The Qutb Minar, sometimes called Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and “victory tower” that is a component of the Qutb complex. Lal Kot, Delhi’s oldest walled city, was constructed by the Tomar Rajputs, and it is located at the location of the Qutb complex. It is located in South Delhi, India’s Mehrauli neighborhood, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was mostly constructed between 1199 and 1220 and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
It can be compared to the 62-meter all-brick Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, which was built in 1190, roughly a decade before the Delhi tower’s likely beginning. Both have intricate geometric designs and inscriptions on their surfaces. The Qutb Minar features “superb stalactite bracketing under the balconies” fluted into the shaft at the top of each step. Minarets were often slow to be employed in India and are frequently separated from the primary mosque if they are present.
South Asian and Islamic architecture combined:
This triumph tower is a representation of the fusion of Southwestern Asian style with conventional Islamic construction. Islam Beyond Empires: Mosques and Islamic Landscapes in India and the Indian Ocean by Elizabeth Lambourn examines the spread of Islam in South Asia and how the area affected Islamic religious architecture.These recent immigrants from the Islamic West who were Muslims fled the Mongol Empire and settled in India where they built temples. The Qutb Minar serves as both a focal point for these new Muslim communities and a reminder of Islam’s historical presence in the region.The minaret’s architecture differs significantly from the traditional Middle Eastern architectural design and style. The native architecture, such as the Indic temples, had a significant effect on the design of these buildings. This had an impact on the various building materials, methods, and decorations employed to create the Qutb Minar.
The minaret is distinctive because before the 17th century, tower minarets in South Asian-Islamic architecture were unusual. This gap is a result of India’s slow adoption of traditional Middle Eastern fashion. It also stands apart from the main mosque, demonstrating how the local culture influenced the layout of a Middle Eastern building.In his work The Qutb Minar from Contemporary and Near Contemporary Sources, Ved Parkash claims that the Qutb Minar is the “earliest and best example of a fusion or synthesis of Hindu-Muslim traditions.” The minaret was erected by Hindu workers and artisans under the direction of Muslim architects, like many of the mosques constructed in South Asia at this time.This resulted in a building that combined elements of Islamic and Hindu religious architecture. The inscriptions are a collection of mistranslated verses from the Quran and other Arabic idioms since some of the artisans were Hindu and had no knowledge of the Quran.
History:
Over the remains of the Lal Kot, the Dhillika fortress, was constructed the Qutb Minar.Following the construction of the Qutub Mosque. Between 1199 and 1503, Qutub-ud-Din Aibak and Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish built a minar (minaret) near the southeast corner of the Quwwatu’l-Islam, drawing inspiration from their Ghurid homeland.
The tower is commonly believed to bear Qutb-ud-din Aibak’s name, who started it. Shamsuddin Iltutmish, a follower of Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, a 13th-century sufi saint, may potentially be the inspiration for the name.
Several historically special buildings from the Qutb complex surround the Minar. Qutub-ud-Din Aibak constructed the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in AD 1199, which is located to the northeast of the Minar. The Delhi Sultans constructed it, making it the oldest mosque still standing. It is made out of a rectangular courtyard surrounded by cloisters that were constructed using the carved columns and structural components from 27 Jain and Hindu temples that Qutub-ud-Din Aibak destroyed, as stated in his inscription on the building’s main eastern entrance.Later, Shams-ud-Din Itutmish (A.D. 1210–1235) and Ala-ud-Din Khalji extended the mosque and built a towering arched screen. According to an inscription on the iron pillar in the courtyard from the fourth century A.D., the pillar was erected as a Vishnudhvaja (standard of deity Vishnu) on the hill known as Vishnupada in honor of a powerful monarch by the name of Chandra.
One of the earliest mosque complexes still standing in the Indian subcontinent.
The tower was restored in the 19th century, which included a disastrous effort to add a few additional storeys, leaving behind the neighboring pillared cupola known as “Smith’s Mistake”[.]
Sikander Lodi restored Qutub Minar after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1505. A large earthquake on September 1st, 1803, resulted in significant damage. In order to add a sixth storey, British Indian Army Major Robert Smith restored the tower in 1828 and added a pillared dome atop the fifth floor. The Viscount Hardinge, who was the Governor General of India at the time, gave the order to remove the cupola in 1848. To the east of Qutb Minar, it was restored and is still there now. “Smith’s Folly” is the name for this.
In 1993, UNESCO included it on its list of World Heritage Sites.
The Ghurids:
The Ghurids, who immigrated to India and spread Islam there, designed and funded the construction of the Qutb Minar. Historically referred to as the Shansabanis, the Ghurids were a clan of Tajik ancestry that originated in Ghur, a hilly area in present-day western Afghanistan. The several sections of this nomadic tribe merged in the late eleventh to the early twelve centuries, erasing its nomadic lifestyle. They also changed their religion to Islam at this period.
Then they spread into modern-day India, rapidly seizing control of a sizable portion of the nation. Multan and Uch in the western Punjab were acquired by the Ghurids between 1175 and 1176, the areas around Peshawar in the northwest in 1177, and Sindh in 1185–1186. Qutb al-Din Aibek established a Ghurid governorship in the region and erected the congregational mosque, the Qutb Minar complex, in 1193, the same year he overthrew Delhi. In the past, experts thought that the complex was built as a sign of the Ghurids’ dedication to a socioreligious system and to encourage Islam among their new people.According to newly available material, the new annexes did not prioritize converting to Islam; instead, the Ghurid governors attempted to broker a synthesis of the local culture and Islam.
The donors and creators:
Qutb-ud-din Building on the first storey of the Qutb Minar began in 1199 under the direction of Aibak, a subordinate of Muhammad of Ghor who later formed the Delhi Sultanate. Shamsuddin Iltutmish, Aibak’s successor and son-in-law, finished three more tales. The top storey was destroyed by lightning in 1369, so the monarch of the period, Firuz Shah Tughlaq, rebuilt it and erected another. While he was in power and Humayun the Mughal emperor was exiled, Sher Shah Suri erected an entrance as well.
Architecture:
The Qutb Minar’s many parts, which are written in Pesrian-Arabic and Nagari, detail the history of the building’s construction as well as the subsequent restorations and renovations by Firoz Shah Tughluq (1351–88) and Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517).
The Qutb Minar is the highest brick-built minaret in the world, at 72.5 meters tall. The tower has a base diameter of 14.3 meters (47 feet), tapering to 2.7 meters (9 feet) at the apex. There is a 379 step spiral staircase within.
An overall spiral staircase of 379 steps may be seen in the tower. The Quwat Ul Islam Mosque is located at the base of the tower. Just over 65 cm from vertical, which is regarded as a safe inclination for the Minar.
Many minarets and towers were created using Qutb Minar as their model and source of inspiration. The Chand Minar and Mini Qutub Minar are inspired by and resemble the Qutb Minar.
The Stories of the Qutb Minar:
The Basement Story of the Qutb Minar:
Red and grey granite makes up the five levels of the Qutb Minar. Ghiyeth al-Din Muhammad, a sultan of the Ghurid dynasty, oversaw the completion of the lowest storey, also known as the basement story.
Twelve semicircular and twelve flanged pilasters are alternately arranged on its revette. Flanges and multi-story balconies supported by Muqarnas corbels divide this storey. A low circular platform with a twelve-pointed star and semi-circles at each of the angles between the star’s points is where the tale is situated.On this narrative, there are also six horizontal bands with writing done in the Islamic calligraphy style known as naskh. These are the inscriptions: The names and titles of Ghiyath al-Din, the names and titles of Mu’izz al-Din, the names and titles of Mu’izz al-Din, Qur’anic quotations, and the following titles are found in this greatly restored inscription: “The Amir, the most glorious and great commander of the army.” Inscriptions honoring Muhammad of Ghor, the ruler of the Ghurids, may also be found on this level.
The Second, Third, and Fourth Stories:
Sham ud-Din Iltutmish, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, built the second, third, and fourth storeys. He is regarded as the founder of the Delhi Sultan dynasty. Additionally, the second and third storeys are revetted with an alternate arrangement of twelve semicircular and twelve flanged pilasters. These tiered balconies and flanges that divide the red sandstone columns are supported by Muqarnas corbels. The fourth storey once had semicircular pilasters on it before it was reduced and rebuilt. It was rebuilt in white marble and is mostly simple.
The Fifth Story:
The fourth level was fixed in 1369 when lightning damaged the minaret. Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq decided to divide the fourth storey into two stories after reducing its size during rebuilding.
Controversy:
The Hindu nationalist organizations Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal reportedly intended to do a yajna, a ceremonial Hindu event connected to cleaning or purifying, at the Qutub Minar complex where the tower is situated, according to a story in Delhi media on November 14, 2000. In order to prevent 80 activists, headed by Ram Krishan Gaur, from performing the yajna within the tower, they were discovered near the Qutb Minar and imprisoned by the Delhi police. The protestors instead carried out the rite outside the mosque compound due to a police roadblock.Right-wing Hindu organizations claimed they needed to undertake a cleaning at the complex in order to release the Hindu symbols that were “trapped” in the tower and the mosque complex since the spolia of Jain and Hindu temples were utilized to create the minaret.
According to Dharamveer Sharma, a former regional director of the Archaeological Survey of India, Qutb Minar was constructed by Raja Vikramaditya in the fifth century to track the sun’s shifting positions.
Govind Mohan, secretary of the Ministry of Culture, decided to conduct excavation and iconography of idols discovered at Qutub Minar on May 21, 2022. The Ministry has now requested an excavation report from the ASI. At a distance of 15 meters from the mosque, excavation might begin to the south of the minaret.
Accidents:
Prior to 1976, the first floor of the minaret’s internal stairway was accessible to the general public. After 2000, access to the summit was prohibited owing to suicides. The lights for the stairs failed on December 4th, 1981. Between 300 to 400 people rushed for the door. There were 45 fatalities and several injuries. The majority of them were students. The tower has remained off-limits to the public ever since. Since this occurrence, there have been strict admission requirements.
In literature:
The Cootub Minar, Delhi by Letitia Elizabeth Landon is a reflection on a Samuel Prout image found in Fisher’s Drawing Room Scrap Book, published in 1833.
In popular culture:
The song “Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar” from Dev Anand’s Bollywood movie Tere Ghar Ke Samne was intended to be filmed inside the Minar. The song was really filmed inside a copy of the Qutb Minar since the cameras of the time were too large to fit inside the tower’s small tunnel.
The location served as the Pit Stop during the second leg of The Amazing Race Australia’s second season.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s trip cards and tokens have images of the minaret on them. A freshly established startup has made a 360o overview of Qutb Minar available in association with the Archaeological Survey of India.
Seven businesses recently received “Letters of Intent” from the Ministry of Tourism’s “Adopt a Heritage Scheme” for fourteen monuments. These businesses will be the ‘Monument Mitras’ of the future. Qutb Minar has been selected to be included on the list.
