18/10/2016
Qutb Minar,at 73 metres, is the tallest brick minaret in the world.In 1200 AD, Qutb al-Din Aibak, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, started construction of the Qutb Minar. In 1220, Aibak's successor and son-in-law Iltutmish added three storeys to the tower. In 1369, lightning struck the top storey, destroying it completely. So, Firoz Shah Tughlaq carried out restoration work replacing the damaged storey with two new storeys every year, made of red sandstone and white marble.In 1505, an earthquake damaged Qutb Minar and the damage was repaired by Sikander Lodi. On 1 September 1803, a major earthquake, possibly in Garhwal Kumaun Himalaya, again caused serious damage to Qutb Minar. Major Robert Smith of the British Indian Army renovated the tower in 1828 and installed a cupola to the top of Qutb Minar. The cupola was taken down in 1848, under instructions from The Viscount Hardinge, then Governor General of India and was installed to the east of Qutab Minar, where it rests now.
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 and there were 300 to 400 people inside the minar at that time 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 of the tower has been stopped.
