The Australian, Australia
June 25, 2005
Correspondents in New Delhi, India
www.theaustralian.news.com.au

---

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 11539 • Posted: Wednesday June 29, 2005  

---

A descendant of India’s Mughal emperors has staked a claim to ownership of the world’s most famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal, amid a row between Hindus and Muslims over its custody, a report said today.

Prince Yaqub Habeebuddin Tucy, whose family traces its lineage to the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who built the white marble tomb, staked the claim saying he wanted “to protect the monument from falling into the wrong hands”, the Asian Age newspaper said.

The magnificent 17th-century Taj Mahal built by the emperor as a tomb for his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal, is owned and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India as a national monument.

However, the Muslim community’s Sunni Waqf Board recently claimed ownership of the monument, saying since it housed Muslim graves, the Taj belonged to it.

The structure in Agra in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh contains the tombs of Shah Jahan and his queen along with other tombs.

After the Muslims laid claim to the monument, a hardline Hindu outfit, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or World Hindu Council said the Taj Mahal’s builders constructed it after demolishing a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, one of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon.

The Hindu group said the monument should be declared a temple and added that the key to the mystery lay in a sealed basement in the Taj that it said contained the “pillars and artefact of a temple”.

“What I am interested in is this: If at all the custodianship of the Taj Mahal has to be transferred, it must go to the rightful descendant” of Emperor Shah Jahan, the prince said.

Even though members of India’s royal families were formally stripped of their titles in the early 1970s, many still use them.

---

What You Can Do From Here

---

Read More Articles On These Topics Categories: India Share, Blog, or Email This Article Subscribe Religion News Blog RSS feed [What is this?] RSS by topic: India Read Another Article Previous entry: Sainthood bid opens for John Paul Next entry: Cult man charged with kidnapping RNB Homepage with latest headlines Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults Find Related Books India Most Popular Today Decision expected this week on whether parents will face trial in faith healing death Church tries Goth Liturgy Ganas commune co-founder sues current and former members Los Angeles pastor used church credit cards for personal expenses Judge allows reckless homocide charges in faith healing death of Madeline Neumann Japan: Security agency calls for extension of surveillance of Aum cult Mormon church publishes journal of founder Joseph Smith Exclusive Brethren an evil, corrupt cult, court told Author believes Tom Cruise pressured Amazon to stop selling book critical of Scientology

---

Share This Article

---

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:

• Post a link on your blog or website:
  
• Send in an email or IM:
  
• Post on a forum:
  

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.