New Delhi: In a revelation that has put the role of historians in shaping the fact-based history under scanner, former Regional Director(North) of Archaeological Survey of India KK Muhammad has alleged that an excavation done by a team headed by Professor BB Lal, then director general of the ASI during 1976-77, found the remnants of a Hindu temple at the Babri Masjid site.

According to Firstpost, in his recent memoirs Njan Enna Bharatiyan (I an Indian) in Malayalam, Muhammad has accused Left historians like Irfan Habib and Romila Thapar of thwarting an amicable settlement to the Babri Masjid issue.

"The Babri issue would have been settled long ago if the Muslim intelligentsia had not fallen prey to the brain washing by the Leftist historians. A set of historians including Romila Thapar, Bipin Chandra and S Gopal argued that there was no mention of the dismantling of the temple before 19th century and Ayodhya is Bhudhist-Jain centre. They were supported by historians Irfan Habib,RS Sharma, DN Jha, Suraj Ben and Akthar Ali," Muhammad told Firstpost.

Muhammad further claimed that a Hindu temple existed at the site of the Babri Masjid based on the unearthing of temple pillars during the excavation.

"We found not one but 14 pillars of a temple at the Babri Masjid site. All these pillars had domes carved on them. The domes resembled those found in temples belonging to 11th and 12th century. In the temple architecture domes are one of the nine symbols of prosperity. It was quite evident that the Masjid was erected on the debris of a temple. I went on writing to several English dailies in those days about the finding. Only one news paper published my view and that too in the letters to Editor column," He wrote in the book.

He further accused the Left historians of misleading the Allahabad High Court and alleged that even Qutab Minar and Taj Mahal were also built on Hindu temples.

Muhammad has been working as the director of Aga Khan Trust project in Hyderabad after retiring from ASI in 2012.

While some noted historians have backed Muhammad's claims, a few left historians have snubbed the arguments as baseless.