Why did cut the hands of Taj Mahal workers after finishing their works?

The Emperor did not want any of those workers to recreate the same design anywhere in the world. so he cut their hands off with the hope that taj mahal stays as one unique building in the world.

The main architect was Isa Khan. Shahjahan cut off the hands of the workers after the completion of the Taj so Mahal that no one would ever be able to build such a marvelous monument again.

At least that is what historians have recorded.

History mentions that the king cut the hands of all the workers after the Mahal was built because he did not want them to build another like the Taj Mahal.

The main architect was Isa Khan. Shahjahan cut off the hands of the workers after the completion of the Taj so Mahal that no one would ever be able to build such a marvelous monument again.

At least that is what historians have recorded.

1) this is a *legend* without historical basis. In some legends, only the chief architect has his right hand cut, in some other versions, he has not only both his hands cuts, he was blinded, or beheaded. And in other versions, all the 20,000 workers had their hands (or fingers) cut.


2) "Ustad Isa (Persian: استاد عيسى translation Master Isa (Jesus in Arabic)) is a fictitious architect, often described as the chief architect of the Taj Mahal. Typically he is described as either a Turkish or Persian architect.
The lack of complete and reliable information as to whom the credit for the design belongs, led to innumerable speculations. Scholars suggest the story of Ustad Isa was born of the eagerness of the British in the 19th century to believe that such a beautiful building should be credited to a European architect. Local informants were reported to have sated British curiosity regarding the origins of the Taj by also supplying them with fictitious lists of workmen and materials from all over Asia.
Recent research suggests Ustad Ahmad Lahauri was the most likely candidates as the chief architect of the Taj, an assertion based on a claim made in writings by Lahauri's son Lutfullah Muhandis."
Source and further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustad_Isa

Further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustad_Ahmad_Lahauri


3) "Work started in 1641, and the structure took 20,000 laborers 22 years to complete -- legend has it that Shah Jahan cut off the hands of the architect (Persian-born Ustad Ahmad Lahori) and his laborers to ensure that they would never build another, but there is little to substantiate this sensational story."
Source and further information:
http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/india/agra/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154654624869


"There are ugly aspects to the legend of the Taj Mahal. It is said Shah Jahan had the hands or fingers of the craftsmen who built the Taj Mahal cut off to ensure they couldn't create another building like it. The chief architect was supposedly beheaded."
Source and further information:
http://www.indiantravelpackages.com/monuments-in-india/taj-mahal-tour.html

"A story goes that Shah Jahan cut the hands of the workers who built Taj Mahal, so that they would never be able to create such a structure again. Do you think that it is true?"
Source and further information:
http://worldhistoryforum.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1176899735

"Legend has it that once the construction was completed, Shah Jehan had Lahori's hands cut off and his eyes gouged out, so he would never be able to duplicate the structure."
Source and further information:
http://www.tajmahalagratours.com/

"The main architect was Isa Khan. Shahjahan cut off the hands of
the workers after the completion of the Taj so Mahal that no one would ever be
able to build such a marvelous monument again."
Source and further information:
http://library.thinkquest.org/27638/tajmahal.html

to cut twenty thousand workers' hands is not easy !
well if that's what historians say, maybe it's true.

anyway it was silly to cut their hands since they could still talk and share the knowledge. what could really stop them to replicate it was to kill 'em all at that time!

He cut then off so that the workers would never be able to make a monument as beautiful as the Taj Mahal he built for his wife!

Did they cut both hands off? I heard it was only the right hand.

Actually Shah Jahan did not cut off the hands or the thumbs of the workers. It is a phrase/idiom that has been wrongly translated from the vernacular into English.

i would not doubt that the workers hands were chopped. Indian culture, heritage and monuments were destroyed by muslim invaders during 13th - 17th century till British took over India. Although India was a invaded and occupied by British, no such autrocities took places unlike in Muslim rule. Just for one man's love, hundreds if not thousands had to loose. Just such a shame.

Oh come on......it was just a rumuor!!!! He just took their fingerprints as remembrance.

When you attend a live entertainment show, and after a performance the MC says "Let's give 'em a hand", you'll know where the expression came from. At least that's what I've heard, anyway. :-)

Shahjahan loved his late wife unconditionally and he was traumertized by her death he was in shock for two weeks before he decided to have the Taj Mahal built in her memory.he wanted it to be the most beautiful and one-of-a-kind monument that signified his love for her.The architects hands were cut off so he would never ever be able to design it again.So that there would be no other like it.and now it is one of the wonders of the world.