'Self-Proclaimed' Descendants Are the Worst Kind

From The Times of India:

SC has had enough of Taj claimants

Dhananjay Mahapatra
[Wednesday, January 04, 2006]

NEW DELHI: "How many more descendants of Mughal emperors will rush to this court staking claim over Taj Mahal," asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday as some self-proclaimed descendants claimed a share of the entry fee collected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from visitors to the monument.

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The petition was filed by 'Moghuls Family Society', a registered body having members claiming to be descendants of last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar's son Mirza Quiyash, who escaped from being murdered by men of the East India Company and lived in anonymity in Aurangabad.

[snip]

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tags: genealogy, family history, family tree

Too Many Heirs Want Share of Tomb

From the Chicago (Ill.) Tribune:

Taj Mahal entangled in love heptagon

By Kim Barker
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published August 8, 2005

AGRA, India -- For hundreds of years, the Taj Mahal has been the symbol of true love, a monumental valentine from an emperor to his dead wife that took more than 20 years and 20,000 people to build.

But now, as with many true loves and good intentions, the Taj has ended up in court. The white marble mausoleum, one of the most recognizable monuments in the world, is the subject of a bitter custody dispute.

At last count, six parties claimed to own the Taj instead of the government.

[snip]

. . . a self-proclaimed prince, armed with genealogical charts, says the Taj belongs to him.

In a darkly romantic gesture appropriate to the Taj, the wife of another purported descendant of the king's Mughal dynasty has threatened suicide over the whole mess.

[snip]

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See also Indian Pauper Inherits Taj Mahal.

Indian Pauper Inherits Taj Mahal

From The Times of India:

Mera Taj!
NONA WALIA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2005 08:35:24 PM]

And you always thought the Taj Mahal was a national monument maintained by the ASI? Think again. Prince Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy says he is the last direct descendant of Bahadur Shah Zafar and, consequently, the rightful owner of the Taj. Delhi Times on monumental claims...

His story sounds as bi-zarre as Rani and Abhishek leasing out the Taj Mahal in Bunty Aur Babli. However, Prince Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy's story isn't a movie script.

Tucy claims he is the last of the living Moguls. His truth is simple: "Taj Mahal mera hai!" Why? "I'm the great-great grandson of the last Mogul ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar. I'm staking my claim to the ownership of the Taj. When I'm alive, why should anyone else be allowed to take care of my inheritance?"

Why didn't Tucy stake such a claim earlier? "The ASI takes care of the Taj and I was happy with that. But then, when a person called Irfan Bedar of Agra, who has nothing to do with my royal lineage, laid claim to the Taj, I felt annoyed. If ownership of the Taj has to be transferred to anyone, that person must be a direct descendant of Shah Jahan, the emperor who erected the monument."

For now, Tucy lives "in extreme poverty in Hyderabad" and introduces himself as "The second son Yaqub Arifuddin Tucy, who in turn is the son of Laila Ummani, "a great-granddaughter of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who had 49 sons and daughters. Thereby, I'm the great-great grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar."

Tucy has a genealogy chart to prove his claim. In the chart, there are pictures of Babar, Akbar... and Tucy himself, ‘the last living descendant of the Moguls'. "It's ironic that, today, I have to buy a ticket to see the Taj," says Tucy.

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And we all know a genealogy chart can't possibly be faked. . .