Делідегі Құтыб Минареті: Тарих және Мәдениет Ескерткіші

Minaret in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, India

The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi's oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It consists of 399 steps It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi, India. It is one of the most visited tourist spots in the city, mostly built between 1199 and 1220. The surfaces of both are elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric patterns. The Qutb Minar has a shaft that is fluted with "superb stalactite bracketing under the balconies" at the top of each stage. In general, minarets were slow to be used in India and are often detached from the main mosque where they exist. In recent years, the Qutub Minar has been illuminated for special occasions involving international relations. In September 2023, the monument was lit up in the colors of the Mexican flag to celebrate Mexico's 213th Independence Day, an event that was acknowledged and appreciated by the Embassy of Mexico in India. Similarly, on October 30, the Qutub Minar was illuminated with the Turkish flag to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, an occasion that received special attention from the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi.

The tower includes elements of traditional Islamic architecture and southwestern Asian design. Elizabeth Lambourn's Islam Beyond Empires: Mosques and Islamic Landscapes in India and the Indian Ocean studies the introduction of Islam in South Asia and how the region influenced the Islamic religious architecture. These newly arrived Muslims from the Islamic West escaped the Mongol Empire and emigrated to India, where they constructed religious centers. The Qutb Minar serves as a central marker to these new Muslim communities as well as being a reminder of Islam's presence in the area. It is usually thought that the tower is named for Qutb ud din Aibak, who began it. It is also possible that it is named after Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki a 13th century sufi saint, because Shamsuddin Iltutmish was a devotee of his. The Minar is surrounded by several historically significant monuments of the Qutb complex. Quwwat ul Islam Mosque, to the north east of the Minar was built by Qutub ud Din Aibak in A. D. 1199. It is the earliest extant mosque built by the Delhi Sultans. It consists of a rectangular courtyard enclosed by cloisters, erected with the carved columns and architectural members of 27 Jain and Hindu temples, which were demolished by Qutub ud Din Aibak as recorded in his inscription on the main eastern entrance. Later, a lofty arched screen was erected, and the mosque was enlarged, by Shams ud Din Itutmish (A. D. 1210–35) and Ala ud Din Khalji. The Iron Pillar in the courtyard bears an inscription in Sanskrit in Brahmi script of fourth century A. D., according to which the pillar was set up as a Vishnudhvaja (standard of god Vishnu) on the hill known as Vishnupada in memory of a mighty king named Chandra. The nearby pillared cupola known as "Smith's Folly" is a remnant of the tower's 19th century restoration, which included an ill advised attempt to add some more stories. In 1505, an earthquake damaged Qutub Minar; it was repaired by Sikander Lodi. On 1 September 1803, a major earthquake caused serious damage. Major Robert Smith of the British Indian Army renovated the tower in 1828 and installed a pillared cupola over the fifth story, creating a sixth. The cupola was taken down in 1848, under instructions from The Viscount Hardinge, who was the Governor General of India. at the time. It was reinstalled at ground level to the east of Qutb Minar, where it remains. This is known as "Smith's Folly". It was added to the list of World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.

The construction of the Qutb Minar was planned and financed by the Ghurids, who emigrated to India and brought Islam with them. The Ghurids, historically known as the Shansabanis, were a clan of Tajik origin that hailed from Ghur, the mountainous region of modern day western Afghanistan. In the late eleventh century to the early twelfth century, the different sects of this nomadic clan united, losing its nomadic culture. During this time, they also converted to Islam.

Persian Arabic and Nagari in different sections of the Qutb Minar reveal the history of its construction and the later restorations and repairs by Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351–88) and Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517). The height of Qutb Minar is 72.5 meters, making it the tallest minaret in the world built of bricks. The tower tapers, and has a 14.3 metres (47 feet) base diameter, reducing to 2.7 metres (9 feet) at the top of the peak. It contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps. Qutb Minar was an inspiration and prototype for many minarets and towers built. The Chand Minar and Mini Qutub Minar bear resemblance to the Qutb Minar and inspired from it.

The stories of the Qutb Minar vary in size, style, and material due to varying architects and builders constructing each section.

The Qutb Minar consists of five stories of red and grey sandstone. The lowest story, also known as the basement story, was completed during the lifetime of Ghiyath al Din Muhammad, a sultan of the Ghurid dynasty. It is revetted with twelve semicircular and twelve flanged pilasters that are placed in alternating order. He is considered to be the first of the Delhi Sultan dynastic line. Since the spolia of Jain and Hindu temples were used to construct the minaret, the right wing Hindu groups believed that they needed to perform a cleansing at the complex in order to free the Hindu icons that were "trapped" in the minaret and the mosque complex. On 21 May 2022, The Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Govind Mohan, decided to conduct excavation and iconography of idols found at Qutub Minar. The Ministry has now asked the ASI to submit an excavation report. Excavation can be started in the south of the minaret at a distance of 15 meters from the mosque.

On 8 December 1946 Tara Devi, a Czech actress and the sixth wife of maharaja Jagatjit Singh, fell from the tower to her death with her two Pomeranian dogs. Before 1976, the general public was allowed access to the first floor of the minaret, via the internal staircase. Access to the top was stopped after 2000 due to suicides. On 4 December 1981, the staircase lighting failed. Between 300 and 400 visitors stampeded towards the exit. 45 were killed and some were injured. Most of these were school
children. Since then, the tower has been closed to the public. Since this incident the rules regarding entry have been stringent.

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem, is a reflection on a picture by Samuel Prout in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833.

Bollywood actor and director Dev Anand wanted to shoot the song "Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar" from his film Tere Ghar Ke Samne inside the Minar. However, the cameras in that era were too big to fit inside the tower's narrow passage, and therefore the song was shot inside a replica of the Qutb Minar. The site served as the Pit Stop of the second leg of the second series of The Amazing Race Australia. A picture of the minaret is featured on the travel cards and tokens issued by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. A recently launched start up in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India has made a 360o walkthrough of Qutb Minar available. Ministry of Tourism recently gave seven companies the 'Letters of Intent' for fourteen monuments under its 'Adopt a Heritage Scheme.' These companies will be the future 'Monument Mitras.' Qutb Minar has been chosen to part of that list.