place before you, for the time being an exhaustive

summary of the massive evidence ranging over hundred points:

NAME

1.The term Tajmahal itself never occurs in any mogul court paper or chronicle even in

Aurangzeb's time. The attempt to explain it away as Taj-i-mahal is therefore, ridiculous.

2.The ending "Mahal"is never muslim because in none of the muslim countries around the world

from Afghanistan to Algeria is there a building known as "Mahal".

3.The unusual explanation of the term Tajmahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal, who is buried in it,

is illogical in at least two respects viz., firstly her name was never Mumtaj Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani and secondly one cannot omit the first three letters "Mum" from a woman's name to

derive the remainder as the name of the building.

4.Since the lady's name was Mumtaz (ending with 'Z') the name of the building derived from her

should have been Taz Mahal, if at all, and not Taj (spelled with a 'J').

5.Several European visitors of Shahjahan's time allude to the building as Taj-e-Mahal is almostthe correct tradition, age old Sanskrit name Tej-o-Mahalaya, signifying a Shiva temple.



Contrarily Shahjahan and Aurangzeb scrupulously avoid using the Sanskrit term and call it just a

holy grave.

6.The tomb should be understood to signify NOT A BUILDING but only the grave or centotaphinside it. This would help people to realize that all dead muslim courtiers and royalty including

Humayun, Akbar, Mumtaz, Etmad-ud-Daula and Safdarjang have been buried in capture Hindumansions and temples.

7.Moreover, if the Taj is believed to be a burial place, how can the term Mahal, i.e., mansionapply to it?

8.Since the term Taj Mahal does not occur in mogul courts it is absurd to search for any mogul

explanation for it. Both its components namely, 'Taj' and' Mahal' are of Sanskrit origin.

TEMPLE TRADITION

9.The term Taj Mahal is a corrupt form of the sanskrit term TejoMahalay signifying a Shiva

Temple. Agreshwar Mahadev i.e., The Lord of Agra was consecrated in it.

10.The tradition of removing the shoes before climbing the marble platform originates from preShahjahan times when the Taj was a Shiva Temple. Had the Taj originated as a tomb, shoes need

not have to be removed because shoes are a necessity in a cemetery.

11.Visitors may notice that the base slab of the centotaph is the marble basement in plain white

while its superstructure and the other three centotaphs on the two floors are covered with inlaidcreeper designs. This indicates that the marble pedestal of the Shiva idol is still in place and

Mumtaz's centotaphs are fake.

12.The pitchers carved inside the upper border of the marble lattice plus those mounted on it

number 108-a number sacred in Hindu Temple tradition.

13.There are persons who are connected with the repair and the maintainance of the Taj whohave seen the ancient sacred Shiva Linga and other idols sealed in the thick walls and in

chambers in the secret, sealed red stone stories below the marble basement. The Archaeological

Survey of India is keeping discretely, politely and diplomatically silent about it to the point of dereliction of its own duty to probe into hidden historical evidence.

14.In India there are 12 Jyotirlingas i.e., the outstanding Shiva Temples. The Tejomahalaya aliasThe Tajmahal appears to be one of them known as Nagnatheshwar since its parapet is girdled

with Naga, i.e., Cobra figures. Ever since Shahjahan's capture of it the sacred temple has lost itsHindudom.

15.The famous Hindu treatise on architecture titled Vishwakarma Vastushastra mentions the

'Tej-Linga' amongst the Shivalingas i.e., the stone emblems of Lord Shiva, the Hindu deity. Such

a Tej Linga was consecrated in the Taj Mahal, hence the term Taj Mahal alias Tejo Mahalaya.



16.Agra city, in which the Taj Mahal is located, is an ancient centre of Shiva worship. Its

orthodox residents have through ages continued the tradition of worshipping at five Shiva shrines

before taking the last meal every night especially during the month of Shravan. During the lastfew centuries the residents of Agra had to be content with worshipping at only four prominent

Shiva temples viz., Balkeshwar, Prithvinath, Manakameshwar and Rajarajeshwar. They had lost

track of the fifth Shiva deity which their forefathers worshipped. Apparently the fifth wasAgreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheshwar i.e., The Lord Great God of Agra, The Deity of the King of

Cobras, consecrated in the Tejomahalay alias Tajmahal.

17.The people who dominate the Agra region are Jats. Their name of Shiva is Tejaji. The Jat

special issue of The Illustrated Weekly of India (June 28,1971) mentions that the Jats have theTeja Mandirs i.e., Teja Temples. This is because Teja-Linga is among the several names of the

Shiva Lingas. From this it is apparent that the Taj-Mahal is Tejo-Mahalaya, The Great Abode of

Tej.

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

18. Shahjahan's own court chronicle, the Badshahnama, admits (page 403, vol 1) that a grand

mansion of unique splendor, capped with a dome (Imaarat-a-Alishan wa Gumbaze) was takenfrom the Jaipur Maharaja Jaisigh for Mumtaz's burial, and the building was known as Raja

Mansingh's palace.

19. The plaque put the archealogy department outside the Tajmahal describes the edifice as a

mausoleum built by Shahjahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal , over 22 years from 1631 to 1653.That plaque is a specimen of historical bungling. Firstly, the plaque sites no authority for its

claim. Secondly the lady's name was Mumtaz-ulZamani and not Mumtazmahal. Thirdly, the

period of 22 years is taken from some mumbo jumbo noting by an unreliable French visitor Tavernier, to the exclusion of all muslim versions, which is an absurdity.

20. Prince Aurangzeb's letter to his father,emperor Shahjahan,is recorded in atleast three

chronicles titled `Aadaab-e-Alamgiri', `Yadgarnama', and the `Muruqqa-i-Akbarabadi' (edited by

Said Ahmed, Agra, 1931, page 43, footnote 2). In that letter Aurangzeb records in 1652 A.Ditself that the several buildings in the fancied burial place of Mumtaz were seven storeyed and

were so old that they were all leaking, while the dome had developed a crack on the northern

side.Aurangzeb, therefore, ordered immediate repairs to the buildings at his own expense whilerecommending to the emperor that more elaborate repairs be carried out later. This is the proof

that during Shahjahan's reign itself that the Taj complex was so old as to need immediate repairs.

21. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur retains in his secret personal `KapadDwara' collection two orders

from Shahjahan dated Dec 18, 1633 (bearing modern nos. R.176 and 177) requestioning the Taj building complex. That was so blatant a usurpation that the then ruler of Jaipur was ashamed to

make the document public.

22. The Rajasthan State archives at Bikaner preserve three other firmans addressed by Shahjahan

to the Jaipur's ruler Jaising ordering the latter to supply marble (for Mumtaz's grave and koranic



grafts) from his Makranna quarris, and stone cutters. Jaisingh was apparently so enraged at the

blatant seizure of the Tajmahal that he refused to oblige Shahjahan by providing marble for

grafting koranic engravings and fake centotaphs for further desecration of the Tajmahal. Jaisinglooked at Shahjahan's demand for marble and stone cutters, as an insult added to injury.

Therefore, he refused to send any marble and instead detained the stone cutters in his protective

custody.

23. The three firmans demanding marble were sent to Jaisingh within about two years of Mumtaz's death. Had Shahjahan really built the Tajmahal over a period of 22 years, the marble

would have needed only after 15 or 20 years not immediately after Mumtaz's death.

24. Moreover, the three mention neither the Tajmahal, nor Mumtaz, nor the burial. The cost andthe quantity of the stone also are not mentioned. This proves that an insignificant quantity of

marble was needed just for some supercial tinkering and tampering with the Tajmahal. Even

otherwise Shahjahan could never hope to build a fabulous Tajmahal by abject dependence for

marble on a non cooperative Jaisingh.

EUROPEAN VISITOR'S ACCOUNTS

25. Tavernier, a French jeweller has recorded in his travel memoirs that Shahjahan purposely buried Mumtaz near the Taz-i-Makan (i.e.,`The Taj building') where foriegners used to come as

they do even today so that the world may admire. He also adds that the cost of the scaffolding

was more than that of the entire work. The work that Shahjahan commissioned in the

Tejomahalaya Shiva temple was plundering at the costly fixtures inside it, uprooting the Shivaidols, planting the centotaphs in their place on two stories, inscribing the koran along the arches

and walling up six of the seven stories of the Taj. It was this plunder, desecrating and

plunderring of the rooms which took 22 years.

26. Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra recorded in 1632 (within only a year of Mumtaz'sdeath) that `the places of note in and around Agra, included Taj-e-Mahal's tomb, gardens and

bazaars'.He, therefore, confirms that that the Tajmahal had been a noteworthy building even

before Shahjahan.

27. De Laet, a Dutch official has listed Mansingh's palace about a mile from Agra fort, as an

outstanding building of pre shahjahan's time. Shahjahan's court chronicle, the Badshahnama

records, Mumtaz's burial in the same Mansingh's palace.

28. Bernier, a contemporary French visitor has noted that non muslim's were barred entry intothe basement (at the time when Shahjahan requisitioned Mansingh's palace) which contained a

dazzling light. Obviously, he reffered to the silver doors, gold railing, the gem studded lattice

and strings of pearl hanging over Shiva's idol. Shahjahan comandeered the building to grab all

the wealth, making Mumtaz's death a convineant pretext.

29. Johan Albert Mandelslo, who describes life in agra in 1638 (only 7 years after mumtaz's

death) in detail (in his `Voyages and Travels to West-Indies', published by John Starkey and



John Basset, London), makes no mention of the Tajmahal being under constuction though it is

commonly erringly asserted or assumed that the Taj was being built from 1631 to 1653.

SANSKIRT INSCRIPTION

30. A Sanskrit inscription too supports the conclusion that the Taj originated as a Shiva temple.

Wrongly termed as the Bateshwar inscription (currently preserved on the top floor of theLucknow museum), it refers to the raising of a "crystal white Shiva temple so alluring that Lord

Shiva once enshrined in it decided never to return to Mount Kailash his usual abode". That

inscription dated 1155 A.D. was removed from the Tajmahal garden at Shahjahan's orders.

Historicians and Archeaologists have blundered in terming the insription the `Bateshwar inscription' when the record doesn't say that it was found by Bateshwar. It ought, in fact, to be

called `The Tejomahalaya inscription' because it was originally installed in the Taj garden before

it was uprooted and cast away at Shahjahan's command.

A clue to the tampering by Shahjahan is found on pages 216-217, vol. 4, of ArchealogiicalSurvey of India Reports (published 1874) stating that a "great square black balistic pillar which,

with the base and capital of another pillar....now in the grounds of Agra,...it is well known, once

stood in the garden of Tajmahal".

MISSING ELEPHANTS

31. Far from the building of the Taj, Shahjahan disfigured it with black koranic lettering and

heavily robbed it of its Sanskrit inscription, several idols and two huge stone elephants extendingtheir trunks in a welcome arch over the gateway where visitors these days buy entry tickets. An

Englishman, Thomas Twinning, records (pg.191 of his book "Travels in India A Hundred Yearsago") that in November 1794 "I arrived at the high walls which enclose the Taj-e-Mahal and itscircumjacent buildings. I here got out of the palanquine and.....mounted a short flight of steps

leading to a beautiful portal which formed the centre of this side of the `COURT OF

ELEPHANTS" as the great area was called."

KORANIC PATCHES

32. The Taj Mahal is scrawled over with 14 chapters of the Koran but nowhere is there even the

slightest or the remotest allusion in that Islamic overwriting to Shahjahan's authorship of the Taj.

Had Shahjahan been the builder he would have said so in so many words before beginning toquote Koran.

33. That Shahjahan, far from building the marble Taj, only disfigured it with black lettering is

mentioned by the inscriber Amanat Khan Shirazi himself in an inscription on the building. Aclose scrutiny of the Koranic lettering reveals that they are grafts patched up with bits of

variegated stone on an ancient Shiva temple.



CARBON 14 TEST

34. A wooden piece from the riverside doorway of the Taj subjected to the carbon 14 test by anAmerican Laboratory, has revealed that the door to be 300 years older than Shahjahan,since the

doors of the Taj, broken open by Muslim invaders repeatedly from the 11th century onwards,had to b replaced from time to time. The Taj edifice is much more older. It belongs to 1155 A.D,i.e., almost 500 years anterior to Shahjahan.

ARCHITECHTURAL EVIDENCE

35. Well known Western authorities on architechture like E.B.Havell, Mrs.Kenoyer and Sir W.W.Hunterhave gone on record to say that the TajMahal is built in the Hindu temple style.

Havell points out the ground plan of the ancient Hindu Chandi Seva Temple in Java is identical

with that of the Taj.

36. A central dome with cupolas at its four corners is a universal feature of Hindu temples.

37. The four marble pillars at the plinth corners are of the Hindu style. They are used as lamp

towers during night and watch towers during the day. Such towers serve to demarcate the holy

precincts. Hindu wedding altars and the altar set up for God Satyanarayan worship have pillarsraised at the four corners.

38. The octagonal shape of the Tajmahal has a special Hindu significance because Hindus alone

have special names for the eight directions, and celestial guards assigned to them. The pinnacle

points to the heaven while the foundation signifies to the nether world. Hindu forts, cities,

palaces and temples genrally have an octagonal layout or some octagonal features so thattogether with the pinnacle and the foundation they cover all the ten directions in which the king

or God holds sway, according to Hindu belief.

39. The Tajmahal has a trident pinncle over the dome. A full scale of the trident pinnacle is inlaidin the red stone courtyard to the east of the Taj. The central shaft of the trident depicts a "Kalash"

(sacred pot) holding two bent mango leaves and a coconut. This is a sacred Hindu motif.

Identical pinnacles have been seen over Hindu and Buddhist temples in the Himalayan region.Tridents are also depicted against a red lotus background at the apex of the stately marble arched

entrances on all four sides of the Taj. People fondly but mistakenly believed all these centuries

that the Taj pinnacle depicts a Islamic cresent and star was a lighting conductor installed by the

British rulers in India. Contrarily, the pinnacle is a marvel of Hindu metallurgy since the pinnacle made of non rusting alloy, is also perhaps a lightning deflector. That the pinnacle of the

replica is drawn in the eastern courtyard is significant because the east is of special importance to

the Hindus, as the direction in which the sun rises. The pinnacle on the dome has the word`Allah' on it after capture. The pinnacle figure on the ground does not have the word Allah.

INCONSISTENCIES



40. The two buildings which face the marble Taj from the east and west are identical in design,

size and shape and yet the eastern building is explained away by Islamic tradition, as a

community hall while the western building is claimed to be a mosque. How could buildingsmeant for radically different purposes be identical? This proves that the western building was put

to use as a mosque after seizure of the Taj property by Shahjahan. Curiously enough the building

being explained away as a mosque has no minaret. They form a pair af reception pavilions of theTejomahalaya temple palace.

41. A few yards away from the same flank is the Nakkar Khana alias DrumHouse which is a

intolerable incongruity for Islam. The proximity of the Drum House indicates that the western

annex was not originally a mosque. Contrarily a drum house is a neccesity in a Hindu temple or palace because Hindu chores,in the morning and evening, begin to the sweet strains of music.

42. The embossed patterns on the marble exterior of the centotaph chamber wall are foilage of

the conch shell design and the Hindu letter "OM". The octagonally laid marble lattices inside the

centotaph chamber depict pink lotuses on their top railing. The Lotus, the conch and the OM are

the sacred motifs associated with the Hindu deities and temples.

43. The spot occupied by Mumtaz's centotaph was formerly occupied by the Hindu Teja Linga a

lithic representation of Lord Shiva. Around it are five perambulatory passages. Perambulation

could be done around the marble lattice or through the spacious marble chambers surroundingthe centotaph chamber, and in the open over the marble platform. It is also customary for the

Hindus to have apertures along the perambulatory passage, overlooking the deity. Such apertures

exist in the perambulatories in the Tajmahal.

44. The sanctom sanctorum in the Taj has silver doors and gold railings as Hindu temples have.

It also had nets of pearl and gems stuffed in the marble lattices. It was the lure of this wealth

which made Shahjahan commandeer the Taj from a helpless vassal Jaisingh, the then ruler of Jaipur.

45. Peter Mundy, a Englishman records (in 1632, within a year of Mumtaz's death) having seen a

gem studded gold railing around her tomb. Had the Taj been under construction for 22 years, a

costly gold railing would not have been noticed by Peter mundy within a year of Mumtaz's death.

Such costl fixtures are installed in a building only after it is ready for use. This indicates thatMumtaz's centotaph was grafted in place of the Shivalinga in the centre of the gold railings.

Subsequently the gold railings, silver doors, nets of pearls, gem fillings etc. were all carried away

to Shahjahan's treasury. The seizure of the Taj thus constituted an act of highhanded Moghulrobery causing a big row between Shahjahan and Jaisingh.

46. In the marble flooring around Mumtaz's centotaph may be seen tiny mosaic patches. Those

patches indicate the spots where the support for the gold railings were embedded in the floor.

They indicate a rectangular fencing.

47. Above Mumtaz's centotaph hangs a chain by which now hangs a lamp. Before capture by

Shahjahan the chain used to hold a water pitcher from which water used to drip on the

Shivalinga.



48. It is this earlier Hindu tradition in the Tajmahal which gave the Islamic myth of Shahjahan's

love tear dropping on Mumtaz's tomb on the full moon day of the winter eve.

TREASURY WELL

49. Between the so-called mosque and the drum house is a multistoried octagonal well with a

flight of stairs reaching down to the water level. This is a traditional treasury well in Hindutemple palaces. Treasure chests used to be kept in the lower apartments while treasury personnel

had their offices in the upper chambers. The circular stairs made it difficult for intruders to reach

down to the treasury or to escape with it undetected or unpursued. In case the premises had to be

surrendered to a besieging enemy the treasure could be pushed into the well to remain hiddenfrom the conquerer and remain safe for salvaging if the place was reconquered. Such an

elaborate multistoried well is superflous for a mere mausoleum. Such a grand, gigantic well is

unneccesary for a tomb.

BURIAL DATE UNKNOWN

50. Had Shahjahan really built the Taj Mahal as a wonder mausoleum, history would have

recorded a specific date on which she was ceremoniously buried in the Taj Mahal. No such dateis ever mentioned. This important missing detail decisively exposes the falsity of the Tajmahal

legend.

51. Even the year of Mumtaz's death is unknown. It is variously speculated to be 1629, 1630,

1631 or 1632. Had she deserved a fabulous burial, as is claimed, the date of her death had not been a matter of much speculation. In an harem teeming with 5000 women it was difficult to

keep track of dates of death. Apparently the date of Mumtaz's death was so insignificant anevent, as not to merit any special notice. Who would then build a Taj for her burial?

BASELESS LOVE STORIES

52. Stories of Shahjahan's exclusive infatuation for Mumtaz's are concoctions. They have no

basis in history nor has any book ever written on their fancied love affairs. Those stories have been invented as an afterthought to make Shahjahan's authorship of the Taj look plausible.

COST

53. The cost of the Taj is nowhere recorded in Shahjahan's court papers because Shahjahan never

built the Tajmahal. That is why wild estimates of the cost by gullible writers have ranged from 4

million to 91.7 million rupees.



PERIOD OF CONSTRUCTION

54. Likewise the period of construction has been guessed to be anywhere between 10 years and

22 years. There would have not been any scope for guesswork had the building construction been

on record in the court papers.

ARCHITECTS

55. The designer of the Tajmahal is also variously mentioned as Essa Effendy, a Persian or Turk,

or Ahmed Mehendis or a Frenchman, Austin deBordeaux, or Geronimo Veroneo, an Italian, or Shahjahan himself.

RECORDS DON'T EXIST

56. Twenty thousand labourers are supposed to have worked for 22 years during Shahjahan'sreign in building the Tajmahal. Had this been true, there should have been available in

Shahjahan's court papers design drawings, heaps of labour muster rolls, daily expenditure sheets,

bills and receipts of material ordered, and commisioning orders. There is not even a scrap of paper of this kind.

57. It is, therefore, court flatterers,blundering historians, somnolent archeologists, fiction writers,

senile poets, careless tourists officials and erring guides who are responsible for hustling the

world into believing in Shahjahan's mythical authorship of the Taj.

58. Description of the gardens around the Taj of Shahjahan's time mention Ketaki, Jai, Jui,

Champa, Maulashree, Harshringar and Bel. All these are plants whose flowers or leaves are usedin the worship of Hindu deities. Bel leaves are exclusively used in Lord Shiva's worship. A

graveyard is planted only with shady trees because the idea of using fruit and flower from plantsin a cemetary is abhorrent to human conscience. The presence of Bel and other flower plants in

the Taj garden is proof of its having been a Shiva temple before seizure by Shahjahan.

59. Hindu temples are often built on river banks and sea beaches. The Taj is one such built on the bank of the Yamuna river an ideal location for a Shiva temple.

60. Prophet Mohammad has ordained that the burial spot of a muslim should be inconspicous

and must not be marked by even a single tombstone. In flagrant violation of this, the Tajamhal

has one grave in the basement and another in the first floor chamber both ascribed to Mumtaz.Those two centotaphs were infact erected by Shahjahan to bury the two tier Shivalingas that

were consecrated in the Taj. It is customary for Hindus to install two Shivalingas one over the

other in two stories as may be seen in the Mahankaleshwar temple in Ujjain and the Somnath

temple raised by Ahilyabai in Somnath Pattan.

61. The Tajmahal has identical entrance arches on all four sides. This is a typical Hindu building

style known as Chaturmukhi, i.e.,four faced.



THE HINDU DOME

62. The Tajmahal has a reverberating dome. Such a dome is an absurdity for a tomb which mustensure peace and silence. Contrarily reverberating domes are a neccesity in Hindu temples

because they create an ecstatic dinmultiplying and magnifying the sound of bells, drums and pipes accompanying the worship of Hindu deities.

63. The Tajmahal dome bears a lotus cap. Original Islamic domes have a bald top as is

exemplified by the Pakistan Embassy in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, and the domes in the

Pakistan's newly built capital Islamabad.

64. The Tajmahal entrance faces south. Had the Taj been an Islamic building it should havefaced the west.

TOMB IS THE GRAVE,NOT THE BUILDING

65. A widespread misunderstanding has resulted in mistaking the building for the grave.InvadingIslam raised graves in captured buildings in every country it overran. Therefore, hereafter people

must learn not to confound the building with the grave mounds which are grafts in conquered

buildings. This is true of the Tajmahal too. One may therefore admit (for arguments sake) thatMumtaz lies buried inside the Taj. But that should not be construed to mean that the Taj was

raised over Mumtaz's grave.

66. The Taj is a seven storied building. Prince Aurangzeb also mentions this in his letter to

Shahjahan. The marble edifice comprises four stories including the lone, tall circular hall inside

the top, and the lone chamber in the basement. In between are two floors each containing 12 to15 palatial rooms. Below the marble plinth reaching down to the river at the rear are two more

stories in red stone. They may be seen from the river bank. The seventh storey must be below theground (river) level since every ancient Hindu building had a subterranian storey.

67. Immediately bellow the marble plinth on the river flank are 22 rooms in red stone with their

ventilators all walled up by Shahjahan. Those rooms, made uninhibitably by Shahjahan, are kept

locked by Archealogy Department of India. The lay visitor is kept in the dark about them. Those22 rooms still bear ancient Hindu paint on their walls and ceilings. On their side is a nearly 33

feet long corridor. There are two door frames one at either end ofthe corridor. But those doors

are intriguingly sealed with brick and lime.

68. Apparently those doorways originally sealed by Shahjahan have been since unsealed andagain walled up several times. In 1934 a resident of Delhi took a peep inside from an opening in

the upper part of the doorway. To his dismay he saw huge hall inside. It contained many statues

huddled around a central beheaded image of Lord Shiva. It could be that, in there, are Sanskritinscriptions too. All the seven stories of the Tajmahal need to be unsealed and scoured to

ascertain what evidence they may be hiding in the form of Hindu images, Sanskrit inscriptions,

scriptures, coins and utensils.



69. Apart from Hindu images hidden in the sealed stories it is also learnt that Hindu images are

also stored in the massive walls of the Taj. Between 1959 and 1962 when Mr. S.R. Rao was the

Archealogical Superintendent in Agra, he happened to notice a deep and wide crack in the wallof the central octagonal chamber of the Taj. When a part of the wall was dismantled to study the

crack out popped two or three marble images. The matter was hushed up and the images were

reburied where they had been embedded at Shahjahan's behest. Confirmation of this has beenobtained from several sources. It was only when I began my investigation into the antecedents of

the Taj I came across the above information which had remained a forgotten secret. What better

proof is needed of the Temple origin of the Tajmahal? Its walls and sealed chambers still hide inHindu idols that were consecrated in it before Shahjahan's seizure of the Taj.

PRE-SHAHJAHAN REFERENCES TO THE TAJ

70. Apparently the Taj as a central palace seems to have an chequered history. The Taj was perhaps desecrated and looted by every Muslim invader from Mohammad Ghazni onwards but

passing into Hindu hands off and on, the sanctity of the Taj as a Shiva temple continued to berevived after every muslim onslaught. Shahjahan was the last muslim to desecrate the Tajmahalalias Tejomahalay.

71. Vincent Smith records in his book titled `Akbar the Great Moghul' that `Babur's turbulent life

came to an end in his garden palace in Agra in 1630'. That palace was none other than the

Tajmahal. 72. Babur's daughter Gulbadan Begum in her chronicle titled `Humayun Nama' refersto the Taj as the Mystic House.

73. Babur himself refers to the Taj in his memoirs as the palace captured by Ibrahim Lodi

containing a central octagonal chamber and having pillars on the four sides. All these historical

references allude to the Taj 100 years before Shahjahan.

74. The Tajmahal precincts extend to several hundred yards in all directions. Across the river areruins of the annexes of the Taj, the bathing ghats and a jetty for the ferry boat. In the Victoria

gardens outside covered with creepers is the long spur of the ancient outer wall ending in a

octagonal red stone tower. Such extensive grounds all magnificently done up, are a superfluityfor a grave.

75. Had the Taj been specially built to bury Mumtaz, it should not have been cluttered with other

graves. But the Taj premises contain several graves atleast in its eastern and southern pavilions.

76. In the southern flank, on the other side of the Tajganj gate are buried in identical pavilionsqueens Sarhandi Begum, and Fatehpuri Begum and a maid Satunnisa Khanum. Such parity

burial can be justified only if the queens had been demoted or the maid promoted. But since

Shahjahan had commandeered (not built) the Taj, he reduced it general to a muslim cemetary as

was the habit of all his Islamic predeccssors, and buried a queen in a vacant pavillion and a maidin another idenitcal pavilion.



77. Shahjahan was married to several other women before and after Mumtaz. She, therefore,

deserved no special consideration in having a wonder mausoleum built for her.

78. Mumtaz was a commoner by birth and so she did not qualify for a fairyland burial.

79. Mumtaz died in Burhanpur which is about 600 miles from Agra. Her grave there is intact.Therefore ,the centotaphs raised in stories of the Taj in her name seem to be fakes hiding in

Hindu Shiva emblems.

80. Shahjahan seems to have simulated Mumtaz's burial in Agra to find a pretext to surround the

temple palace with his fierce and fanatic troops and remove all the costly fixtures in his treasury.This finds confirmation in the vague noting in the Badshahnama which says that the Mumtaz's

(exhumed) body was brought to Agra from Burhanpur and buried `next year'. An official term

would not use a nebulous term unless it is to hide some thing.

81. A pertinent consideration is that a Shahjahan who did not build any palaces for Mumtaz

while she was alive, would not build a fabulous mausoleum for a corpse which was no longer kicking or clicking.

82. Another factor is that Mumtaz died within two or three years of Shahjahan becoming anemperor. Could he amass so much superflous wealth in that short span as to squander it on a

wonder mausoleum?

83. While Shahjahan's special attachment to Mumtaz is nowhere recorded in history his amorous

affairs with many other ladies from maids to mannequins including his own daughter Jahanara,find special attention in accounts of Shahjahan's reign. Would Shahjahan shower his hard earned

wealth on Mumtaz's corpse?

84. Shahjahan was a stingy, usurious monarch. He came to throne murdering all his rivals. He

was not therefore, the doting spendthrift that he is made out to be.

85. A Shahjahan disconsolate on Mumtaz's death is suddenly credited with a resolve to build theTaj. This is a psychological incongruity. Grief is a disabling, incapacitating emotion.

86. A infatuated Shahjahan is supposed to have raised the Taj over the dead Mumtaz, but carnal,

physical sexual love is again a incapacitating emotion. A womaniser is ipso facto incapable of

any constructive activity. When carnal love becomes uncontrollable the person either murderssomebody or commits suicide. He cannot raise a Tajmahal. A building like the Taj invariably

originates in an ennobling emotion like devotion to God, to one's mother and mother country or power and glory.

87. Early in the year 1973, chance digging in the garden in front of the Taj revealed another set

of fountains about six feet below the present fountains. This proved two things. Firstly, the

subterranean fountains were there before Shahjahan laid the surface fountains. And secondly that

those fountains are aligned to the Taj that edifice too is of pre Shahjahan origin. Apparently the



garden and its fountains had sunk from annual monsoon flooding and lack of maintenance for

centuries during the Islamic rule.

89. The stately rooms on the upper floor of the Tajmahal have been striped of their marblemosaic by Shahjahan to obtain matching marble for raising fake tomb stones inside the Taj

premises at several places. Contrasting with the rich finished marble ground floor rooms thestriping of the marble mosaic covering the lower half of the walls and flooring of the upper

storey have given those rooms a naked, robbed look. Since no visitors are allowed entry to theupper storey this despoilation by Shahjahan has remained a well guarded secret. There is no

reason why Shahjahan's loot of the upper floor marble should continue to be hidden from the

public even after 200 years of termination of Moghul rule.

90. Bernier, the French traveller has recorded that no non muslim was allowed entry into the

secret nether chambers of the Taj because there are some dazzling fixtures there. Had those been

installed by Shahjahan they should have been shown the public as a matter of pride. But since it

was commandeered Hindu wealth which Shahjahan wanted to remove to his treasury, he didn't

want the public to know about it.

91. The approach to Taj is dotted with hillocks raised with earth dugout from foundation

trenches. The hillocks served as outer defences of the Taj building complex. Raising such

hillocks from foundation earth, is a common Hindu device of hoary origin. Nearby Bharatpur provides a graphic parallel.

Peter Mundy has recorded that Shahjahan employed thousands of labourers to level some of

those hillocks. This is a graphic proof of the Tajmahal existing before Shahjahan.

93. At the backside of the river bank is a Hindu crematorium, several palaces, Shiva temples and

bathings of ancient origin. Had Shahjahan built the Tajmahal, he would have destroyed theHindu features.

94. The story that Shahjahan wanted to build a Black marble Taj across the river, is another

motivated myth. The ruins dotting the other side of the river are those of Hindu structuresdemolished during muslim invasions and not the plinth of another Tajmahal. Shahjahan who did

not even build the white Tajmahal would hardly ever think of building a black marble Taj. He

was so miserly that he forced labourers to work gratis even in the superficial tamperingneccesary to make a Hindu temple serve as a Muslim tomb.

95. The marble that Shahjahan used for grafting Koranic lettering in the Taj is of a pale white

shade while the rest of the Taj is built of a marble with rich yellow tint. This disparity is proof of the Koranic extracts being a superimposition.

96. Though imaginative attempts have been made by some historians to foist some fictitiousname on history as the designer of the Taj others more imaginative have credited Shajahan

himself with superb architechtural proficiency and artistic talent which could easily concieve and

plan the Taj even in acute bereavment. Such people betray gross ignorance of history in as muchas Shajahan was a cruel tyrant ,a great womaniser and a drug and drink addict.



97. Fanciful accounts about Shahjahan commisioning the Taj are all confused. Some asserted

that Shahjahan ordered building drawing from all over the world and chose one from among

them. Others assert that a man at hand was ordered to design a mausoleum amd his design wasapproved. Had any of those versions been true Shahjahan's court papers should have had

thousands of drawings concerning the Taj. But there is not even a single drawing. This is yet

another clinching proof that Shahjahan did not commision the Taj.

98. The Tajmahal is surrounded by huge mansions which indicate that several battles have beenwaged around the Taj several times.

99. At the south east corner of the Taj is an ancient royal cattle house. Cows attached to the

Tejomahalay temple used to reared there. A cowshed is an incongruity in an Islamic tomb.

100. Over the western flank of the Taj are several stately red stone annexes. These are superflousfor a mausoleum.

101. The entire Taj complex comprises of 400 to 500 rooms. Residential accomodation on such astupendous scale is unthinkable in a mausoleum.

102. The neighbouring Tajganj township's massive protective wall also encloses the Tajmahaltemple palace complex. This is a clear indication that the Tejomahalay temple palace was part

and parcel of the township. A street of that township leads straight into the Tajmahal. The

Tajganj gate is aligned in a perfect straight line to the octagonal red stone garden gate and the

stately entrance arch of the Tajmahal. The Tajganj gate besides being central to the Taj templecomplex, is also put on a pedestal. The western gate by which the visitors enter the Taj complex

is a camparatively minor gateway. It has become the entry gate for most visitors today because

the railway station and the bus station are on that side.

103. The Tajmahal has pleasure pavillions which a tomb would never have.

104. A tiny mirror glass in a gallery of the Red Fort in Agra reflects the Taj mahal. Shahjahan is

said to have spent his last eight years of life as a prisoner in that gallery peering at the reflected

Tajmahal and sighing in the name of Mumtaz. This myth is a blend of many falsehoods.Firstly,old Shajahan was held prisoner by his son Aurangzeb in the basement storey in the Fort

and not in an open,fashionable upper storey. Secondly, the glass piece was fixed in the 1930's by

Insha Allah Khan, a peon of the archaelogy dept.just to illustrate to the visitors how in ancient

times the entire apartment used to scintillate with tiny mirror pieces reflecting the Tejomahalaytemple a thousand fold. Thirdly, a old decrepit Shahjahan with pain in his joints and cataract in

his eyes, would not spend his day craning his neck at an awkward angle to peer into a tiny glass piece with bedimmed eyesight when he could as well his face around and have full,direct view of the Tjamahal itself. But the general public is so gullible as to gulp all such prattle of wily,

unscrupulous guides.

105. That the Tajmahal dome has hundreds of iron rings sticking out of its exterior is a feature

rarely noticed. These are made to hold Hindu earthen oil lamps for temple illumination.



106. Those putting implicit faith in Shahjahan authorship of the Taj have been imagining

Shahjahan-Mumtaz to be a soft hearted romantic pair like Romeo and Juliet. But contemporary

accounts speak of Shahjahan as a hard hearted ruler who was constantly egged on to acts of tyranny and cruelty, by Mumtaz.

107. School and College history carry the myth that Shahjahan reign was a golden period inwhich there was peace and plenty and that Shahjahan commisioned many buildings and

patronized literature. This is pure fabrication. Shahjahan did not commision even a single building as we have illustrated by a detailed analysis of the Tajmahal legend. Shahjahn had to

enrage in 48 military campaigns during a reign of nearly 30 years which proves that his was not a

era of peace and plenty.

108. The interior of the dome rising over Mumtaz's centotaph has a representation of Sun and

cobras drawn in gold. Hindu warriors trace their origin to the Sun. For an Islamic mausoleum the

Sun is redundant. Cobras are always associated with Lord Shiva.

FORGED DOCUMENTS

109. The muslim caretakers of the tomb in the Tajmahal used to possess a document which they

styled as "Tarikh-i-Tajmahal". Historian H.G. Keene has branded it as `a document of doubtfulauthenticity'. Keene was uncannily right since we have seen that Shahjahan not being the creator

of the Tajmahal any document which credits Shahjahn with the Tajmahal, must be an outright

forgery. Even that forged document is reported to have been smuggled out of Pakistan. Besides

such forged documents there are whole chronicles on the Taj which are pure concoctions.

110. There is lot of sophistry and casuistry or atleast confused thinking associated with the Taj

even in the minds of proffesional historians, archaelogists and architects. At the outset they assertthat the Taj is entirely Muslim in design. But when it is pointed out that its lotus capped dome

and the four corner pillars etc. are all entirely Hindu those worthies shift ground and argue thatthat was probably because the workmen were Hindu and were to introduce their own patterns.

Both these arguments are wrong because Muslim accounts claim the designers to be Muslim,and

the workers invariably carry out the employer's dictates.

The Taj is only a typical illustration of how all historic buildings and townships from Kashmir to

Cape Comorin though of Hindu origin have been ascribed to this or that Muslim ruler or courtier.

It is hoped that people the world over who study Indian history will awaken to this new finding

and revise their erstwhile beliefs.

Those interested in an indepth study of the above and many other revolutionary rebuttals mayread this author's other research books.

Tajmahal The True Story authored by Shri P.N. Oak can be ordered from :



A. Ghosh Publisher

5720, W. Little York #216

Houston, Texas 77091

TAJ MAHALAND

THE GREAT BRITISH CONSPIRACY :

Part I

By V.S. Godbole

PREFACE

Prof.P.N.Oak of New Delhi, put forward a theory in 1965 that the Taj Mahal was not amausoleum built by Shahjahan but a Rajput Palace. In 1968 he found a confession to that effect

in Shahjahan's official chronicle Badshahnama and in 1974 he came across Au rangzeb's letter of

1652 [the year when Taj Mahal is supposed to have been just completed] complaining that Taj

Mahal was leaking all over. In 1978 I read his extended book The Taj Mahal is a Temple Palace.Over the next two years I went through all th e references and was convinced of his assertion.

My paper Taj Mahal- Simple Analysis of a Great Deception was appreciated by some prominent

European scholars in 1980.

Dr V V Bedekar of Thane [India] started a historical quarterly named itihas patrika in March1982. He published my paper on Taj Mahal in the first issue of the quarterly. He also published

my extended paper as a booklet in March 1986.

In 1981 my research went deeper. I asked myself, " Were the British scholars just a third neutral party who were misled by the prolonged misuse of Hindu buildings as Mosques and Tombs and

were not cunning enough to see through chauvinistic Muslim claims ?



Or did they know the truth about Taj Mahal and other monuments all along but had, for political

reasons, vowed to hide the truth ? "

By the end of 1981 I prepared an eighty page dossier on the subject. When I placed theinformation in a chronological order I was surprised at my findings. There was a British

conspiracy of suppression of truth about Taj Mahal and other monuments over the last 200 years.The main personalities involved either knew each other and/or referred to works of each other.

As the time passed by new information came to light which confirmed my findings. Someimportant, contemporary events were added to give the rea ders a better picture of the times.

These may be ignored if reader is not familiar with them.

The Chronology was serialised in the itihas patrika during September 1983 and September 1985.It is now being made available as a thesis, with some modifications and additions to the original

series.

My Architect friends M/s Paithankar and Pradhan suggested improvements to presentation and

checked my typing meticulously. My wife Mrs Vinita and my daughters Vaidehi and Varshasupported me throughout. Dr Bedekar has made this publication possible. I am grateful to them

all.

V.S.Godbole

14 Turnberry Walk

Bedford, MK 41 8 AZ

U.K

10 January 1994

CONTENTS

Part Period And Main Event Pages

I 1784 to 1853 : Rise of the British Power in India 1 to 27

II 1854 to 1875 : Aftermath of the Indian War of Independence 28 to 51

III 1876 to 1885 : Rise of Lokamanya Tilak 52 to 73

IV 1886 to 1906 : High noon of the British Raj 74 to 100

V1907 to 1921 : Age of Revolutionaries and Civil

Disobedience101 to 127

VI 1922 to 1948 : India wins freedom 128 to 158

VII 1949 to 1984 : Post Indian Independence 159 to 202

VIII 1784 to 1984 : Two hundred years in retrospect 203 to 265

IX The Great British Conspiracy 266 to 298

PART I : 1784 to 1853 RISE OF THE BRITISH POWER IN INDIA

http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/modern/godbole_taj1.html#part1

http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/modern/godbole_taj2.html

http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/modern/godbole_taj2.html

http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/modern/godbole_taj1.html#part1



• 1784

On 15 January, Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded in Calcutta by 30 officers

of the East India Company. Sir William Jones was the President for first ten years.

•

1785

Charles Wilkins translates Bhagvad Geeta into English.

• 1786

Thomas Daniell and his nephew William Daniell, two English painters visited

India at the request of the East India Company. They made several paintings and

sketches of various scenes of daily life in India and of objects of interest such astemples. They visited Taj Mahal in January 1789. After visiting many other places

they returned to England in 1794.

• 1787

Charles Wilkins translates Hitopadesha from Sanskrit into English.

• 1788

Lt-Col William Henry Sleeman was born. He is well known for his book Ramblesand Recollections of an Indian Official published in 1844.

• 1789

The French Revolution.

• 1790

Sir William Jones translates Shakuntala the famous drama by Kalidas, from

Sanskrit into English. The Calcutta edition was followed by two London editionswithin the space of three years.

• 1794

November/December : Thomas Twining, an eighteen year old employee of the[English] East India Company visited Taj Mahal, Agra and Delhi. [Sir William

Jones, the second Englishman who learnt Sanskrit, Mahadaji Shinde andAnandibai of Peshwa family die.]

• 1795



Thomas and William Daniell published Oriental Scenery - 24 views taken in

1789-90. Plate no. XVIII shows the principal gate leading to the Taje Mah'l. The

description reads, " The Taje Mah'l is a mausoleum of white marble built by theEmperor Shahjehan in the year 1631, for his favourite Queen [but no name is

given].....The Emperor also lies interred here "

• 1801

The book Oriental Scenery contained only two minor views of Taj Mahal.Daniells were probably criticised for not showing the mausoleum in greater detail.

They therefore published two good views and a plan of Taj Mahal in the booklet

Views of the Taje Mahe l at the city of Agra in Hindoostan taken in 1789. The plan shows minute details of the Taj complex and the Tajganj market on the south

side of Taj. The main question is - who prepared it ? Daniells were painters and

had neither the time nor skills for pr eparing the plan. It has been drawn to a scale

which seems to be 5 1/2 inches to 1000 foot [R.F 1/2185]

On the plan Daniells name various structures. They also give the following

information :

River Jumna 500 Guz in width. A Guz is 2 ft 9 inches. The breadth of the river is

not in proportion to the Scale.

A marble platform 19 ft high on which is erected the Taje Mahel.

The so called Jawab is described as " A building corresponding in general form

with the Mosque." The word Jawab is not used. In the booklet accompanying the

plan we find :

p 3 " This majestic edifice stands on the Southern bank of the River Jumna, and was erected by the Emperor Shah Jahan as a Mausoleum for

his favourite wife Mumtaza Zamani. ..... Stretched on an immense

basement 40 feet high and 900 in length. ...."

p 4 " ... the dimensions of which ( i.e. whole complex ) are about 3000 feetin length, and 900 in width, and its whole area is enclosed by a strong

wall."

p 5 " ... The building on the right with three marble domes is a Mosque;the one on the left, though similar in its general form, differs in its internalarrangement and decorations, having been appropriated to the

accommodation of visitors of distinction ..."

p 7 " This Mausoleum was begun to be built in the fifth year of theEmperor Shah Jehan and the whole completed in sixteen years four

months and twenty one days, at the expense of 9,815,426 Rupees 13



Annas 3 paisa. The Emperor it is said, intended also to have erected a

Mausoleum of corresponding magnificence for himself on the opposite

side of the river, which is more than a quarter of a mile wide, and to haveconnected them by a bridge of white marble. ..."

Moreover, in the plan, in place of the tomb of Satiunnisa Khanum we see thetomb of Futtehporee and in place of the tomb of Sarhani Begum we see the tomb

of Akabarabadee. [This is also confirmed by Fanny Parks. See events of 1850]This raises the question. " How did the historians decide that these tombs belong

to Satiunnisa Khanum [South-West corner] and Sarhani Begum ? [South-East

corner]

Historian Yadunath Sarkar tells us, "......Akbar made it a rule that the concubines

of the Mughal Emperors shall be named after the places of their birth or the towns

in which they were admitted to the harem. Hence, we have ladies surnamed

Akbarabadi, Fat epuri, Aurangabadi and Udaipuri....." [Ref : Anecdotes of

Aurangzeb and Other Historical Essays by Yadunath Sarkar, published byM.C.Sarkar & Sons, 1912, page 46]

About 150 ft north of the above two tombs, we see apartments for female

attendants to Ladies of Rank and surrounding these apartments are several pawn[i.e. paan] bazars. [What is their purpose in a tomb ?]

• 1803

A treaty was signed at Bassein between the East India Company and the Maratha

Peshwa Bajirao II.

The English capture Agra from Shinde [Scindia].

• 1808

James Fergusson, son of an Ayrshire doctor, and Sir Henry Miers Elliot were

born. Fergusson became a pioneer of History of Architecture. Elliot became

famous for his works History of India as told by its own historians.

• 1809

Sleeman arrives at Calcutta to join the Army of the East India Company.

• 1810

Captain Taylor of the East India Company carries out some repairs to Taj Mahal.

• 1811



The ninth edition of the English translation of Tavernier's Travels in India was

published. [22nd edition of the original book in French was published in 1810].

The title of the first edition, published in 1677 is - The Six Voyages ThroughTurkey etc. In the first edition, in part II - Travels in India, Tavernier says on page

50, "....of all the Monuments that are to be seen at Agra, that of the Wife of Cha- jehan is the most magnificent; [Note : Tavernier does not give her name.] He

caus'd it to be set up on purpose near the Tasimacan, to which all Strangers mustcome, [so] that they should admire it. [Shahjahan, a grief-stricken emperor,

wanted to make an exhibition of his sorrow !] The Tasimacan is a great Bazar, or

Market-place, compos'd of six great Courts, all encompassed with Portico's; under which there are Warehouses for Merchants; and where there is a prodigious

quantity of Calicuts vended. The Monument of this Begum, [ Who?] or Sultaness,

stands on the East-side of the City upon the River-side, in a great place enclosedwith Walls. .....You enter into this place through a large Portal: and presently

upon the left hand you espy a fair Gallery, that looks towards Mecca ; wherein

there are three or four Niches, wherein the Mufti comes at certain hours to pray....On the top there is a Cupola, little less magnificent than that of Val de

Grace in Paris; it is cover'd within and without with black Marble, the middle

being of Brick." [Note : Tavernier's information is quite correct. The dome is

made up of 13 ft 6 inches or 4.12 metre thick brickwork, the marble is 6 inches or 150 mm thick and is used as a lining only.

Ref

1. Archaeological Survey of India Report for the year 1936-37, p 3

2. Report on Repairs to Taj Mahal, Agra by the Indian Water-proofingCompany 1943, p 6]

" Under this Cupola is an empty Tomb, for the Begum is interr'd under the Arch

of the lowest Platform. The same change of Ceremonies which is observed under

ground, is observed above. For they change the Tapestries, Candles and other

Ornaments at several times and there are always Mollahs attending to pray. I sawthe beginning and compleating of this great work, that cost two and twenty years

labour, and twenty thousand men always at work; so that you cannot conceive but

that the Expence must be excessive . Cha-jehan had begun to raise his ownMonument on the other side of the River; but the Wars with his Son, broke off

that design, nor did Aurangzeb, now reigning, ever take any care to finish it.

There is a Eunuch who commands two thousand men, that is en trusted to guardnot only the Sepulcher of the Begum, but also the Tasimacan." [Note : Tavernier

is obviously writing before 1666. Shahjahan died on 22 January 1666 in

internment in the Red Fort of Agra and was buried in Taj]

" When you come to Agra from the Dehly, you meet a great Bazar; near to whichthere is a Garden, where the King Jehanguire, Father of Cha-jehan lies interr'd."



[Note : This is utterly wrong. Jehangir died in October 1627 and is interred near

Lahore, some 400 miles away. Tavernier was a French jewel merchant. He made

seven voyages to India in the 17th century.]

• 1813

Memoir of the War in India by Major Thorn was published. He describes the

Tauje Mahal on pages 197 to 203. He says, p 198 "......The ascent to the Tauje

from the garden is by a noble flight of marble steps leading to an extensive terraceabout 60 ft high and 400 ft square in the centre of which stands the mausoleum."

p 200 "....The tomb of the emperor has an inscription in Persian but that of his

partner, has one in the Hindoostanee language."

p 202 ".....The door at the grand entrance was originally of jasper, but thisvaluable relic has been taken away by the barbarous Jauts, who also plundered the

place of as many precious stones as they could easily pick out. .......Thiscelebrated work whi ch was begun within a few months after the death of the

sultana, took 11 years in building and as many more were occupied in adding toits ornaments." [i.e. it took 11+11 = 22 years as told by Tavernier.]

p 203 ".....the whole of which ( costly stones ) were placed under the direction of

the most able artists and occupied the labour of 20000 persons. The mere expense

of the workmanship amounted to no less than a sum of 96 lacs of rupee, about=A31 million. F or the protection of the place and to keep it in order, a company

of artillery and a battalion of infantry were constantly kept on the spot. [All this

for the protection of a mausoleum ? and that too of a beloved wife of a benevolent

king ?]. .....It was the intention of Shah Jahan to have erected a similar structurefor himself on the other side of the river opposite to the Tauje Mahal; and which

was to have been joined to it by a magnificent bridge of marble; but though theground was enclos ed, and some progress was made in the foundation of the

building, the design was frustrated by the clouds of rebellion ......The name of the

amiable woman was Arjummed Banoo which according to oriental usage wasaltered on her elevation [elevation to wha t ?] to that of Moorutaz Zumanee,

signifying the paragon of the age, but afterwards this also was changed to

Nourjehan or the light of the world." [Note : Nourjehan was the step mother of

Shahjahan, not his wife.]

[Our comments : Major Thorn visited Taj Mahal in 1803-04 when the Englishcaptured Agra. He repeats all the information given in Tavernier's book, but does

not say so. Almost all the visitors from this time onwards have done the same.

The word Taj Mahal is mentioned for the first time in Major Thorn's book.]

British missionaries were allowed to spread Christianity in India under the rule of

East India Company.



• 1814

Sleeman becomes a Lieutenant in Bengal Army.

Alexander Cunningham was born. He reached the rank of Major-General in the

Army of the East India Company. He was in charge of the Archaeological Surveyof India during 1860-65 and 1870-85.

• 1814-16

East India Company at war with Nepal.

• 1817

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the Muslim separatist was born.

History of India by James Mill was published.

• 1818

The English defeat Maratha Peshwa Bajirao II

• 1823

Max Muller was born in Dessau, Germany. He became a famous professor of

Sanskrit at All Souls College, Oxford.

•

1824-26

First Anglo-Burmese War. Arakan and Tenasserim provinces were annexed by

the East India Company.

• 1825

H.G.Keene, younger and Dadabhai Naoroji were born. Keene joined the Indian

Civil Service in 1847. Naoroji was affectionately called The Grand Old Man of

Indian Politics, by Indians.

December - Col. Hodgson of the Bengal Army arrives at Agra for measuringvarious dimensions of the Taj Mahal and other buildings and determine the

relationship between the Guz and the Inch.

• 1826



Bernier's travels in the mogul empire was translated by Irving Brock. [ editions

1891 and 1914]. Bernier was a French Physician who travelled in India during

1659-67.

On page 272 we find A LETTER TO MONSIEUR DE LA MOTHE VAYER;

AND DETAILS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE GREAT MOGUL'S COURT ANDOF THE MANNERS AND GENIUS OF THE PEOPLE OF INDIA. ( The letter

extends to page 340 ) Written at Delhi the 1 st of July 1663.

Bernier says, pp 333/4 ".. The Dutch have a malt factory in Agra, in which they

generally keep four or five persons.... I do not believe the Dutch will follow the

example of the English and abandon their factory at Agra"

p 334 " I shall finish this letter with a description of the two wonderfulmausoleums, which constitute the chief superiority of Agra over Delhi. One was

erected by Jehan-Guire in honour of his father Acbar; and Shah-Jehan raised the

other to the memory o f his wife Taje-Mahil, that extra-ordinary and celebrated beauty......"

p 336 " The last time I visited Taje Mahil's mausoleum I was in the company of a

French merchant. ...."

p 337 " This walk or terrace is wide enough to admit six coaches abreast; it is

paved with large and hard square stones, raised about eight French feet above thegarden; and divided the whole length by a canal faced with hewn stone and

ornamented with fou ntains placed at certain intervals."

" After advancing twenty-five or thirty paces on this terrace, it is worth while toturn round and view the back ..."

" Resuming the walk along the main terrace you see before you at a distance a

large dome, in which is sepulchre and to the right and left of that dome on a lower

surface you observe several garden walks covered with trees and many parterresfull of flower s."

pp 337/8 " When at the end of the principal walk or terrace besides the dome that

faces you, are discovered two large pavilions, one to the right, another to the left;

both built with the same kind of stone, consequently of the same red colour as the

firs t pavilion .... I shall not stop to speak of the interior ornaments of the two pavilions, because they scarcely differ in regard to the walls, ceiling, or pavement

from the dome which I am going to describe. ... From the middle of this space you

have a good view of the building which contain the tomb, and which we are nowto examine."

p 338 " This building is a vast dome of white marble nearly of the same height as

the Val De Grace of Paris and encircled by a number of turrets, also of white



marble, descending the one below the other in regular succession. The whole

fabric is supported by four great arches, three of which are quite open and the

other closed up by the wall of apartment with a gallery attached to it. There theKoran is continually read with apparent devotion in respectful memory of Taje

Mahil by certain moolahs kept in t he mausoleum for that purpose. The centre of

every arch is adorned with white marble slabs whereon are inscribed largeArabian characters in black marble. ... Every where are seen the jasper and

hyacinth and or jade, as well as other stones similar to those that enrich the walls

of the Grand Duke's chapel at Florence, and several more of great value andrarity, set in an endless variety of modes. .... Even the squares of white and black

marble which compose the pavement are inlaid with these precious stones in the

most beautiful and delicate manner imaginable."

p 339 " Under the dome is a small chamber, wherein is enclosed the tomb of Taje-Mahil. It is opened with much ceremony once in a year and once only, and as no

Christian is admitted within lest its sanctity should be profaned, I have not seen

the interior, but I understand that nothing can be conceived more rich andmagnificent."

p 340 " It only remains to draw your attention to a walk or terrace, nearly five and

twenty paces in breadth and rather more in height, which runs from the dome to

the extremity of the gardens. From this terrace are seen the Jumna flowing belowa large ex panse of luxuriant gardens - a part of the city of Agra - the fortress -

and all the fine residences of the omrahs erected on the banks of the river."

[Note: The book was first published in French in 1670, second edition in 1671.

Four editions were published in Amsterdam between 1672 and 1710, five in Lay

Haye between 1671 and 1725, one in Frankfurt in 1672-3, one in Milan in 1675.English translations were published in London in 1671, 1672, 1676 and 1684]

Sleeman was promoted to Captain.

• 1828

Narrative of a Journey Through the Upper Province of India by Rt.Rev.ReginaldHeber; Lord Bishop of Calcutta, was published. In volume I pages 589-90 he tells

us: " January 13, 1824....I went to see the celebrated Tage Mahal.....The

surrounding garden, which as well as the Tage itself is kept in excellent order by

Government ... The Tage contains, as usual a central hall in which enclosedwithin a screen of elaborate tracery are the tombs of Begum Noor-Jehan

Shahjahan's beloved wife, to whom it was erected and by her side of the

unfortunate Emperor himself.......The Jumna washes one side of the garden andthere are some remains of a bridge, which was designed by Shahjahan with the

intention, as the story goes, to build a second Tage of equal beauty for his own

separate place of internment on the opposite side of the river.



Lord Bentinck was appointed Governor General of India (till 1835).

• 1829

Indians were allowed to join the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

• 1830

Taj Mahal was mentioned for the first time under AGRA in the 7th edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica [E.B.] The information on Taj Mahal as given in

Bishop Heber's book of 1828 is repeated. [First edition of E.B. was published in

1768.]

• 1831

Taj Mahal was put on sale as a scrap by the Governor General Lord Bentinck.

[News item in the newspaper John Bull of Calcutta of 26th July 1831]. Thehighest bid received was for 1.5 lakhs of rupees or about =A315,000 at 1831

prices.

• 1832

Journal of a Tour in India by Captain G.C.Mundy was published. He made sometours in India as an A.D.C. to Lord Combermere, Commander-in-Chief of the

Indian Army. He describes Taj Mahal on pages 54 to 57. He says :- " 8 January

1828.....In the evening we visited the far famed Taj, a mausoleum erected by theGreat Emperor Shah Jahan over the remains of his favourite and beautiful wife

Arjemund Banu or as she was surnamed Mumtaza Zemani" "......In many placesthe more valuable pebbles have been fraudently extracted, an act of sacrilegious brigandage imputed to the Jats who had possession of Agra for some time, and

carried off to their capital Bhurtpore many of the extravagant bequest which Shah

Jahan left to his favour ite city. Amongst other plunder they bore away, Sampson

like, the brazen gates of the citadel of immense value which are supposed to bestill buried in Bhurtpore, as we failed to discover them on our warlike visit to that

fortress in 1826." [In other words, the English would have liked to take away

those valuables themselves to England.]

" The dome of the Taj is about 250 ft high and is as well as the 4 minarets at the

angles of terrace, entirely built of the most snowy marble. It was a work of 20years and 14 days [Mundy invents these figures] and cost Shah Jahan the sum of

750,000 liv res and although it is said the king compelled his conquered foes[Who ?] to send marble and stone to the spot unpaid for. Had Shah Jahan lived

long enough, he intended to erect a similar sepulchre for himself on the opposite

bank of the river, and to c onnect the two buildings by a bridge " [Note : Livrewas a French unit of money.]



On page 71 Mundy says, "...It is the custom among the Mohammedans to bury

the body below and have two tombs in the story above."

• 1833

Tours in Upper India by Major Archer, late A.D.C. to Lord Combermere was published. In volume I he says :

p 56 " .....January 7, 1828. Marched to Etimadpoor...... Agra is seen from

this place.....The Taje looks well at this distance."

p 57 " January 8 ....Before crossing the river, visited a garden called theRambaug, built by Noor Jehan the favourite wife of Shah Jehan."

p 59 "......Crossed the river Jumna by a bridge of boats ...On each side

were fragments of fallen masonry, showing the ruins of a once vast and

flourishing city."

p 60 "... Shah Jehan was the great patron of architecture of his time; thenew town of Delhi and the Taje were also built by him."

p 69 "....Visited the Taje, the cemetery of Shah Jehan and his favourite

wife Noor-Jehan (the light of the world)

- Alexander Cunningham arrives at Calcutta as a lieutenant in the RoyalEngineers. His brother Joseph was also joined the army of the East India

Company. Their father the Scots poet Allan Cunningham, had enlisted the help of

his old friend Walter Scott in procuring commissions for both his boys..

- Christian missionaries from all over the world were allowed to spreadChristianity in India under the rule of the East India Company.

• 1834

Macaulay arrives in India as the Law Member of the Governor General's Council

(till 1838)

- Coorg was annexed by the East India Company.

• 1835

English becomes the official language in India under the rule of the East India

Company.

- James Fergusson the pioneer of History of Architecture arrives at Calcutta for

his business activities.



- Fanny Parks visits Taj Mahal ( January ). She was wife of a British customs

officer stationed at Prayag.

• 1836

Macaulay wrote to his mother on 12th October "... Our English Schools areflourishing wonderfully. In a single town of Hoogly, 1400 boys are learning

English. The effect of this education is prodigious.....It is my firm belief that if our

plan of educatio n is followed up, there would not be a single idolater in Bengal in30 years hence......" [Ref : The Indian War of Independence 1857 by Veer

Savarkar.]

Lt. Col. W.H. Sleeman visits Taj Mahal.

Alexander Cunningham works as an A.D.C. to Governor General Lord Aukland(till 1840 ).

• 1837

Queen Victoria comes to throne in Britain.

Cunningham carries out archaeological excavations at Sanchi.

During the famine relief work, the British authorities demolished the remains of

old palaces upstream of Taj Mahal and even blasted out the foundation to

construct Strand Road.

•

1838-39

James Fergusson visits various caves in India and makes sketches of the rock cut

temples.

• 1839

Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab dies. English were busy for next 10 years trying

to capture his kingdom.

Photography was invented.

• 1840

James Fergusson was elected Member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great

Britain and Ireland.

• 1841



History of India by Mountstuart Elphinstone was published [Elphinstone was the

Resident in Poona : 1811-1818, then Deccan Commissioner and later on Governor

of Bombay : 1819-1827.] Taj Mahal is described on page 602. This book waslater prescribed as a s tandard textbook for the examination of the ICS and in the

universities in India.

- Justice M.G. Ranade, a moderate leader was born.

• 1842

Alexander Cunningham, Lieutenant in the Bengal Engineers, writes to Col Sykes,one of the Directors of the East India Company, "..... ( such explorations ) would

be an undertaking of vast importance to the Indian Government politically, and to

the British public religiously. To the first body it would show that India hadgenerally been divided into numerous petty chiefships, which had invariably been

the case upon every successful invasion; while, whenever she had been under one

ruler, she had always repe lled foreign conquest with determined resolution. Tothe other body it would show that Brahmanism, instead of being an unchanged

and unchangeable religion which had subsisted for ages, was of comparatively

modern origin and had been constantly receiving a dditions and alterations; factswhich prove that the establishment of the Christian religion in India must

ultimately succeed..." [Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and

Ireland. Volume VII of 1843. The letter was written from Aligarh on 15th

September 1842 and read at the society on 3rd December 1842.

William Henry Sykes (1790-1872 ) served in India with the East India Company.

He was elected to the Board of Directors of the company in 1840, became deputy

chairman in 1855, chairman in 1856. Member of Parliament, President of RoyalAsiatic Society, 1858].

Abu Imam, a Pakistani Muslim historian comments, "... Buddhism and its

archaeology was therefore to be studied for the cause of promoting Christianity.

For a systematic study of Buddhism, however, the first requisite was a survey atGovernment cost." [Alexander Cunningham and Indian Archaeology by Abu

Imam, 1966. pp 40-41]

Archaeology is not therefore, the innocent looking diggings and preservation of

old buildings. It does have political implications and as it remained in the hands

of the British for too long, that created a havoc in India.

• 1843

Memoir on the length of the Illahee Guz or Imperial Land Measure of Hindostan,

a paper by Col.J.A.Hodgson of Bengal Native Infantry, late Surveyor-General of

India was published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britainand Ireland. ( V olume VII of 1843 )



On page 50 he says, ".....In Taj Mahal I also procured from the Darogha

[ attendant], a Persian manuscript, compiled by him, purporting to give the

dimensions of several parts of the Taj in the guz measure; I measuredmany parts mentioned, but they gave discordant results; and in my report

to the government, I observed that these operations were of no value. The

manuscript was evidently the fabrication of an impostor."

p 51 " .... Being, then, in possession of this valuable description of theimperial buildings at Agra, I went there in December 1825, ..... for the

purpose of making measurements of the three buildings, and a plan of the

Taj ( scale 40 ft to an inch ), wh ich was effected under mysuperintendence ..... My object, of course, was knowing from the Shah

Jehan Nama the lengths of different parts of the buildings therein

described, in the Illahee guz to find their length in English measure; andfrom the average of the whole to attempt to determine the length of the

guz in inches and decimal parts."

pp 52/3 " ... This part is in the marble kursi or platform, in the centre of

which the mausoleum stands, as will be seen in the plan. .... The height of the walls which supports the platform is 18 feet: they are cased with white

marble, as is the entire m ausoleum, both inside and out."

p 54 Here, Hodgson gives measurements of various parts of Taj Mahal,

including " square rooms at the four cardinal points " in the cenotaph.

p 56 c. Description of the Taj and Masjids referred to in page 51. " ...the

mosque and its counterparts, the mihman-khana [i.e. guest house], as well

as the six octagonal pavilions of four stories high, ... compose a mostharmonious whole. Models of the mausoleum and its platform, and thefour minarets, have been exhibited in England. .... It is known that it is

entirely cas ed with white marble, within and without. ...."

".....It must be remembered that this is not a temple but a tomb....."

On pp 57-63 Hodgson gives some Extracts from the Shahjehan Nama, byMuhmmad Salah Kumbo.

pp 58/60 Remarks on the Mausoleum at Taj Ganj. (This means that Taj

Ganj existed before the mausoleum)

" His Majesty, in the fifth year of his reign, thought upon causing to be

erected the Rauzah, .....had it planned near the Jumna, which river runs tothe north of it. Its foundation was laid from whence water springs, and

architects built of stone and mor tar, making it strong and level with the

bank; ..." [False. the red sandstone is used for lining only, the constructionis of brick.]



" .... a pinnacle in height 15 guz, made of pure gold, which glitters like

sun, has been fixed on its very summit. ..." [At the end of his paper

Hodgson concludes that 1 guz = 31.456 inches. Therefore 15 Guz =39.32ft]

" On the four cardinal points there are four square rooms of two floors,each is 6 dirra square, consisting of 4 seats, each of which 4 1/2 dirra long,

a tanhasa before every square room, and a pesh-tak, 16 dirra long, and 25in height. In the four corner s there are four octagonal rooms of three

stories, the diameter of each 10 dirra, containing 8 nishemans, the

uppermost story of these places being octagonal dalans or halls, witharched roofs; on the three sides of these houses are pesh-taks on the outsi

de, each 7 dirra long, 4 ditto broad, and 10 ditto high."

" To the eastward of the mausoleum, opposite to the Masjid, a mihman

khana has been constructed, in all respects similar to the Mosque, except

that the peculiarity of the arch, and the darsan of the place of prayer is leftout."

In a footnote, Hodgson says that the mihman khana was for the

accommodation of visitors who pay their devotion at the opposite mosque.

p 61 " In the side of this market-place pleasant serais were constructed,

each in length and breadth 160 guz, containing an inclosure of 160 cells.

Further on another chauk 150 long by 100 broad occurs, in the midst of which a bazar, and two other serais near it are built, where a great variety

of piece goods and different sorts of property from foreign countries are

bought and sold; besides these buildings, a great number of merchantshave erected numerous houses and habitations of pakka work, so much sothat the place has become a large city, by name Moomtazabad. All these

royal buildings had taken twelve years to finish under superintendence of

Mukrumut Khan and Mir Abdul Karim, and their cost amounted to fiftylacs of rupees....."

The paper is accompanied by a survey map of the Taj Mahal, scale 80 ft to

1 inch. Why Hodgson waited for 15 years to submit the paper, after having

made the survey, is a mystery.

- Sind was annexed by the East India Company.

• 1844

Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official by Lt.Col W.H.Sleeman was

published. In Volume II page 27 he tells us that he visited Taj Mahal on 1 January

1836. Opposite page 28 are some pictures. They are :



The Taj Mahul or Tomb of Noor Mahal wife of Shah Jahan.

1. Photo of an engrave - normal view of Taj but without the water channel.

2. The Taj Mahul. This shows the two basement stories under the main

terrace.

3. The Taj Mahul. Similar to 2 above but the two basement stories are not

clearly visible. It is taken from a different angle and shows part of

upstream palace wall.

4. The Taj from the river - It shows the two basement stories and twodoors in the lowest story, for entry.

5. Marble screen of the tomb in the Taj.

6. Gateway of the Taj.

Sleeman tells us, p 31 " .....Mumtaz died in giving birth to a daughter.......Before

she died, she made two requests - first that Shahjahan should not marry againafter her death, second, that he should build for her the tomb which he promised

to perpetua te her name .....Both her dying requests were granted." [Note : This is

utter nonsense. Mumtaz was in pain for 30 hours. Moreover, her surviving

daughters Jahan-Ara and Roshan-Ara were 18 and 16 years old respectively.Would she ask Shahajahan to promise to find them suitable husbands or would

she ask for a beautiful tomb to be built for her ?] " Her tomb was commenced

upon immediately."

p 32 "........Tavernier saw this building commenced and finished; and tells that it

occupied twenty thousand men for twenty-two years. The mausoleum itself and

all the buildings that appertain to it cost 3,17,48,026, three crore, seventeen lakks,

forty-ei ght thousand and twenty-six rupees, or 3,174,802 pounds sterling; - threemillion one hundred and seventy-four thousand eight hundred and two!" [Note :

Tavernier does not give any figures of cost. Sleeman does not say where the

figure comes from.]

pp 32/33 "... That on the left or west side, is the only one that can be used as amosque or church; because the faces of the audience, and those of all men at their

prayers, must be turned towards the tomb of their prophet to the west. The pulpitis alwa ys against the dead wall at the back, and the audience face towards it,standing with their backs to the open front of the building. The church on the east

side is used for the accommodation of visitors, or for any secular purpose; and

was built merely as a " Jowab " ( answer ) to the real one."



p 34 "....This magnificent building and the palaces at Agra and Delhi were, I

believe, designed by Austin de Bordeux, a Frenchman of great talent and

merit....He was called by the natives Oostan Eesau, Nadir-ol-Asur. ....

p 35 " He had finished the palace at Delhi, and the mausoleum and palace of

Agra; when he was sent by the Emperor to settle some affairs of great importanceat Goa. He died at Cochin on his way back; and is supposed to have been

poisoned by the Portuguese ......."

"....Shah Jehan had commenced his own tomb on the opposite side of the Jumna;

and both were to have been united by a bridge. The death of Austin de Bordeux,

and the wars between his [Shahjahan's] sons that followed, prevented thecompletion of these mag nificent works." [Note : Sleeman just repeats what

Tavernier says and adds his own fantasy about Austin de Bordeux.]

p 36 ".....We went all over the palace in the fort, a very magnificent building

constructed by Shah Jehan within fortifications raised by his grandfather Akabar. ....The Marquis of Hastings, when Governor-General of India, broke up

one of the most beautif ul marble baths of this palace to send home to George IV

of England, then Prince Regent, and the rest of the marble of the suite of

apartments from which it had been taken, with all its exquisite fret-work andmosaic, was afterwards sold by auction, on ac count of our government, by order

of the then Governor-General, Lord W Bentinck. Had these things fetched the

price expected, it is probable that the whole of the palace, and even the Taj itself,would have been pulled down, and sold in the same manner .... "

- Handbook of British India by J.H.Stocequeter was published. [Taj Mahal on

page 230]

- Archaeological History of the Ruins of Delhi by Syed Ahmed Khan was published. For this work he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society

of London in 1864.

• 1845

Travels in India by a German Captain Leopold von Orlich was published. He

describes Taj Mahal in Volume II pages 44-49. He says :

p 44 "....My first excursion was to the Tauje Mahal or the Diamond of Seraglios,the most beautiful edifice in India. It is situated a mile to the south of the city,

close to the Jumna and was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan, in honour of his beloved cons ort Mumtaz Mahal."

p 45 ".....We rode along the bank of the river by a road made during the famine in

1838 and passed the ruins in which the nobles resided during the reign of Akbar

the Great. Here are walls so colossal and solid that they are preserved in spite of



all the violence which they have suffered. We saw pieces ten feet thick united by

a cement which nothing but gunpowder can break up."

p 47 "....We do not know who was the architect of this building of magic beauty, but there is much reason to suppose that an Italian was placed by Shahjahan at the

head of the undertaking and was loaded by him with great honours." [Whathonours ? and whi ch buildings did this mysterious Italian Architect design and

supervise before being entrusted with Taj Mahal ? Capt. Orlich does not evenhazard a guess. Every historian has ducked this simple question ever since.]

"...Perhaps he was one of those who are buried in the Catholic Cemetery, and who

according to the date on the tombstone, lived there at that time ". [All wishfulthinking. No names on the tombstones ? No inscriptions saying that this person

was entrusted with the building of a mausoleum of Shah Jahan's wife ?]

" 11 years were employed in building it and as many more were required for

finishing the ornamental parts." [i.e 11+11= 22 years as told by Tavernier.]

" The Emperor Shah Jahan intended to build a similar sepulchre called MathobBaug, for himself, on the opposite side of the Jumna and to connect both by a

splendid marble bridge. He had already commenced the building, ruins of which

are still to be seen, when a rebellion broke out and he was deposed at an advancedage by his son, Aurangzeb. His remains are deposited near those of his consort, in

an equally costly and beautiful marble sarcophagus." [Note : The original book in

German was translated into English by H.E.Lloyd, who refers to the kind andvaluable assistance of Col. Sykes, a Director of the East India Company and a

personal friend. Captain Orlich was an officer in the German Army. As t here was

peace in Europe, he thought of fighting with the British in the Afghan War. Heapproached the Kaiser, who wrote to Queen Victoria. She made the necessaryarrangements. Captain Orlich arrived at Bombay on 8 August 1842, by that time

the Afghan war was over. He then toured India and was honoured by Governor

General Lord Ellenborough. The word of such a man would be taken as true bythe later day readers. But he just repeats what he read in Tavernier's book. See

events of 1811.]

Travels in Kashmir and the Punjab by Baron Von Hugel was published.

• 1846

The first Anglo-Sikh War.

Sir H M Elliot printed the first volume of his "Supplement to the Glossary of

Indian Terms."

• 1847



H G Keene joins the Indian Civil Service.

Sir H.M.Elliot becomes Secretary to Government of India in the Foreign

Department.

Max Muller joins All Saints College, Oxford as a lecturer.

Picturesque Illustrations Ancient Architecture in Hindoostan by James Fergusson

was published.

Joseph Cunningham was appointed political agent in Bhopal

• 1848

Lord Dalhousie, was appointed Governor General of India. [till 1856]

Satara State was annexed by Dalhousie.

H.G.Keene becomes President of the Archaeological Society of Agra [till 1882]

S.N Banerjee, a moderate leader from Bengal was born.

• 1849

Second Anglo-Sikh War. Alexander Cunningham was involved in the fighting.

Punjab was annexed by Dalhousie.

Sir H M Eliot published the first volume of his "Bibliographical Index to theHistorians of Mohammadan India "

• 1850

Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque by Fanny Parks was

published. ( Reprint by Oxford University Press 1975 ) Her husband was a

customs officer at Prayag ( Allahabad ). She travelled extensively in North Indiaduring her stay of 24 years. She visited Taj Mahal in January / February 1835.

On page 220 of volume I she says,

".....From the Calcutta John Bull; July 26th 1831. The Governor-general

has sold the beautiful piece of architecture, called the Mootee Musjid, atAgra, for 125,000 rupees ( about =A312,500 ) and it is now being pulled

down! The taj has also been offered for sale! but the price required has not

obtained. Tw o lacs, however, have been offered for it. Should the taj be pulled down, it is rumoured that disturbances may take place amongst the

natives."



Fanny Parks remarks, " If this be true, is it not shameful ? ..... By what authority

does the Governor-general offer the taj for sale.... It is impossible the Court of

Directors can sanction the sale of the tomb for the sake of its marble and gems..."

In chapter XXX she describes the monument in detail. She says, " 1835, January.

I have seen the The Taj Mahul. ......The dome of the Taj, like all domes erected byMuhammadans, is egg-shaped, a form greatly admired, the dome in Hindu

architecture is alway s semicircular ; and it is difficult to determine to which style building should be awarded the palm of beauty."

" This magnificent monument was raised by Shahjahan to the memory of

his favourite Sultana Arzumund Banoo, on whom, when he ascended thethrone, he bestowed the title of Momtaza Zumani ( the most Exalted of the

age ) "

" On the death of Shahjahan, his grandson Alumgeer placed his cenotaph

in the Taj, on the right hand, and close to that of Arzumund Banoo.......[ Note : Alumgeer was the title assumed by Aurangzeb, who was the son

of Shahjahan and not his grandson.].....F ormerly a screen of silver and

gold surrounded it; but when Alumgeer erected the tomb of Shahjahan by

the side of that of the Sultana, he removed the screen of gold and silver,and replaced it by an octagonal marble screen." [But why ? Fanny Parks

does not say.]

"...The crypt is square ......The small door by which you enter wasformerly of solid silver; it is now formed of rough planks of mango

wood."=

" It is customary with Musulmans to erect the cenotaph in an apartment

over the sarcophagus, as may be seen in all the tombs of their celebratedmen." [But why in India only ?]

" Sultana Arzumund Banoo died on 18th July 1631.....To express his

respect for her memory, the emperor raised this tomb, which cost in

building the amazing sum of =A3750,000 sterling." [Fanny Parks does notsay how she obtained this figure. In 1832 Capt. M undy quoted a figure of

750,000 livres.]

"....but we have no record of her beauty, nor have reason to suppose thatshe was beautiful. She was the niece of one of the most celebrated women- Noor-jahan. Many people seeing the beauty of the building confuse the

two persons, and bestow in their ima ginations the beauty of the aunt on

the niece."

" [In the cenotaph chamber] There was also a chandelier of agate andanother of silver; these were carried off by the Jat Suruj Mal, who came



from the Deccan and despoiled Agra." [Note : The Jats did not come from

the Deccan; Agra is a part of Jat terr itory.]

" It was the intention of Shahjehan to have erected a mausoleum for himself, exactly similar to the Taj on the opposite side of the river and the

two buildings were to have been united by a bridge of marble across theJumna. The idea was magnificent; but the death of Shahjahan took place

in 1666, while he was a prisoner..."

" The stones were prepared on the opposite side of the Jumna, and were

carried off by the Burtpoor Rajah and a building at Deeg has been formed

of those stones. A part of the foundation of the second Taj is still standing, just opposite the Taj Mahul...."

[Note : Unfortunately, for all these visitors, one corner tower of the so

called second Taj stands even today, complete with the pinnacle; just

compare it with the Taj towers and the stupidity of the legend becomesobvious. There is no comparison between the two towers. Moreover, why

would one start the second Taj by building a corner tower first and not the

main building ?]

" The Kalun Darwaza or great gateway, is a fine building; the four largeand twenty-two similar domes over the top of the arched entrance are of

white marble; the gateway is of red granite, ornamented with white

marble, inlaid with precious stones."

" From the second story is a fine view of the Taj itself, to which it is

directly opposite.......There are four rooms in this gateway in whichstrangers, who are visitors, sometimes live during the hot weather."

" Feb 1st ... All the buildings in the gardens on the right are fitted up for

the reception of visitors, if strangers; they are too cold at this time of theyear, or I would take up my abode in one of the beautiful burj ( turrets )

next to the river." [Note : Why are these rooms never shown to the visitors

?]

" The two jamma khanas are beautiful buildings, on each side of the tomb,of red stone....One of them is a masjid ....one of the burj near the masjid

contains a fine ba'oli ( well )....The four burj at each corner of theenclosure are of the most beautifu l architecture. ..... From the one [i.e. one burj] generally, used as residence by visitors to the tomb, the view of the

Taj, the gardens, the river, and the Fort of Agra beyond, is very fine."

" Beyond the Great Gate, but still within the enclosure of the outer wall of

the Taj, are the tombs of two begams, erected by Shahjahan. Thesarcophagus over the remains of the Fathipooree Begam is of white



marble .... On the other side the enclosure, to correspond with this tomb, is

that of the Akbarabadee Begam......"

" Can you imagine anything so detestable ? European ladies andgentlemen have the band to play on the marble terrace, and dance

quadrilles in front of the tomb!...."

THE KALUN DARWAZA

".....At the end of this fountain-adorned avenue, you ascend a hidden staircase of twenty solid

blocks of marble....the interior of Taj, which is an octagon, surmounted by a dome seventy feet in

diameter." [The diameter is in fact 58 ft.]

GROUND PLAN OF THE TOMB OF THE TAJ

........Strangers, when visiting the Taj, are so much occupied in viewing the centre apartment,

which contains the tombs, that they often omit visiting the eight rooms that surround that centralapartment; four of which a re square and four of octagonal form; [But what is their purpose ?] on

the upper floor are eight rooms of a similar description. [Once again, what is the purpose of the

upper floor ?] The ground plan annexed I copied from an original plan, shown to me at thetomb." [There is a name in Persian of the person who prepared the plan. It shows the cenotaph

and chambers around it, abov e the marble terrace, but no staircase to the upper floor.]

" It covers an area of two hundred feet square, upon a terrace of white marble, about twenty ft

above the one of stone, and three hundred ft square. At each angle is a minaret upon an octagonal

base, eighty ft in circumference; the bottom of the shaft is twenty ft diameter, so that I shouldthink the minarets are at least one hundred and fifty feet high.....The whole extent of the lower

terrace is, I should say, full nine hundred feet; the pavement is inlaid with black and whitemarble."

" The Taj was twelve years in building; two lakhs per annum were allowed to keep it in order

and support the establishment of priests and servants. It is situated on the western bank of the

Jumna, three miles from the town of Agra; it is nineteen yards sq uare; and the dome aboutseventy feet in diameter.........It is impossible to estimate the cost; the most valuable materials

were furnished by subadars of provinces." [Fanny Parks now makes up her own story.]

" Tavernier, who saw this building commenced and finished, asserts that it occupied twentythousand men for twenty-two years. The mausoleum itself, and all the buildings that pertain to it,cost 3,17,48026 rupees; or =A33,174,802. .....Colonel Sleeman, in h is " Rambles of an Indian

Official " remarks, - " This magnificent building, and the palaces at Agra and Delhi, were, I

believe, designed by Austin de Bordeux, a Frenchman of great talent and merit..."

- Alexander Cunningham carries out Archaeological excavations in Sanchi.



1852 : Second Anglo-Burmese War.

1853 : 8th edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica mentions Taj Mahal in volume II p 244, under

AGRA. It tells us, "....The name of this distinguished personage was Arjammed Banoo, whichaccording to oriental usage, was changed on her elevation [elevation to what ?] to that of

Mumtazee Zumanee signifying the paragon of the age."

Nagpur State was annexed by Dalhousie.

Bombay-Thana railway was opened.

Sir Henry.M.Elliot dies. His Historical works were published 14 years later. See events of 1867.

Bayard Taylor, an American gentleman visits Taj Mahal.

Summary of Events and Explanatory Notes

1. Politics

The East India Company was trying to get control of whole of India. The period from1784 to 1853 is full of their various wars, with the Marathas, the Burmese, the Gorkhas

and the Sikhs. The insatiable, rapacious lust for plunder and loot of the English, made

Chengiz Khan and Nadir Shah look like cowboys. They even wanted to demolish the TajMahal! Their crooked methods, audacity to break unilaterally their own promises,

assurances and treaties, racist, arrogant and contemptuous behaviour, was soon to res ult

in the eruption of the Great Revolt of 1857.

2. Archaeology

Major General Cunningham was aware of the enormous political importance of Archaeological Survey of India, way back in 1842. Was it just a coincidence that he was

made in charge of that department when it was started in 1860 ? Even a Pakistani Muslim

Abu Imam recognised in 1966 that Cunningham wanted to use Archaeology for promoting Christianity in India.

3. Indian History

As the East India Company conquered various territories their officers wrote history of those territories. It was the victors writing about the vanquished. Here are some examples

:

1818 Maratha Peshwa Bajirao II was defeated by the East India Company.

1824 A Memoir of Central India by Major General Malcolm was published.



1826 History of the Marathas by Capt Grant Duff was published.

1829-32 Anals and Antiquities of Rajasthan by Lt Col James Todd was published.

1843 Sind was annexed by Lord Dalhousie.

1851 History of Sind was written by Lt R F Burton of Bombay Army.

1849 Punjab was annexed by Lord Dalhousie. History of Sikhs was written by JosephCunningham, brother of Major General Alexander Cunningham.

4. British attitude

Macaulay made it quite clear that English system of education was a means of spreading

Christianity in India.

5. Evidence ignored/set aside

5.1 Tavernier said, " He [Shahjahan] caused it to be set up on purpose near theTasimacan, to which all Strangers must come, [so] that they should admire it, the

Tasimacan is a great Bazar, or Market-place."

Why should a King erect a mausoleum near a busy / noisy place like a Bazar or Market ?

5.2 Name of the lady of the Taj

Tavernier the contemporary traveller of 1666 and Daniells ( 1795 ) do not give the name

of the lady at all.

Bishop Heber ( 1828 ) and Major Archer ( 1833 ) say that the lady was Noor - Jehan,

when in fact she was Shahjahan's step-mother.

Major Thorn says the lady was Arjumand Banoo, whose name was changed first toMoorutaz Zumanee and later to Nourjehan.

Capt Mundy says the lady was Arjumand Banu.

Fanny Parks says her name was Arjumand Banoo, it was later changed to Mumtazee

Zemani.

Sleeman calls her Mumtaz.

5.3 Col.Hodgson, told us in 1843 that: The Persian manuscript in the possession of the

custodians of Taj Mahal was the fabrication of an impostor. But the same manuscript has

been used as an evidence by many authors!



Even in 1825 the so called Jawab was used for accommodation of visitors.

It seems that he was also aware of the true nature of Taj Mahal. That is why he says, "

when viewing this monument it must be remembered that it is not a temple but a tomb."

He also refers to " Mausoleum at Taj Ganj " as mentioned in Shah Jahan Nama of Muhmmad Salah Kumbo. The term clearly implied that Taj Ganj existed before the death

of the lady. It was not built as a township for workers.

His vital remarks have been ignored with the connivance of the historians.

5.4 Taje Mahal

It is curious to note that all the visitors who had been in India for a short time use theterm Taje Mahal. Thomas and William Daniells ( 1795 ), Major Thorn ( 1813 ), Bishop

Heber ( 1828 ), Major Archer ( 1833 ), Captain Von Orlich ( 1845 ) This is quite contrary

to their attitude to the pronunciation of Indian words, even today. Taje Mahal could easilyhave been the corruption of Tejo-Mahalaya as Prof Oak suggests.

5.5 Fanny Parks had noted 8 rooms around the cenotaph, and an upper floor with similar

8 rooms. Hodgson also noted an upper floor.

5.6 Both Fanny Parks and Hodgson have noted Baoli Burj. It has no relevance in a

mausoleum.

5.7 Tavernier has stated that main dome is constructed of brickwork. ( marble is used for

lining only ). Hodgson had noted this fact.

5.8 Fanny Parks said, " It is customary with Musalmans to erect the cenotaph in an

apartment over the sarcophagus, as may be seen in all the tombs of their celebrated men."Captain Mundy ( 1832 ) has noted Mohammedans burying bodies on ground floor and

erecting cenotaphs on first floor.

Why should this tradition arise in India only ?

5.9 Fanny Parks said that various rooms inside the Taj were used by visitors to stay. Whywere they built ? There are plenty of rooms outside the Taj in the courtyard.

5.10 Army for protection of Taj

Tavernier said - There is a Eunuch who commands two thousand men, that is entrusted to

guard not only the sepulchre of the Begum, but also the Tasimacan.

Major Thorn said - For the protection of the place and to keep it in order, a company of artillery and a battalion of infantry were constantly kept on the spot.



But why was this protection necessary for the tomb of beloved wife of this popular

emperor who ruled like a father and whose reign was said to be golden and peaceful ?

6. New evidence emerges

There were palaces between Agra Red Fort and Taj Mahal. Ruins of these palaces werenoted by Major Archer (1833) and Capt Von Orlich ( 1845 )

7. Blunders of Travellers

Tavernier said that Jahangir's tomb was in Agra, on the way from Delhy when in fact he

is buried in Lahore. Tavernier gives extensive family history of the Mughals.

8. Travellers' Accounts

The travellers' accounts are nothing but mere repetition of what they read in Tavernier's

book. But only Col. Sleeman and Fanny Parks refer to him.

As these visitors came from the high society, their accounts were taken as true by others.

9. How the legend grew

9.1 20,000 men worked for 22 years

It seems quite clear that the travellers had read Tavernier's book before visiting TajMahal, but only Sleeman and Fanny Parks were honest enough to say so. Others just

repeat the story told by Tavernier as if it were an established fact. Some modify the story

to suit their thinking :

Major Thorn says, " This celebrated work...took 11 years in building and as many morewere occupied in adding to its ornaments. " i.e. it took 11 + 11 = 22 years as Tavernier

says. Capt Von Orlich repeats what Major Thorn said.

9.2 Tavernier tells us of the legend of the second Taj or Shahjahan's intended tomb on the

other side of the river.

Major Thorn said in 1813 - Shahjahan's intended tomb was to have been joined to Taj

Mahal by a magnificent bridge of marble. Others have followed the leader. Bishop Heber

( 1828 ), Captain Godfry Mundy ( 1832 ), Col Sleeman ( 1836 ), just say that the twotombs were to have been joined by a bridge. Captain Von Orlich ( 1845 ) and Fanny

Parks ( 1850 ) say the two tombs were to have been joined by a marble bridge. Bishop

Heber said that there were some remains of a bridge. Capt Von Orlich said that

Shahjahan's own tomb was called Mathob Baug.

9.3 Deathbed request of the lady



Col Sleeman said in 1844 - Before she ( Mumtaz ) died she made two requests...second

that he should build for her the tomb...to perpetuate her name. Both her dying requests

were granted.

9.4 The figures of cost like the legend , are purely imaginary.

Major Thorn says Rs 96 lakhs or =A3 1,000,000 Captain Mundy says 750,000 livres or

=A3 56,250 Col. Sleeman says Rs 3,17,48,026 or =A3 3,174,802 Fanny Parks is not sure.

Once she quotes a figure of =A3 750,000 but towards the end of the chapter on Taj Mahalshe repeats Sleeman's figure of 33,174,802.

9.5 Tavernier mentions no architect. Again all the names are purely fictitious.

Col.Sleeman says, " I believe it was designed by the Frenchman Austin de Bordeaux."

Captain Von Orlich says, " There is much reason to suppose that an Italian was placed at

the head of the undertaking "

Fanny Parks repeats what Col. Sleeman says.

They all ducked the basic question : What buildings did this mysterious Architect design

and supervise before being invited to build the Taj Mahal ?

9.6 False accusations : Looting by the Jats

Major Thorn said in 1813 - " The doors at the grand entrance was originally of Jasper, but

this valuable relic has been taken away by the barbarous Jats, who also plundered the

place of as many precious stones as they could easily pick out."

Capt Mundy said in 1832 - " In many places the more valuable pebbles have been

fraudently extracted, an act of sacrilegious brigandage imputed to the Jats who.......carried off the brazen gates of the citadel of immense value."

Fanny Parks said in 1850 - " [In the cenotaph chamber] there was also a chandelier of

agate and another of silver, these were carried off by the Jat Suraj Mal."

It is interesting to note, however, that Tavernier the contemporary traveller, does not

mention any silver doors or golden railings etc. He notes the large cotton market in

Tascimacan and throughout his book he talks about nothing but money, money, money.

10. A Mystery

Fanny Parks says, " Formerly a screen of silver and gold surrounded it; but when

Alumgeer erected the tomb of Shahjahan by the side of that of the Sultana, he removedthe screen of gold and silver, and replaced it by an octagonal marble screen."



Badshahnama was not published till 1867! Only in 1896 Latif tells these details. How did

Fanny Parks learn about the screen in 1850 ?

TAJ MAHALAND

THE GREAT BRITISH CONSPIRACY :

Part II

By V.S. Godbole

PART II: 1854 to 1875 AFTERMATH OF THE INDIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

• 1854

Nagpur state was annexed by Lord Dalhousie.

Max Muller becomes a full Professor.

• 1855

Illustrated Handbook of Architecture, being a concise and proper account of the

different styles of architecture prevailing in all ages and countries by JamesFergusson was published. He begins his handbook with Indian Architecture and

tells us :

BOOK I : INDIA

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTORY

p 2 " In all the older British settlements [in India] all architectural remains

have nearly disappeared; and very little has been done to elucidate thosewhich remain."

Chapter VIII - JAINA ARCHITECTURE

p 78 " It would be a curious subject of speculation to find out whether the

Buddhists ever built domes..... It still appears probable that the Buddhistsnever constructed, or knew of, a true dome of any sort..... no one of the

caves or rock cut temples of any sort show any tendency even to this



architectural form.......in no one instance, ... is there a semblance of a stone

roof of any kind, nor even of an arch, either horizontally constructed or on

the radiating principle; much less of a dome, which is a far morecomplicated thing to construct than a mere arch. I think therefore, it must

be admitted that they were ignorant of the form."

pp 80-81 " In the Bengal provinces several of these Jaina temples have

been converted into mosques, constituting some of the few remains of more ancient times that the bigotry of the Moslems have spared to

us.....The process by which conversion of a Jaina temple to a Moslem

mosque was effected will be easily understood by referring to the plan of that of Vimala Sah, on Mount Abu (woodcut 43, p. 70) .....Thus, without a

single new column or carved stone being required, they obtained a mosque

which, for convenience and beauty, was unsurpassed by anything theyafterwards erected from their own designs."

[Note : So, conversions of Hindu temples into mosques is accepted by Fergusson.Exactly when the Muslims started to build from their own design, Fergusson does

not say. How can he ? Even the 17th century European travellers have notedforcible conversions of temples into mosques.]

BOOK II

CHAPTER I - SOUTHERN HINDU ARCHITECTURE

pp 104-05 " This new style is found in the buildings erected under the

influence of the Mahometans, and adopts, to a certain extent some of more

prominent forms of their architecture [Note : From now on Fergusson is possessed by this mysterious influence of the Mahometans.]

" When the Mahometans first conquered India they imitated in their earlier

mosques not only the details, but even the forms of the Hindu architects..."

[This in itself implies that there were no Muslim architects] " .....In process of time a complete reaction took place and in their secular

buildings at least, though scarcely ever in their temples, the Hindus began

to adopt the arcades and vaults of their antagonist." [Fine. But where werethe Muslim architects who would have taught the Hindu architects, how to

construct arches and vaults ? There were none.] ".....In the south of India

one of the most pleasing specimens of this style is a portion of the palaceof Madura." [This happens to be the area which was not ruled by Muslims

except for a very short period]

CHAPTER II - NORTHERN HINDU STYLES

p 107 " In Northern India, with few exceptions to be shortly noticed, there

are no genuine Hindu buildings at all earlier than the time of the



Mahometan conquest." [Note: Fergusson is shamelessly suggesting that

Hindus started building after the Mahometan conquests. The buildings

were there. But they were either destroyed in successive Muslim raids, or when the invaders decided to stay in India, they converted Hindu temples

into tombs and mosques, Fergusson could not stomach this

truth...Mahmud of Gazni has recorded in 1020 A.D. that he destroyedmore than 1000 temples in Mathura, the greater number of them in marble.

Alberuni who accompanied Mahmud of Gazni has praised Hindu Ghats,

which needed knowledge of underwater construction.]

p 116

" Many of the Jains [monuments were] converted for the most part into

mosques, though perfectly easy to be recognised."

MIXED HINDU STYLE

" During the existence of the earlier Pathan dynasties of India, the bigotry

of the Mahometans did not admit of the Hindu erecting temples of any pretension in the great cities over which they had obtained the

dominion...with the beneficent and tolerant reign of the Great Akbar

(1556-1605), a new era dawned for his oppressed subjects .... while hisown buildings show a strong tendency to the Hindu style, the Hindus,

under his encouragement, erected edifices which display an even greater

admixture of the Mahometan forms of architecture."

[But where were the Muslim Architects and what are the Mahometan

forms of architecture ?]

BOOK IX

CHAPTER IV - INDIA : SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE

p 418 Fergusson reiterates his fantastic theory of Muslims taking down

Hindu temples piece by piece and re-erecting the same. He says : ".....all

show the same system of taking down and rearranging the materials on adifferent plan.....The same is true of the domes, all which, being honestly

and firmly fitted, would suffer no damage from the process of

removal......"

pp 420-1 " Besides this, a roof is by no means an essential part of amosque; a wall facing Mecca is all that is required, and frequently in India

is all that is built, though sometimes an enclosure is added in front of it to

protect the worshippers from interruption. Roofed colonnades are of course not only convenient but ornamental accomplishments, yet far from

being indispensable."



" The history of this mosque ( near Qutb Minar ), as told in its

construction, is as curious as anything about it. It seems the Afghan

conquerors had a tolerably distinct idea that pointed arches were the trueform of architectural openings; " [and yet on page 414 Fergusson also

says... Afghanistan was a Buddhist country for so long !" So, where did

they get the idea that pointed arches were the true form of architecturalopenings ?] " but being without science sufficient to construct them, they

left the Hindu architects and builders to follow their own devices." [in

other words there were no Muslim Architects.]

"...The date of all these buildings is known with sufficient exactness fromthe inscriptions that cover them." [This was the beginning of the great

blunder. All such dates show the time of capture, conversion and

beginning of misuse and not of construction.]

TOMBS :

p 432 " the great architectural peculiarity of the Tartar or Mongolian races

is their tomb-building propensity, ....Nowhere is this more forcibly

illustrated than in India." [Why in India ?]

" The tombs of the Turks or Pathans [Pathans were not Turks] are lesssplendid than those of the Moguls; but nevertheless the whole series is

singularly interesting, the tombs being far more numerous than the

mosques. Generally speaking, also, they are more artistic in design, andfrequently not only larger but more splendidly decorated than the

buildings exclusively devoted to prayer......"

" The usual process for the erection of these structures is for the king or

noble who intends to provide himself a tomb [but history tells us of nosuch persons !] to enclose a garden outside the city walls, generally with

high crenellated walls [ Why does a tomb need high crenellated walls ?]

and with one or more splendid gateways; and in the centre of this he erects

a square or octagonal building, crowned by a dome, and in the moresplendid examples with smaller and dome-roofed apartments on four of

the sides or angles, the four being devoted to entrances..........During the

lifetime of the founder the central building is called a Barrah Durrie, or festal hall, and is so used as place of recreation and feasting by him and

his friends."

" At his death its destination is changed - the founder's remains are

interred beneath the central dome. Sometimes his favourite wife lies beside him; but more generally his family and relations are buried beneath

the collateral domes. When once used as a place of burial, its vaults never

again resound with festive mirth... ...Perfect silence now takes the place of festivity and mirth."



[Note : All wild fantasy. But as Fergusson was the pioneer in the field of

History of Architecture all such blunders went unquestioned. History does

not support any of Fergusson's assumptions. Most of the tombs bear nonames. Later day chauvinistic descendants have put up some plates. But

even these simply say " Tomb of so and so." Almost all the tombs have

cenotaphs and so called real grave chambers. Shiva temples are built intwo stories and when these were converted into tombs there had to be two

tombs. Fergusson fails to notice them.]

Taje Mahal is described on pages 436-438. He says :

p 436 " The typical example of the tombs of this race is the celebratedTaje Mahal - the tomb which Shah Jehan erected at Agra, to contain the

remains of his favourite wife Moomtaza Mehal, meaning to erect a more

splendid mausoleum for himself on the opposite side of the river.

But this was not carried into effect....." [Fergusson, like others, simply repeatswhat Tavernier wrote but does not say so.]

The North-South cross section through the central edifice is produced on page

437, but it does not show the river Yamuna [Jumna]. In the footnote we are told, "

The section has been engraved to a small scale of rather more than 100 ft to 1 inchin order to bring it into the page." The section shows quite clearly that there are

several chambers around the [so called] real graves [but they have been sealed up]

and that there is at least one storey 17 ft deep below the [so called] real graves andextending right across the 300 ft width [but also sealed up] It is amazing that no

Architect or Historian has ever wondered about this, nor asked to see what is there

in those chambers.

Fergusson does not say how he obtained the cross-section. It seems that he didopen up the sealed chambers, found something there which would rock the boat of

the usual legend and prove the falsity of Indo-Saracenic Architecture, sealed up

the chambers again and vowed never to say a word about it. But he confesses on

page 438 "...When used as a Barrah Durrie, or pleasure palace, it must alwayshave been the coolest and the loveliest of garden retreats......."

[Santhal revolt against the rule of the East India Company]

•

1856

Oudh ( Ayodhya ) state was annexed by Lord Dalhousie.

Lokamanya Tilak was born. Sixty years later, the British quite rightly called him "

Father of the Indian Unrest "

Universities were established at Bombay, Madras and Calcutta.



India in the 15th Century by Major Richard Henry was published by the Hakluyt

Society, London.

Lt Col Alexander Cunningham was posted to Burma to set up a public worksdepartment.

• 1857-59

The Indian War of Independence against the rule of the East India Company.

• 1858

Queen Victoria's proclamation. British Crown takes over the administration of

India from the much hated East India Company.

The Causes of the Indian Revolt by Syed Ahmed Khan [in Urdu] was published.

• 1859

A Visit to India, China and Japan by Bayard Taylor was revised and edited by

G.F.Pardon. Mr Taylor describes Taje Mahal on pages 66- 74. He tells us in

CHAPTER VI.

THE TAJE MAHAL

p 68 " The Taaje Mahal is esteemed the finest work of art in Hindostan.

The name which signifies a mausoleum and a palace,......The Taaje Mahal

was erected in the year 1719 by the Emperor Shah Jehan " King of theworld " a title conferred on him by his father [Shah Jahan died in 1666!]

At this period, the commencement of his reign, he had the misfortune tolose a beautiful and favourite wife. On her death-bed, he promised to

perpetuate her memory by the finest tomb in the world..."

".......It is a work inspired by love and consecrated to beauty. Shah

Jehan ... erected it as a mausoleum over his queen Noor Jehan - The lightof the World - whom the same poet calls Noor Mahal, " The Light of the

Harem " or more properly " Palace "

p 69 "....ruins of ancient palaces....The entrance is a superb gateway of sandstone, inlaid with ornaments and inscriptions from the Koran in whitemarble. Outside of this grand portal, however, is a spacious quadrangle of

solid masonry, with an elegant structure intended as a caravansarai, on the

opposite side.... Down such a vista ....rises the Taaje."

" It is an octagonal building, or rather, a square with the corners truncated,and each side precisely similar. It stands upon a lofty platform, or



pedestal, with a minaret at each corner, and again, is lifted on a vast

terrace of solid masonry..."

"....The Taaje is approached by a handsome road, cut through the moundsleft by the ruins of ancient palaces ... The height of the building from its

base to the top of the dome is 262 ft, and of the minarets about 200 ft."[Mr.Taylor does not tell how he got these dimensions. The correct

dimensions are 243 1/2 ft and 162 1/4 ft respectively.] "......Bishop Heber truly said, " The Pathans designed like Titans and finished like jewellers"

[This is absurd ! Shahjahan was a Mughal. Mughals and Pathans were

bitter enemies of each other. The French physician, Bernier confirms this.]

p 70 " I descended to the vault where the beautiful Noor Jahan is buried.

Shah-Jehan whose ashes are covered by a simple cenotaph....I have even

heard it stated that the Taaje was designed by an Italian architect. One

look at the Taaje ought to assure any intelligent man that this is false nay

impossible, from the very nature of the thing. The Taaje is the pureSaracenic in form, proportions, and ornamental designs. If that were not

sufficient, we have still the name of the Muslim architect [who ?]sculptured upon the building." [where ?]

"....In the weekly account of the expenditures for the building of the Taaje,

there is a certain sum mentioned as paid to " the foreign stone-cutters."

who may either have been Italian, Turkish or Persian."

"...Around all the arches of the portals and the windows around the cornice

and the domes, on the walls and in the passages, are inlaid chapters of the

Koran, the letters being exquisitely formed of black marble. It is assertedthat the whole of the Koran is thus inlaid in the Taaje."

".....From the resemblance of this screen and the workmanship of the tomb

to Florentine mosaic, it is supposed by some to have been executed by an

Italian artist; and I have even heard it stated that...."

p 71 " As for the flowers, represented in bas-relief on the marble panels, ithas been said that they are not to be found in India. Now these flowers, as

near as they can be identified, are the tulip, the iris ( both natives of

Persia ), and the lotus... Bishop Heber has declared that he recognised

Italian art in the ornaments of the Taaje....he fell .. into many other glaringerrors... which I have no time to point out."

" On one side of the Taaje is a mosque with three domes, of red sandstone,

covered with mosaic of white marble. Now on the opposite side, there is a building precisely similar, but of no use whatever, except as a balance to

the mosque, lest the perfect symmetry of the whole design should be

spoiled. This building is called the Jawab, or "answer"......"



p 72 " In comparing these master pieces of architecture with the Moorish

remains in Spain, which resemble them most nearly, I have been struck

with the singular fact, that while, at the central seats of the Moslemempire, art reached but a comparative degree of development, here, in

India and there, on the opposite and most distant frontiers, it attained rapid

and splendid culmination. [surprise ! surprise !!] The capitals of Caliphsand Sultans - Bagdad, Cairo, Damascus and Constantinople, - stand far

below Agra and Delhi, Granada and Seville, in point of architecture.....It is

not improbable that the Moorish architects, after the fall of Granada,gradually made their way to the eastward, and that their art was thus

brought to India - or, at least, modified and improved the art then existing.

The conquest of India by Babur ( grandson of Tamerlane and grandfather

of Akbar ), is almost coeval with the expulsion of the Moors fromGranada." [Typical mentality of Westerners!]

"......On the opposite bank of the Jumna there is an immense foundation-

terrace whereon it is said, Shah Jehan intended to erect a tomb for himself,of equal magnificence but the rebellion of his sons, and his own death,

prevented it...A shekh who takes care of the Taaje, told me, that had the

emperor carried out his design the tombs were to have been joined by a

bridge, with a silver railing on each side. He told me that the Taaje, withits gateways, mosque and other buildings attached, had cost

=9C5,000,000. This however, seems quite impossible, when we consider

the cheapness of labour in those days and I believe the real cost isestimated at =9C3,000,000 which does not seem exaggerated." [ Note :

Taylor does not tell us where he got his figure of 3 million from]

Architectural Illustrations of the Principal Mohamedan Buildings of Bijapur byMr.P.D.Hart was edited by James Fergusson.

- Matriculation examination of Bombay University takes place for the first

time.

• 1860

" Among the many lessons the Indian mutiny conveys to the historian, none is of

great importance than the warning that it is possible to have a revolution in whichBrahmins and Sudras, Hindus and Mahomedans, could be united against us and

that it is not safe to suppose that the peace and stability of our dominions, in anygreat measure, depends on the continent being inhabited by different religioussystems for they mutually understand and respect and take part in each others

modes and ways and doings. The mutiny reminds us that our dominions rests on a

thin crust ever likely to be rent by titanic fires and social changes and religiousrevolutions."



( Ref : Central India During the Rebellion of 1857-58 by Thomas Lowe, MRCS,

Medical Officer to the Corps of Madras Sappers and Miners. )

" ....Our endeavour should be to uphold in full force the separation which ( for usfortunate ) exists between the different religions and races, not to endeavour to

amalgamate them. Divide et impera should be the principle of IndianGovernment...." Remarks of Lt.Colonel Coke, Commandant of Moradabad 1860.

[Ref : Pakistan - Military Rule or People's Power by Tariq Ali, Jonathan Cape,London 1970 page 25]

[Note : Aligarh, where Muslim separatism started and flourished, is only 30 miles

from Moradabad.]

- Viceroy Lord Canning visits Agra.

- An Account of the Loyal Mahomedans of India by Syed Ahmad Khan

was published.

- After the death of Prof Wilson, Max Muller stands for election to

Sanskrit chair at Oxford University, but fails.

• 1861

Alexander Cunningham now aged 47 retires from the army with the rank of Major

General. Following his correspondence with Lord Canning, the first Viceroy,

Archaeological Survey of India ( A.S.I. ) was started. Cunningham was appointed

as an Archaeological Surveyor in December.

- Indian Penal Code comes into operation.

" Star of India " order was instituted.

- Motilal Nehru and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya were born. Motilal

Nehru became a successful lawyer and a moderate political leader.

Malaviya founded the Benares Hindu University.

• 1862

History of India by Henry Beveridge ( Advocate ) was published. On page 289 of Volume I he says, "...In (Agra) the latter stands conspicuous above all the Taje

Mahal, the mausoleum of his queen Mumtaz Mahal..." On the same page, we find

a picture of the interior of Taje Mahal at Agra reproduced from Oriental Drawing,East India House. In the footnote, Beveridge refers to and quotes from

Fergusson's Handbook of Architecture ( 1855 ), but does not produce the cross-

section and deletes the vital sentence " when used as a Barrah-dari or pleasure palace. ...." In the footnote on pages 289, 290 Beveridge says, "...Tavernier saw



this building begun and finished and tells us that it occupied 20,000 men for

twenty two years. The mausoleum and all the buildings that appertain to it cost Rs

3,17,48,026 or 3,174,802 sterling.

( Ref : Sleeman's Rambles and Recollections by an Indian Official)"

Indian Empire by R.M.Martin was published. Volume 3 contains copy of a

painting of Taj Mahal by Captain R.Elliot. It shows several basement rooms in the

so called mosque and the so called Jawab. These were blocked by Britishauthorities at some later date. Why ? And why is there no record ? The painting

also shows palaces upstream and downstream of Taj Mahal. As the remains of

these palaces were destroyed during the famine works of 1837 the painting musthave been made before 1837.

- Alexander Cunningham becomes the Director of A.S.I.

- History of Modern Styles of Architecture, being a sequel to theHandbook of Architecture by James Fergusson, was published. [Editions

1873 and 1891 ]- 9 December...James Fergusson delivers a lecture onArchitecture at the Royal Engineers Establishment, Chatham, England.

- First batch of graduates of Bombay University come out. Among them

we find Justice M G Ranade, R G Bhandarkar and V A Modak.

History written by Mill, Duff, Elphinstone and others was a compulsory subjectfor the B A Examination from the beginning.

•

1863

Viceroy Lord Elgin visits Agra.

• 1864

- Bombay Government decides to give grants even to institutions that made

attendance at the Bible classes compulsory.

Rock Cut Temples of India ( with 74 photographs ) by J.Fergusson was published. His address is given as 20 Langham Place, London.

- Syed Ahmed Khan was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great

Britain and Ireland.

• 1865

Archaeological Survey of India was closed.



Telegraphic connection between India and Britain was completed.

Lala Lajpat Rai, a militant political leader from Punjab and famous historian

G.S.Sardesai were born.

J.Fergusson becomes a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects( FRIBA )

• 1866

Max Muller writes to his wife on 9 December, " ...I hope I shall finish that work,

and I feel convinced, though I shall not live to see it, yet this edition of mine andthe translation of the Veda will hereafter tell to a great extent on the fate of India,

and on the growth of millions of souls in that country. It is the root of their

religion, and to show them what that root is, is, I feel sure, the only way of uprooting all that sprung from it during the last 3000 years...."

( Ref : The life and letters of F Max Muller edited by his wife, Longman Green

and co, London 1902. p 328 )

18 December. J.Fergusson delivers a lecture on " the Study of Indian Architecture

" at a meeting of the Society of Arts, London.

- Viceroy Lord Lawrence holds a grand Durbar at Agra and also presents a

gold medal to Syed Ahmed Khan for good services and efforts in the

cause of education.

( 28 November 1866 ) : - Following books were published :

Architecture at Bijapur by Col.M.Taylor ( Notes by J.Fergusson )

Architecture at Ahmedabad by Sir T.C.Hope, ICS ( Photographs by

Col.Briggs. Architectural notes by J.Fergusson )

Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore by Col.M.Taylor ( Architectural

notes by J.Fergusson )

- Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a moderate leader, was born

• 1867

History of Architecture of All Countries by J.Fergusson was published. All theinformation on Taje Mahal given in his Handbook of Architecture ( 1855 ) is

repeated. The cross-section through central edifice is repeated on page 693 of

volume II. He now tells us that it has been drawn to a scale of 110 ft to 1 inch.Apart from this, there is no change.



Asiatic Society of Bengal published the Persian text of Lahori's Badshahnama,

volume I. It was edited by two Muslims: Mawalawis Kabir AL-Din Ahmad and

Abd Al Rahim, under the superintendence of Major.W.N.Lees. Volume II was published in 1868.

- Elliot and Dowson's History of India as told by its own Historians, TheMuhammadan Period Vol I, was published in London by Trubner and Co.

Other seven volumes were published over next ten years. In his preface Sir Henry M Elliot states that he is dealing with the history of only the

Mohammedan rule in India. He gives some examples of how in the 18th

and 19th century, Muslims had fabricated various chronicles. He alsoconcludes that the true picture of Muslim rule was far from what was

generally believed.

It was full of murders and massacres, razing of temples, forcible conversions and

marriages, sensuality and drunkenness. Common people were plunged into the

lowest depths of wretchedness and despondency.

[Prof John Dowson, M R A S, of Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in his

preface thanks General Cunningham for his important notes, and placing at his

disposal his Archaeological Survey of India reports.]

- The History of India from the Earliest days by James Talboys Wheeler

was published. ( Taj Mahal on page 156 )

• 1868

On 16 December Maxmuller writes to the Duke of Argyll, Secretary of State for India, "...India has been conquered once, but India must be conquered again and

that second conquest should be a conquest by education .....The missionaries have

done far more than they themselves seem to be aware of, nay, much of the work

which is theirs they would disclaim. The Christianity of our nineteenth centurywill hardly be the Christianity of India. But the ancient religion of India is

doomed - and if Christianity does not step in, whose fault will it be ? "

[Ref : The Life and Letters of F.Max Muller, edited by his wife, 1902 volume I

pages 357-8]

•

1869

Dr Forbes Watson's Report on the Illustration of the Architecture of India, etc

with Appendices by Fergusson, Cunningham and Colonel Meadows Taylor, was

published.

History of India written by Marshman at the request of the University of Calcuttawas published.



In Volume I page 146 he tells us, "..To him ( Shahjahan ) the country was

indebted for the immaculate Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of his queen [Who? the

pride of India and the admiration of the world..."

- Syed Ahmed Khan and his two sons leave Bombay for England on 6th

August. At London he is received by Mr [later Sir] John Kaye - Secretaryto the Duke of Argyll, Secretary of State for India.

Syed Ahmed Khan is awarded " Star of India " (Class III)

- Suez Canal was completed and opened to traffic.

- Mahatma Gandhi was born.

- Travels of Fah Hien and Sung Yum was translated by Samuel Beal.

•

1869-70

Duke of Edinburgh, 2nd son of Queen Victoria visits India : Dec 1869 to March

1870. He did visit Agra.

• 1870

Archaeological Survey of India was restarted. Duke of Argyll, Secretary of Statefor India sanctioned Cunningham's appointment, after consultation with Lord

Mayo, Viceroy of India. Cunningham resumes charge, promoted to Director

General of that department, next year.

12 inch to 1 mile map of Agra Cantonment, city and Environs was published bythe Government of India. It shows the main walls of the Taj Mahal, continuous

beyond the Taj Ganj gate at South and enclosing a large market.

- Bombay-Jubblepoor-Calcutta railway connection was completed.

- Historian Yadunath Sarkar and Chittaranjan Das a political leader fromBengal, were born.

• 1871

J.Fergusson was awarded Royal Gold Medal by the RIBA.

Vincent Smith joins the Indian Civil Service.

The Indian Musalmans : Are They Bound in conscience to Rebel Against theQueen ? by Sir.W.W.Hunter was published.



• 1872

Syed Ahmed Khan replies to Hunter's book.

Tilak passes the Matriculation examination.

• 1872-73

Archaeological Survey of India Report for the Year 1871-72 was prepared by M/sBeglar ( on Delhi ) and Carllyle (on Agra ) In volume II Mr Carlleyle tells us :

p 4 " ... Again as bearing on the other side of the argument I have now to mention

that, on the right bank of the river about three miles above the fort, there is the site

of an ancient garden palace called the garden and palace of Raja Bhoj! Certainintelligent educated Hindus in Agra say that it is traditionally held to have been a

palace of Raja Bhoj of Malwa of the fifth to sixth century; but at any rate all agree

as to the fact that this garden palace of Raja Bhoj was in existence previous to theMuhammadan conquest of this part of the country. I am, however, inclined tothink that the Raja Bhoj who built this garden palace at Agra may have been the

Bhoja, the successor of Guhila or Sri Gohadit of Gelhote dynasty of Mewar......"

On page 67 we find :

MUMTAZ MAHAL, COMMONLY CALLED THE " TAJ MAHAL "

" It will be unnecessary for me to give either the measurements or adescription of this well known and beautiful white marble mausoleum, so

famous for its exquisite mosaics, and noble dome, and lofty gracefulminars, as General Cunningham informed me that he had in his possessiona complete ground plan and sections and all measurements of this

building....."

Carllyle describes Taj Mahal in 18 lines and says " I cannot presume to

say more on this subject, when I know that General Cunningham has boththe materials at hand, amd the ability, coupled with the experience of a

practised archaeologist, to do it so much more justice than it would ever be

possible for me to do."

[Note : General Cunningham became Director General of ASI in 1870 andremained in charge for further 14 years but he never said anything about

these sections and particulars. ASI never produced the said sections.

Why ? Why ?? Why ??? What were they hiding ?]

Carllyle tells us about some mysterious pillars in Taj Mahal. On pages

124-125 he says, " Before concluding this report, it may be well that I

should offer a few remarks in connection with the great square black



basaltic pillar which, with the base and capital of another similar pillar,

and a long ponderous block of similar stone, which probably formed part

of the entablature over the pillars, are now in the grounds of the museumat Agra. "

" The pillar above referred to, it is well known, once stood in the garden of Taj Mahal; and while there, for some reason or other now unknown, the

shaft of the pillar used to rock on its base, with a slight touch of the hand,like one of the "logan" or rocking stones. Besides the remains of another

pillar, and the large block of similar stone, before mentioned, which are in

the grounds of the museum, there are also the remains of a third pillar now placed as gate posts at the gate of a European residence in the cantonments

at Agra."

" Now, it is said that these block pillars, when in a perfect state, along with

several others originally stood in a line outside the water-gate of the fort of

Agra, between the fort and the river, but that some of them had fallendown before the most perfect and complete one of was removed from

thence and placed in the Taj garden."

" The pillars were, most certainly, the work of Hindus and they may beeither Jain or Brahmanical, although I myself am inclined to think that

they are Jain, as their shape and style are Jain in character, and I believe

that they resemble the pillars of several ancient Jain colonnades stillexisting in India."

" The only conclusion therefore that I can come to is that these pillars

formed the colonnade to the entrance from the river of some ancient Hindu building which was probably pulled down and destroyed when the Fortwas built; and, moreover, I believe that.a very massive and elaborately

sculptured black marble Jain image ( of Munisuvratha judging by the

tortoise symbol ), which is now at the Agra Museum must .originally have belonged to the same locality, as I have heard that it was dug up

somewhere near the fort and the river."

- Pathan Kings of Delhi by Edward Thomas was published.

• 1873

A Handbook for visitors to Agra by H G Keene was published. It was enlarged,rectified and illustrated and founded on Agra Guide by the same author. The Taj

Mahal is described on pages 23 to 36.

The causes of the Indian Revolt [in Urdu] by Syed Ahmed Khan was translated by

Sir Auckland Colvin and Colonel Graham. Sir Colvin, later became the Governor



of U.P and condemned the Indian National Congress as a seditious organisation,

in 1888.

- Blochman's translation of Ain-e-Akbari, volume I was published.

- Third edition of Grant Duff's History of the Marathas was published.

James Burgess was appointed - Archaeological Reporter of Bombay Presidency.

(till 1881 )

• 1874

Keene's Handbook to Agra ( revised edition ) was published. On pages 14 and 15

he describes Agra City of 1630 [i.e before the death of Mumtaz] as given in DeLaet Joanne's Dutch book Empire of the Great Moghul, published in 1631. He

says,

"...everyone has been anxious to have immediate access to the river and all have

consequently built their houses on the bank.....On leaving the royal citadel, [i.eRed Fort] one emerges on a large market, where horses, camels, oxen, and all

kinds of merchandise are sold....... Then follow the palaces of Mirza Abdulla, Aga

Nours, Zehenna Chan, Mirza Chrom, Mahabot Khan, Chan Alem, RadziaBartzing, Radzia Mantzing." [The last palace is the same as Taj Mahal. See events

of 1896 and 1925]

p 24 Opposite this page we find a plan of the Central Edifice. But there are no

dimensions.

p 26 " In Bernier's time this part of the strand was lived by the villas of the

nobility."

THE TAJ is described on pages 27 to 41.

p 27 " By the river strand is a road made in the famine relief operations of

1838 by which the visitor reaches the Taj Muhul. On the way he passesthe Moghul Court, but now fallen into indistinguishable ruins with the

above-named exception."

pp 27/28 There is a reference to Fergusson's History of Architecture butno extract from it. The cross-section of Taj Mahal is also not produced.

p 28 " Urjumund Banoo Begum called Moomtaz-i-Mahal ... married to the

prince about 1615, died of childbed of the eighth, about 1629 at

Boorhanpoor."



p 29 " Her body was carried like that of our Edward's consort to the

metropolis and laid in a spot in the garden still pointed out close by the

Mosque until the mausoleum was ready for her reception. The legendaryaccount of the building must here be referred to, authoritative history

going no further. It is said and is very likely said with truth that the

Emperor resolved to build in his dead wife's garden a mausoleum thatshould surpass in splendour everything of whose existence he could learn.

With this view he sent for plans and models from every quarter, and

studied the designs and descriptions of all the most celebrated monumentsof the kind. Finally, his choice was influenced by Eesa Mohumud Effendi,

an architect sent him by the Sultan of Turkey, and the present model

adopted ..."

[There is of course no reference for this fantastic statement. Keene doesnot tell us of any buildings designed and supervised by this Architect prior

to being sent to build Taj Mahal. Keene also does not give us any names

of monuments whose designs were studied by Shah Jahan. He admits thatall this was just a legend. Later author simply omitted this caution.]

" The collection of the material is said to have occupied the next seventeen

years; but it is not necessary to suppose that no building was in progress

all this time."

p 30 ".... Much fruitless discussion has been waged on this subject; thefollowing considerations alone are likely to be of use to the general reader.

The notion that the Taj was designed by Italians may be dismissed at once.

Nothing was ever less Italian than the general conception of the building

with its simple and even stiffer contour. ...."

p 31 " The following figures are taken from the Guide to the Taj:- The

native account of the cost of the Taj gives 98,55,476 Rupees as having

been given by the Rajahs and Nawabs. And out of the Emperor's privatetreasury 86,09,760 Rupees which would give in =9C1,846,518-6 or nearly

two million* There are said to be two silver doors at the entrance of the

Taj, which are stated to have cost 1,27,000 Rupees and were studded with1,100 nails each having a head made of a Sonat Rupee, these gates were

taken away and melted down by the Jats when they attacked and sacked

Agra. ( * Col Anderson in a recent number of the Calcutta Review states

the cost to have been Rs 4,11,43,826. )"

p 32 " The labour was all forced, and very little payment made in cash to

the 20,000 workmen who were said to have been employed for 17

years. .... There was great distress and frightful mortality among then....The poet describes them to have cried out :- Have mercy God on our

distress. For we die too, with the Princess."



p 32/35 Here Keene gives some extracts from B.Taylor's book.

pp 35/36 Referring to Bernier, Keene says, " the screen it will be observed

is not mentioned."

p 36 Tavernier says " I have seen the commencement and the completionof this great work which employed twenty thousand men daily for twenty

two years, a fact from which some idea of its excessive costiness may be

formed. The scaffolding is held to have cost more than the building for nothaving [enough] wood they had to make it of brick, as also the centerings

of the vaults. Shah jahan began to make his own sepulchre on the other

side of the river, but his war with his sons interrupted the design, andAurangzeb, the present ruler, has not cared to carry it out."

p 39 " The false Mosque is as fine as the true. It is appropriated to the use

of travellers and parties of pleasure, and it is this no doubt that has given

rise to the oft-reported story of " wassil and riot " desecrating the place of worship of departed kings."

" Let it be said, once for all, that this is not, never was, never could be, " a

place of worship." It would be certainly more in character if no festivities

had ever disturbed the repose of a place set aside for solemn memories; but as long as the natives hold constant fairs in the enclosure and throw

orange-peel and other debris about the whole place, it is perhaps

somewhat hypercritical to object to a few Englishmen refreshingthemselves within the limits of becoming mirth,in a remote corner used for

no other purpose...... It is in a parterre beneath this mosque that the

enclosure is shown where the remains of the empress rested while the Tajwas being built. " [But what is the basis for this story or the location of thespot ?]

In a footnote Keene says, "the domes are all of white marble the

basements of the building only are of red stone."

[Note :- So, Keene confesses that there are basements below the 1000 ft by300 ft terrace. Why did he not ask these to be opened up ? Keene does not

reproduce the cross- section from Fergusson's book which shows the

basements.]

There is no reference to Badshahnama, published in 1867.

• 1875

The 9th edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica was published. Now we are told that

the name of the lady was Mumtaza Mahal. We find extract from Fergusson's



History of Architecture pp 692/694 including the sentence " When used as a

pleasure palace, it must have been the coolest and loveliest of garden retreats. "

We also find reference to Tavernier's Travels ( vol iii, p 94 ) and the magicsentence " 20,000 men were incessantly employed on this work during a period of

twenty-two years."

- Sir Syed Ahmad Khan starts a school in Aligarh. 29 April Lord

Salisbury, Secretary of State for India states in British Parliament, " Wemust bleed India, but that bleeding should be done judiciously. The lancet

should be directed to those parts where the blood is congested..."

[Ref : India for Indians and for England by William Digby 1885 page IX]

• 1875-76

Edward VII as Prince of Wales visits India [8 Nov 1875 to 13 March 1876], visitsTaj Mahal on 25 January 1876.

Summary of Events and Explanatory Notes

1. Politics and Archaeology

1.1 Politics

British rulers were taken aback by the Great Indian Revolt of 1857-59. The

Crown took over the administration of India from the hated East India Company.But the Company rulers remained the same. They decided to separate Muslims

from Hindus. Very soon after the Great Revolt, recruitment to the Indian Army

was to be drawn disproportionately from the Muslims of North West Frontier Province and Punjab. [Ref : Pakistan or Partition of India by Dr B R Ambedkar,

1946, pp 54-85]

Persons like Syed Ahmed Khan who would keep Muslims away from the freedom

movement, were patronised. It also became imperative for the British to keepsecret, the true nature of Taj Mahal and other monuments. It had to be emphasised

that they were the works of foreigners. The natives could not have even thought

of building such structures.

1.2 Archaeology

Against this background, Archaeological Survey of India ( ASI ) was started in

1860. It was closed in 1865, restarted in 1870 and has continued ever since. Major

General Sir Alexander Cunningham was in charge of ASI from the beginning till



1884. He was aware of the enormous political importance of Archaeology as early

as 1842.

It is important to note that the appointment of Cunningham in 1870 wassanctioned by the Duke of Argyll, the then Secretary of State for India, after

consultation with Lord Mayo's Government of India.

It was the unwritten policy of the Survey to neglect all Hindu emblems of heroism

and glory and keep intact the historical places of Muslim association or dominion.

2. History of Architecture

James Fergusson's Handbook of Architecture came out in 1855. It was a

formidable work indeed. No one had tried to write the history of architecture of

all the countries before. He supplied footnotes for books on architecture of

various provinces, by others. The Royal Institute of British Architects elected him

as a Fellow of their Institute in 1865, and awarded him the Royal Gold Medal in1871. Unfortunately, because of all this, his blunders went unquestioned and

remained so for more than a century. We list them as follows :

( A ) If a building is used as a mosque or a tomb it must have been built by the

Muslims. When that looked silly he proposed that Muslims demolished a Hindu

building piece by piece and re-erected a mosque/tomb from it. He was so

obsessed with this hypothesis that he even says, "..thus without a single newcolumn or carved stone being required they obtained a mosque which for

convenience and beauty was unsurpassed by anything they afterwards erected

from their own designs." But he would not accept the simple fact that Muslims

forcibly occupied Hindu buildings and misused them as tombs and mosques. Inaddition, he does not say, exactly when, the Muslims started to build from their

own design.

( B ) Hindus did not build arches and domes. And yet he says on p 418," ....allshow the same system of taking down and rearranging the materials on a different

plan. ... The same is true of the domes, all which being honestly and firmly fitted,

would suffer no damage from the process of removal." Where did the domescome from ? Moreover even today, taking down and reerecting buildings requires

considerable skill and forethought.

( C ) Fergusson however confesses on p 420, " Besides this, a roof is by no meansan essential part of a mosque, a wall facing Mecca is all that is required, andfrequently in India is all that is built......."

( D ) Fergusson agrees that the Architects were Hindu and NOT Muslim.

( E ) Fergusson says on p 432, " The architectural peculiarity of the Tartar or

Mongolian races is their tomb-building propensity...Nowhere is this more forcibly



illustrated than in India. [But why in India ?]...the tombs being far more numerous

than the mosques [why ? Because there were so many temples which could be

easily converted into tombs. Muslims are buried in India lying north-south, feettowards the south. The faces are turned towards west. Shiva Lingum is also laid

north-south, the water dripping on it flows to the north.]

( F ) Fergusson creates a false impression by using the phrase "Mahomedan

conquest of India "

3. British Attitude

This is best illustrated by Max Muller. In 1868 he wrote to the Duke of Argyll,

Secretary of State for India, " ....the ancient religion of India is doomed - and if

Christianity does not step in whose fault will it be ? ....India has been conqueredonce, but India must be conquered again and that second conquest should be a

conquest by education..." Under such conditions, true Indian history just could not

be explored.

4. British official suppression of truth

Cunningham obtained a complete plan and sections of Taj Mahal in 1871, but

these were never published. [Same thing applies to many other so called mosques

and tombs.] British scholars do not mention this fact even today. They are also

silent about why the British Authorities bricked up several rooms in Taj Mahal,which are seen in the pre-1837 painting of Captain R Elliot.

5. Evidence ignored

5.1 Taj Mahal Cross-section

Fergusson produced the North-South cross-section through the central edifice in

1855. This shows quite clearly that there are several chambers around the socalled real graves [but they have been sealed up] and that there is at least one

storey 17 ft deep below the so called real graves and extending right across the

300 ft width [but also sealed up].

Fergusson offers no explanation. We must suspect his motives, especially whenwe consider his long stay in India and his association with the ASI for 20 years.

Henry Beveridge, Keene and Encyclopaedia Britannica refer to Fergusson but do

not reproduce the cross-section.

5.2 Basements

In 1874 Keene admits that there are basements under the 1000 ft by 300 ft

platform. He neither offers any explanation nor does he try to explore them.



5.3 Taje Mahal

Despite the attitude of the British to twist the Indian names, Fergusson ( 1855 ),

Bayard Taylor ( 1859 ) and Henry Beveridge (1862 ) use the term Taje Mahalwhen it was lot easier to say Taj Mahal.

5.4 Palaces on the river bank

In 1874 Keene referred to De Laet Joanne's book [in Dutch] Empire of the Great

Moghul, published in 1631. He says that all the great nobles had built their houses

on the river bank and gives a list of owners of palaces, on leaving the Red Fort.Raja Mansingh's palace being the last one, which is now Taj Mahal. Thus the

river bank was not barren as successive historians have been telling us.

Ruins of these palaces have been mentioned by Bayard Taylor in 1859.

5.5 When used as a Barrah Durrie...

Unaware of its significance, Fergusson confessed in 1855, " when used as aBarrah Durrie or pleasure palace, it must have been the coolest and the loveliest

of garden retreats.." Henry Beveridge, Keene and Encyclopaedia Britannica refer

to Fergusson but do not quote the above sentence.

5.6 In 1867 Sir H M Elliot warned, " true picture of Muslim rule was far from what wasgenerally believed. It was full of murders and massacres, razing of temples, forcible

conversions and marriages, sensuality and drunkenness. Common people were plunged

into the lowest depths of wretchedness and despondency."

5.7 Name of the lady

Bayard Taylor says - her name was Noor Jehan whom a poet calls Noor Mahal.

Marshman ( 1869 ) gives her no name.

Encyclopaedia Britannica ( 1875 ) calls her Mumtaza Mahal.

5.8 Badshshnama

Persian text of Badshshnama, Shahjahan's own official chronicle, was published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1867. But nobody studied it let alone mention

it.

5.9 Keene informs us in 1874 that according to Tavernier the scaffolding is said to have

cost more than the entire work. This information was not generally known till the 1889edition of Tavernier's Travels by Dr Ball. We can conclude that Keene read the original

French edition of Tavernier's book.



5.10 Use of Jawab

B. Taylor says in 1859 that the Jawab was of no use whatever.

Keene says in 1874 that Jawab was used for the use of travellers and parties of

pleasure.

5.11 Keene makes a distinction between authoritative history and legendary account of

the building of the Taj.

5.12 Keene also tells us for the first time that Mumtaz died at Burhanpur and not Agra.

6. Blunders of the travellers

B Taylor says that Taaje Mahal was created in the year 1719 by Shah Jahan, when in facthe died in 1666!

He also says that ashes of Shah Jahan are covered by a simple cenotaph.

7. Education and Hindu Leaders

The first batch of graduates of Bombay University came out in 1862, Justice M G Ranade

being one of them. Tilak graduated in 1876, G K Gokhale in 1886, Gandhi in 1889. Allthese leaders were busy for the rest of their lives with political awakening and struggle

for freedom. They had no time for anything else, least of all the History of Indian

Architecture.

8. How the legend grew

8.1 20,000 men worked for 22 years

Henry Beveridge repeats this sentence and refers to Tavernier. Keene ( 1874 ) and

Encyclopaedia Britannica ( 1875 ) do the same.

8.2 Shahjahan's intended tomb

Fergusson said, " Shahjahan...meaning to erect a more splendid mausoleum for

himself on the opposite side of the river. But this was not carried into effect. " It is

interesting to note that Fergusson does not refer to Tavernier.

Bayard Taylor said, " it is said, Shah Jahan intended to erect a tomb for himself,

of equal magnificence...A Shekh who takes care of the Taaje told me, that had the

emperor carried out his design the tombs were to have been joined by a bridge,with a silver railing on each side. "

Keene does repeat this story, but quotes from Tavernier's book.



8.3 The Architect

Bayard Taylor dismisses the story of Italian Architect but fancies that Moorish

Architects may have helped in the construction of Taj Mahal. He also says thatthe name of the architect is engraved in stone, but gives no name or location of

engraving, but does not give the location..

8.4 Cost

Bayard Taylor thinks that the cost was 3 million.

Henry Beveridge quotes the figure of 3,174,802 and refers to Sleeman for thefigure.

8.5 False accusation - Jats looted the silver doors.

Keene said in 1874, "...two silver doors cost Rs 1,27,000 studded with 1100 nailseach having a head of a sonat rupee ( these were looted by the Jats ) "

Referring to Bernier Keene says, " the screen it will be observed is not mentioned." But the same logic was not applied to silver doors which were alleged to have

been looted by the Jats.

8.6 B Taylor noticed bas-relief on the marble panels. The flowers being Iris. But contrary

to his belief it is a well known Indian poisonous flower Dhatura.

Taj British Conspiracy

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Transcript of Taj British Conspiracy