6. Historical Significance
๏ Qutub Minar, at 120 meters, is the tallest brick minaret
in the world, and the second tallest minar in India
after Fatah Burj at Mohali. Qutub Minar, along with the
ancient and medieval monuments surrounding it, form
the Qutub Complex, which is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. The tower is located in the Mehrauli area
of Delhi, India. Made of red sandstone and marble,
Qutub Minar is a 73 meter (240 feet) tall tapering tower
with a diameter measuring 14.32 meters (47 feet) at the
base and 2.75 meters (9 feet) at the peak. Inside the
tower, a circular staircase with 379 steps leads to the
top.
7. ๏ In 1200 CE, Qutub-ud-Din Aibak, the
founder of the Delhi Sultanate started
construction of the Qutub Minar. In
1220, Aibak's successor and son-in-
law Iltutmish added three storey's to
the tower. In 1369, lightning struck
the top storey, destroying it
completely and Firoz Shah
Tughlaq carried out restoration work
replacing the damaged storey with
two new storey's every year, made of
red sandstone and white marble.
8. ๏ Qutub Minar is surrounded by several
historically significant monuments,
which are historically connected with
the tower and are part of the Qutb
Complex. These include the diamond
pole of Delhi , Quwwat-ul-Islam
Mosque, Alai Darwaza, the Tomb of
Iltutmish, Alai Minar, Ala-ud-din's
Madrasa and Tomb, and the Tomb of
Imam Zamin. Other minor
monuments include Major Smith's
Cupola and Sanderson's Sundial.
9. Architecture
๏ The Minar is made of Dark red sandstone covered with
Iron intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an. The
Minar comprises several superposed flanged
and cylindrical shafts, separated be balconies carried
on Muqarnas corbels. The first three storey's are made
of red sandstone; the fourth and fifth and sixth storey's
are of marble and sandstone. At the foot of the tower is
the Quwwat ul Islam Mosque. The minar tilts just over
65 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.
10. ๏ The nearby 7 meters high Iron
Pillar from Gupta empire is a metallurgical
curiosity. The pillar standing in the Qutub
complex has Brahmic inscriptions on it
and predates the Islamic minar.
11. Accident
๏ Before 1974, the general public was
allowed access to the top of the minar
accessed through a narrow staircase. On
4 December 1981, 45 people were killed
in the stampede that followed an
electricity failure that plunged the tower's
staircase into darkness. Most of the
victims were children because, at the time
school children were allowed free access
to historical monuments on Fridays.
Subsequently, public access to the inside
12. Conservation of Qutub Minar
๏ 1. Pollution from vehicle exhausts, smoke stacks
(chimneys) of nearby industries within a 20 mile
radius, including brick kilns.
2. Excessive tourist load treading the staircase.
3. Vibrations from the transport means including
the Metro railway (there is one very near it; but
probably remedial measures were taken) &
overflying airplanes (airport is very near)- the best
that can be one is to align the flight path away
from the monument. This includes earth tremors
that can't be helped; particularly Delhi is very
tremor-prone.
13. Steps taken to preserve
Qutub
Minar๏ The potential of the area as an
archaeological park was clear from
the onset and its proximity to the
World Heritage Site made it more
attractive, possibly as an extension to
the WHS or a buffer zone. The
significance of the site led the
government to focus their resources
here for the past eight years.
14. ๏During this period, 35
monuments have undergone
conservation work and heritage
trails and signage are being
established (proposed in 1997
but approved for funding and
implementation only in 2003) to
convert this area into a sensitive
archaeological park rather than a
sanitation ground.
15. ๏The effort involved lobbying with
the political leadership and
officials from various
departments, from the chief
minister to the gardener or guard,
as a result of which Delhi Tourism
has consistently funded the
conservation initiatives over six
phases of work.
16. ๏DDA, the land owning agency
cooperates in maintaining the
horticultural component of the
park; the MCD and the Delhi
Water Supply and Sewage
undertaking has carried out a
considerable quantum of work to
convert open drains into
underground pipes.
17. ๏The Archaeological Survey of
India protects and owns four
buildings within the park and
along with the State
Department of Archaeology
has now taken steps to extend
its ownership and protection to
buildings already conserved.
18. ๏The Delhi Police have stepped
up vigil to make the area safe
and to ensure no
encroachments take place.
Above all, government led
public awareness campaigns
have often led to workshops
for schoolchildren being held
at this locale.