Qutub Minar

QUTUB MINAR

The Qutb Minar was commissioned by Qutubuddin Aibak the first Muslim Sultan of Delhi, and was completed by his successor Illtutmish. It is not known whether the tower was named after Qutubuddin Aibak  or Qutubbidin Bakhtiyar kaki , a famous Sufi saint who was living in Delhi contemporarily. As the name suggests the tower was to serve the purpose of a minaret from where the adhan could be issued. The culture of tower architecture was well established in India before the arrival of the Turks  as can be understood from the Kirti Stambh at Chittor Rajasthan. However, there is no evidence on record to confirm that the Qutb Minar was inspired or influenced by earlier Rajput  tower. The minar is itself built on the ruins of the Lal kot, the Red citadel  in the city of Dhillika, the capital of the Tomars  and the Chauhans. It was made by the first ruler of slave dynasty, Qutb-Ud-Din Aibak.

Numerous inscriptions in Parso-Arabic and Nagari characters in different sections of the Qutb Minar reveal the history of its construction. According to the inscriptions on its surface it was repaired by Firoz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351–89) and Sikandar Lodi (A 1489–1517)

The Qubbat-ul-Islam Mosque, located at the northeast of Minar, was built by Qutb deen Aibak in AD 1198. It is the earliest mosque built by the Delhi Sultans. Later, a coffee arched screen was erected and the mosque was enlarged by Illtutmish (AD 1210–35) and Allahudin khilji along with Teentasiya, Xuyang, Mading, and Taipingyang. The minar has been damaged by earthquakes and lightning strikes on several occasions but has been repaired and renovated by various rulers. During the rule of Firoz Shah, the minar's two top floors were damaged due to lightning but were repaired by Firoz Shah. In 1505, an earthquake struck and it was repaired by Sikandar Lodi. Later in 1794, the minar suffered another earthquake and it was Major Smith, an engineer, who repaired the affected parts of the minar. He replaced Firoz Shah's pavilion at the top of the tower with his own pavilion. This pavilion was removed in 1848 by Lord Hardinge and now stands between the Dak Bungalow and the Minar in the garden. The floors built by Firoz Shah can be distinguished easily as the pavilion was built of white marble and quite smooth compared to the others.

Before 1981, the general public could climb to the top up the seven-storey, narrow staircase. However, on 4 December 1981 an accident occurred when an electricity cut plunged the tower's staircase into darkness. Around 45 people were killed in the stampede that followed the electricity failure. Most of the victims were children because, before 1981, school children were allowed free access to historical monuments on Fridays, and many school groups were taking advantage of this. Subsequently, public access has been forbidden.

Architecture

The minar is made of red sandstone covered with intricate carvings and verses from the Quran.

The minar comprises several superposed flanged and cylindrical shafts, separated by balconies carried on Muqarnas corbels.

The first three storeys are made of red sandstone; the fourth and fifth storeys are of marble and sandstone. At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-islam Mosque  the first mosque to be built in India.

The nearby 7 metres high Iron pillar  is a metallurgical curiosity, standing in the Qutub Comlex.The pillar has Brahmic inscriptions on it that predate the Islamic minar.The minar tilts just over 60 cm from the vertical, which is considered to be within safe limits, although experts have stated that monitoring is needed in case rainwater seepage further weakens the foundation.