Qutb-ud-din Aibak sat in his canopy, watching his slaves work in the hot Indian sun and laying the foundation of his pet project – the Qutb Minar. He remembered the time when he was one of them, a slave. The Afghan crown on his head felt uncomfortable. It once belonged to his master, but now he was his own master. A wave of his hand and servants appeared before him with fruits and sherbet. He wasn’t a slave anymore. He was the Sultan-e-Hind.
Qutb-ud-din was born to Turkish parents in Turkestan. When he was a boy, a merchant took him to Nishapur and sold as a slave in the local market. He stood there in the hot sun, wearing a sackcloth gown. His back itched but he was unable to reach it because of the chains. A local Qazi, had pity on the young boy and bought him.
The old Qazi was a kind man. He treated the boy with love. He taught him the Quran and provided him military training with his own sons. The young slave’s luck didn’t for hold long. The old Qazi passed away in his sleep on a cold winter night. The Qazi’s sons were jealous of the young slave. They took him to the market in Ghazni and put him on sale again.
A young chieftain bought him from the slave market. Mohammad of Ghor, they called him. The young slave worked hard in Ghori’s camp and rose through the ranks. The military training that his old master had given him helped him in his rise. Mohammad Ghori was a shrewd Emir. He recognized that the slave had great potential and elevated him to the post of an army captain.
After Mohammad Ghori defeated the Hindu king, Prithviraj Chauhan at the battle of Tarain. He made Qutb-ud-din Aibak the leader of his army in Hind. Aibak lead his army to victory after victory over the local Rajput kings. He even captured the legendary City of Djinns, Delhi. Ghori appointed him the viceroy of Hindustan when he went back to Afghanistan to quell an attack from Persia.
Ghori never came back to Hindustan. He was assassinated by the blind Prithviraj Chauhan in an archery contest. Aibak rushed to Afghanistan to mourn his master’s death. He stabbed the grave of Prithiviraj Chauhan in despair and poured sand over his head in grief.
Ghori’s empire splintered with his untimely death. Aibak got the kingdom of Hind. He moved his capital from Lahore to Delhi. He received his master’s crown. He became the first Sultan of Delhi.
Qutb-ud-din Aibak wanted to showcase the Islam might to the people of Hindustan. He built the first mosque in India and named it Quwwat-ul-Islam, the might of Islam. Near the mosque, he started construction of the Qutb Minar, the tallest tower in world at that time.
Unfortunately, Aibak never saw the Qutb Minar completed. Four years into his rule, he had a polo accident and died. His successor, Iltutmish finally completed his pet project. The tower could be seen from miles away, towering over the mystical city of Delhi.
The Qutb Minar, can still be seen towering over the Delhi skyline at Mehrauli. The five storeys of the tower are all built in different styles. The first three storeys are built with red sandstone and the upper two are storeys are built with marble and sandstone. The inner staircase is now closed to tourists after a stampede that killed many children.
In the minar’s courtyard, there is an iron pillar which has interested metallurgists for ages. A legend states that if a person can hold his hands behind the pillar the djinns of Delhi will grant him his wish. A fence now prevents people from doing that.
(The Iron Pillar)
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