India Revisited by Neria Harish Hebbar, MD

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Travelogues
India Revisited – 3

We confined our sightseeing in Delhi to only the Qutb Minar and Humayun’s tomb due to constraints of time. Qutb Minar, built late 12th century, by the slave king Qutb ud din Aibak, in the wake of the assault of Muhammad of Ghor on North India. (He was a slave warrior in the Ghor army from Afghanistan, and had fought beside Muhammad. To him Muhammad bequeathed the conquered lands of North India. Qutb Minar is one of the earliest Muslim architectures in India. It also exemplifies the intolerance of Islam towards the idolatry of Hinduism as the surrounding buildings show pillars with defaced carvings of Hindu gods. Temple destruction, which was a sport for many rulers of Delhi, was especially true of Qutb ud din Aibak. The stone pillars pillaged from surrounding temples were put to good use here, in a colonnaded hall on one side of Qutb Minar.


Columns of Stone Pillars showing carvings

This checkered history of its construction does not take anything away from the glory of the minar with its five tiered balconies. Various repairs of the tower had been done by subsequent sultans of Delhi (it was even hit and damaged by lightning strike and later repaired, and the top most cupola fell during an earthquake as late as the early nineteenth century).

A doorway here with rich, fine architecture built by the notorious Alauddin Khilji brought back memories of the sword-wielding sultan of early fourteenth century.

– Continued

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