Maa Kamakhya Temple under Fatehpur Sikri dargah : Agra-based lawyer claims

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) – After the claim of the famous Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh to be a Hindu temple called ‘Tejomahalay’, a lawsuit has now been filed in a local Court at Agra, claiming that Sheikh Salim Chishti Dargah at Fatehpur Sikri, 35 km from Agra, is originally Maa Kamakhya Temple. Taking note of the petition, the Court has ordered the issuance of notices to the defendants. Advocate Ajay Pratap Singh filed the petition on 9th May 2024.

In this case, the petitioners are Mata Kamakhya Temple, Arya Sanskriti Sanrakshanam Trust, Yogeshwar Shri Krishna Cultural Research Trust, Kshatriya Shaktipeeth Vikas Trust and Advocate Ajay Pratap Singh, and the Defendants are Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, Salim Chishti Dargah Management Committee and Jama Masjid Management Committee.

Historical documents to prove the existence of Temple

Advocate Ajay Pratap Singh said,

1. A complaint has been filed about Salim Chishti Dargah. Fatehpur Sikri dargah was originally Maa Kamakhya Temple and the adjacent mosque forms part of the Temple complex. Maa Kamakhya is the family Deity of Sikarwar Kshatriyas and Her Temple stood here itself. King Rao Dhamdev ruled during the Khanwa war as mentioned in their history.

2. In ‘Baburnama’, there is a mention of an octagonal well and a ‘Garib Ghar’ in the south-west and south-east directions of Fatehpur Sikri’s Buland Darwaza. The Octagonal well is an example of Hindu architecture.

Courtesy : The Big Faces

3. E B Havell, a British art historian, has written in his book that Jama Masjid’s ceiling and pillar are purely Hindu architecture.

4. Dr D V Sharma, the former Superintendent of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), had excavated ‘Bir Chhabili Tila’ area where he found idols of Saraswati and Jain sculptures, and based on which, Dr Sharma wrote a book titled ‘The Archaeology of Fatehpur Sikri – New Discoveries’. It has been mentioned on page 86 of this book that Jama Masjid was built on Hindu pillars.