Oak’s inquiries begin with the name Taj Mahal. He says this term does not occur in any Moghul court papers or chronicles, even after Shah Jahan’s time. The term ‘Mahal’ has never been used for a building in any of the Muslim countries, from Afghanistan to Algeria. ‘The usual explanation that the term Taj Mahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal is illogical in at least two respects. Firstly, her name was never Mumtaz Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani,’ he writes. ‘Secondly, one cannot omit the first three letters from a woman’s name to derive the remainder as the name for the building.’ Taj Mahal is, he claims, a corrupt version of Tejo-mahalaya, or the Shiva’s Palace. Oak also says that the love story of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan is a fairy tale created by court sycophants, blundering historians and sloppy archaeologists. Not a single royal chronicle of Shah Jahan’s time corroborates the love story. Furthermore, Oak cites several d
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 17:06:24 +0000