We have all heard the story, the legend behind the Taj Mahal, and how it was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of Begum Mumtaz. But what also comes along with that story is the claim that he ordered the craftsmen’s hands to be chopped off after the completion of the wondrous monument.
But what is the truth behind this? Many historians claim that there is no substantial evidence to back this claim. It is just an urban myth glorified.
It is a well-known urban legend that Shah Jahan chopped the hands of those who built the Taj Mahal. “I can state that there is neither any evidence to back this account nor has any respectable historian ever made this claim,” historian S Irfan Habib said.
It’s worth noting that this urban legend dates back to the 1960s, and I first heard about it from a friend. There is, however, one significant difference. The tale has a communal twist today, whereas back in the time, it was nothing but a joke.
Over the years, there have been many theories and research done to fact-check this urban myth. The Times of India revealed several Taj Mahal myths in 2017, including the one with the craftsmen’s hands. “This myth contradicts the existence of Taj Ganj, a large hamlet that remains today”.
Emperor Shah Jahan built it to house the thousands of masons, artisans and other employees who had gathered from all over his kingdom. The article stated that “the descendants of those employees still reside there and have kept alive their forefathers’ skills”.
When the Taj Mahal was built. After that, there were a lot of rumours that Shah Jahan had cut off his workers’ hands because Shah Jahan did not want anyone to be able to build such a Taj Mahal again, so he cut off the hands of his workers. But there is no such evidence anywhere in history.
After building the Taj Mahal, they built a lot of places like the Delhi Jama Masjid, Red Fort, etc. If this had happened anywhere, it would certainly have happened in history. There is no proof that Shah Jahan had cut off the hands of his workers. There is no such proof anywhere.
Two thousand people built the Taj Mahal. It’s just a rumour and jokes. It is not possible that the hands of 2,000 people were cut off and there is no trace of them in history. I read the books which are about the Mughal Empire and I could not find anything relating to this in it. This is just a joke, not a truth.