Bollywood film brings Taj Mahal conspiracy theory into mainstream

Nytimes reports that a new Bollywood film, "The Taj Story," has breathed life into a long-running conspiracy theory that the Taj Mahal is of Hindu origin rather than a 17th-century Mughal tomb. Directed by Tushar Amrish Goel and featuring actor Paresh Rawal, the film repackages claims that historians and scholars have repeatedly debunked.

The movie reprises assertions that the site was once a Hindu palace or a temple to Lord Shiva, points to contested carbon dating of a piece of wood from a door and highlights alleged "secret chambers" beneath the structure. Those claims trace back to earlier revisionists such as P.N.

Oak and lack the documented evidence cited by mainstream scholars. The Archaeological Survey of India published photos in 2022 intended to dispel the secret-chamber claims but later removed them, a move that critics say fueled suspicion of a coverup. India’s courts have repeatedly dismissed legal challenges seeking to change the monument’s status or to open formal fact-finding inquiries.

India