A right-wing organization, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, has filed a petition in the Agra court seeking a prohibitory injunction against the observance of the three-day ‘Urs’ event at the Taj Mahal. The court has accepted the petition and scheduled the hearing for March 4.
The petitioner challenges not only the celebration itself but also objects to the free entry for the ‘Urs’ inside the iconic monument. The ‘Urs’ event, commemorating the death of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who commissioned the Taj Mahal in 1653, is scheduled from February 6 to February 8 this year.
According to the petitioner’s counsel, Anil Kumar Tiwari, “The petitioner has sought a permanent prohibitory injunction against the committee celebrating the ‘Urs.’ The objection also extends to the provision of free entry for the ‘Urs’ at the Taj Mahal.”
ABHM spokesperson Sanjay Jat explained the basis of the petition, saying, “The petition has been filed on the basis of an RTI (Right to Information) filed by a historian of Agra city, Raj Kishore Raje. The RTI revealed that neither the Mughals nor the British allowed ‘Urs’ celebrations inside the Taj Mahal.”
Jat further added, “So, on that basis, we have filed a petition seeking the prohibitory injunction, stopping the organizers of Shahjahan ‘Urs’ Celebration Committee, headed by Saiyyad Ibrahim Zaidi, from celebrating the ‘Urs’ at the Taj Mahal.”
The ‘Urs’ event involves rituals such as ‘chadar poshi’, ‘sandal’, ‘gusul’, ‘kul,’ among others. The court will hear the case on March 4, and the controversy surrounding the celebration has sparked a debate over the historical permissions granted for such events at the Taj Mahal.
