The Taj Mahal mummy mahal? The book titled `Taj Mahal ya Mummy Mahal’ by Afsar Ahmad claims that Shah Jahan’s wife Muzmtaz is actually buried in the Taj Mahal
News East West
NEW DELHI: Is it Taj Mahal or Mummy Mahal?
A new book released in Agra on Sunday claims that Shah Jahan’s wife Muzmtaz – in whose memory the Taj Mahal was built by him – is actually buried at the Taj Mahal.
The book titled `Taj Mahal ya Mummy Mahal’ by journalist-turned-author Afsar Ahmad claims that after her death while giving birth to her 14th child in Burhanpur (in Madhya Pradesh), Mumtaz’s body was mummified and buried there temporarily.
According to the author, historical records confirm that Shah Jahan got her body exhumed after six months and brought it to Agra where it was again buried in a temporary grave in the Taj Mahal complex as construction work to build the Taj Mahal was under way. Twelve years later when the Taj Mahal was completed, the emperor got the mummified body of his beloved wife transported to the main Taj Mahal mausoleum for her final burial.
The author claims that the truth about the Taj Mahal was suppressed. “If the truth had been revealed when Taj Mahal was being built, it would have become almost impossible to construct the monument,” according to him.
