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| unfinished tower, Alai Minar, Delhi dreamstime.com |
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| Alai Minar Backdrop:Qutub Minar, Delhi. Bestourism.com |
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| unfinished tower, Alai Minar,Delhi Alamy |
Among the many historical monuments within the Qutub Minor complex of Delhi, 15 km from New Delhi Railway Station, stands a tall massive structure which is said to be an ambitious project undertaken by Sultan Aladdin Khilji of Khilji dynasty in 1311. Standing just north of Qutub Minar what some historians refer to as a vanity project is an unfinished structure commissioned by Sultan Aladdin Khilji as a victory tower.
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| Sultan Aladdin Khilji sitedbay.com |
Being ruthless and great warrior, Khilji won many wars with a powerful army, using skill and tactics. Aladdin Khilji was keen to have a giant structure built to commemorate his victory over one of his Deccan campaigns and wanted his name to be etched in history for his monumental structure that was more spectacular and impressive than his earlier feats.
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| Interior Alai Darwaza, in the mosque. Delhi upload.wikimedia.org |
He planned to have the new structure built twice the height of Qutub Minar . He already double the size of Quwwat- Ul- Islam Masjid before 1300 CE,. He further wanted to increase the size of the enclosures of the Quwwat-Ul-Islam Masjid by four times its original size to provide a ceremonial entrance gateway on either sides of the mosque.
He wanted the new structure - the Alai Minar to match the grand mosque with increased height. In addition, he was desirous of a second tower of victory under his name and hence the Alai Minar was initiated. Famous Sufi poet named Amir Khusro, in one of his works named 'Tareekh-i-Alai', made a reference to the Sultan's intentions to increase the size of the mosque and the plan to construct the Alai Minar.
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| unfinished tower, Alai Minar, Delhi widercanvass.blog.spot |
The construction came up to the first floor the work stopped midway due to Ala-ud-din Khalji' death in 1316 AD. Unlike Khiliji, his successors failed to continue the unfinished construction work because of changing political situation in and around Delhi. The Khilji rulers were defeated and the Delhi Sultanate came under the Tughlaq dynasty. Ala-ud-din Khalji' grand ambition never never fulfilled as the future is never predictable. The subtle fact is he did complete a grand tower - however the Qutub Mimar is being visited by thousands of people every day.
Alai Minar with a total height of 24.38 m (80 feet) and a circumference of 77.72 m (255 feet) has an outer wall which is unusually thick - 5.8 m (19 feet) and is divided into 32 faces of 2.43 m (8 feet) each. There is a central column in the interior where there would a stairway to reach higher level. The central column itself is 8 m (26 feet) in diameter. The passage was 3 meter wide to allow the construction of stairway. The doorway is on the eastern side of the tower. Base on the old post: https://www.navrangindia.in/2017/09/alai-minar-unfinished-tower-built-by.html
https://www.delhiinformation.in/tourism/monuments/alaiminar.html
