Delhi Before The Mughals

Delhi is one of the most historical cities I know; I cannot think of any city, other than Rome and Athens, which has more historical monuments scattered all over the city. It is a heritage few Delhiwallahs are aware of. Delhi Conservation Society used to organise winter walks to introduce people to the monuments. Ranjit Sinha is an immigrant like most residents of Delhi. Once here, he joined the walks of the DCS, and listened to the accompanying commentary. This book is the result of his educative peregrinations.

He begins with a fortress called Lalkot built by Tomar feudatories around 1052; the settlement inside the fort, of no more than 5,000 inhabitants, was called Dhilika. This forts northern wall ran along the present road between Saket and Aurobindo Marg. Its centre was where the Qutub Minar is; its southern extremities are unexplored. A hundred years later, the Chauhans subjugated the Tomars and took over Lalkot. In 1153 or 1192 (depends on which page of the book you open), Prithvi Raj Chauhan lost Lalkot to Muhammad Ghori and his Turkish (i.e, Central Asian) followers, who called it Qila Rai Pithora.

 

If we discount the story of Indraprastha, which is believed to have been where the Purana Qila is but which is probably a myth, Lalkot or the present-day Mehrauli is the original Delhi. In the middle of Lalkot was a large temple of Vishnu; the Turks pulled it down, and with its stones built the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutub Minar.

Although Mehrauli is the oldest recognisable part of Delhi, it continued to be home of royalty and nobility well into the 19th century. Alauddin Khalji built the Alai Darwaza, the magnificent gate that forms the entrance from the south into the Qutub complex. Outside are the tombs of Adam Khan and Quli Khan, both Lodi nobles. Around Quali Khans tomb, Thomas Metcalfe, the British resident at the court of Bahadur Shah, the last Mughal emperor, built a palace; the author was photographed on a staircase in Metcalfes house.

Two dynasties the slave dynasty and the Khalji dynasty followed after the Turks took over Delhi. Alauddin Khalji, who ruled at the end of the 13th century, was a great soldier and plunderer. He plundered Anhilwara Patan and the port of Khambhat in Gujarat, and went on to the present-day Porbandar and destroyed the Somnath temple. He took Chittor, the capital of Mewar, and the fortresses of Jalore and Siwana in Marwar. As he got rich, he developed constructive ambitions, and built Siri just north of Lalkot. This city is now buried under the concrete of Asiad village; all that remains is the wall of a palace in the jungle between Asiad village and Greater Kailash, and some ramparts along Khel Gaon Marg. The lovely little mosque in Mayfair Gardens also probably belongs to this period. The most beautiful monuments of this area are in the Hauz Khas complex.

Mubarak Shah, the last Khalji, was killed by Khusrav, a leader of Gujarati Bharwads (cowherds); he in turn was killed by another officer, Ghazi Malik, who ascended the throne as Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. To him is attributed Tughlaqabad, Delhis most impressive fort; his tomb is built on what used to be an island in a lake, connected to the fort by a causeway. The lake was used for defensive purposes by a sophisticated set of weirs and sluices. But later the Tughlaqs built a palace complex in Jahanpanah, now situated in Sarvapriya Vihar and Vijay Mandal Colony.

Ranjit Sinhas book combines a description of the above monuments with a potted history of the kings and dynasties that built them. The order he follows is not chronological; and one cannot vouch for the accuracy of his historical or other facts. He calls Bharwads Bhavrars, and as I mentioned, is uncertain about dates. His is history as he heard it from the Delhi Conservation Society guides; they are undoubtedly eminent historians, but the book has not been checked by them before publication.

Sinhas geography is more reliable; although the maps are amateur and impressionistic, they more or less pinpoint the location of the sites together with his description.

The book is an extremely light paper-back, and hence an excellent guide to accompany you on tours of pre-Mughal Delhi, of an era which is less well known than the Mughal but which has contributed far more to Delhis archeology.