Delhi Heritage Trail : 32
Alai Minar
The Alai Minar inside the Qutub Complex is an incomplete monument built by Allauddin Khalji ( 1296-1316) the most important Sultan of Khalji dynasty. Allauddin was of Turkic origin and one of the most ambitious Sultan who sent his forces upto Madurai in the south for conquering and for plunder. After one of his Deccan campaigns the Sultan dreamt of constructing a grand victory Minar excelling the Qutub Minar nearby. He wanted to build a structure which will be double the height of Qutyb Minar in order to be remembered as a Sultan who dared to build such a grand monumental edifice.
He increased the size of nearby Qunwat ul Islam mosque by four times and also built ceremonial gateways on both sides. He wanted Alai Minar to match up to the size of the Mosque. The construction was completed up to the first storey to a height of 24.5 metres but unfortunately the construction stopped further because of his untimely death at age of 50 in 1316 AD. Amir Khusro a Sufi mystic who is a contemporary of Allauddin mentions about the construction of Alai Minar in his " Tareek-i-Alai". Had he lived a long life and completed it during his life time it would have been a grand monument taller than Qutub Minar.
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