Hindus, Muslims in Taj Mahal tussle

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AGRA, India -- An ownership battle has erupted over the world's most famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal, as it celebrates its 350th anniversary.

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

But the Sunni Waqf Board, which oversees Sunni Muslim graveyards and mosques throughout India, has staked a claim to the white-marble tomb, saying since the monument houses Muslim graves, the Taj belongs to it.

The Taj, in Agra in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, also contains other tombs besides those of Shah Jahan and his queen.

Contradicting the Muslim claim, a hard-line Hindu group, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, or World Hindu Council), says the Taj Mahal's builders constructed it after demolishing a Hindu temple dedicated to the God Shiva.

The Hindu group says the monument should be declared a temple and adds the key to the mystery lies in a sealed basement in the Taj that it says contains the "pillars and artifact of a temple."

On either side of the massive platform on which the Taj stands are steps down to the basement that has been locked for as long as people can remember.

"If the basement is opened, it'll reveal the truth. I know it contains Hindu pillars and temple artifacts," said Agra VHP leader Raghvendra, who goes by only one name.

Subramanian Swamy, a former member of Parliament and federal minister and head of the regional Janata Party, recalled he was not allowed to see the basement when he visited the Taj in 1978.

"I was later called by [then Prime Minister] Morarji Desai who said I should not press the matter as it was in the national interest that the basement be kept sealed," Mr. Swamy said. "The government has something to hide and the issue should be thoroughly investigated."