Stop annual 'urs' at Taj Mahal; Hindu outfit approaches Agra court

AGRA: Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha filed a petition in the Agra court against holding 'urs' at the wonder monument Taj Mahal. The petition filed seeks a prohibitory injunction against conducting urs on the premises of the monument.

Urs is the death anniversary event of a Sufi saint held at the saint’s Dargah. This time, Urs is observed between February 6 and 8. The petition also demands that free entry to the Taj Mahal be stopped on those days. The petition was filed by Saurabh Sharma, district president of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha. Hearing the petition, the court adjourned it to March 4.

Hindu Mahasabha spokesperson Sanjay Jat claims that neither the British nor the Mughals allowed Urs to be performed inside the Taj Mahal. Jat also stated that the petition was filed by the organization based on the reply received under RTI.

The RTI was filed by Agra-based historian Raj Kishore Raje. The RTI asked for more information from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) about who allowed permission to conduct Namaz and Urs in the UNESCO heritage monument.

The ASI replied that neither the Mughals nor the British Government nor the Central Government had permitted to perform Urs inside the Taj Mahal.