If you have ever visited the Taj Mahal then your guide probably told you that it was designed by Ustad Isa of Iran, and built by the Moghul Emperor, Shah Jahan, in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal

Indian children are taught that it was built in 22 years (1631 to 1653) by 20,000 artisans brought to India from all over the world

This story has been challenged by Professor P.N. Oak, author of Taj Mahal: The True Story, who believes that the whole world has been duped

Taj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz Mahal's tomb, but an ancient Hindu temple palace of Lord Shiva

the Shiva temple palace had been usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur

Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai Singh for Mumtaz's burial

The term 'Mahal' has never been used for a building in any of the Muslim countries

He says this term does not occur in any Moghul court papers or chronicles

Oak cites several documents suggesting that the Taj Mahal predates Shah Jahan's era