With a history of over 700 years, the story of Tughlaqabad Fort is as fascinating as the remains that are left of the structure built in 1321 by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq — the first ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty that went on to rule for nearly a century. The story goes that Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, whose original name was Ghazi Malik, was a governor under the rule of Alauddin Khalji. Historians say when Mubarak Khalji succeeded his father’s throne, Malik suggested he build a fortified city. Mubarak laughed off the proposition, telling Malik to do it himself if he became king. In 1320 AD, as Malik took over the throne and became Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, he began work on his ambitious plan. The fortress of Tughlaqabad stands on a rocky hill, about 8 kilometres from the Qutub Minar, and is the third of the seven cities of Delhi. “Roughly octagonal on plan with a perimeter of 6.5km, its 10 -15 m high rubble-built walls are provided with bastions and gates at intervals. On its south was a vast reservoir created by erecting bunds between hills to its east, a causeway connected it with Ghiyathuddin’s tomb, standing amidst waters, while a wide embankment near its south-eastern corner gave access to the fortress of Adilabad, built later opposite it on another hill,” said an excerpt from the book Delhi and its Neighbourhood by Y D Sharma. The fort was part of a larger city divided into three portions: A rectangular area with high walls and bastions served as a citadel, a wider area immediately to its west housed the palaces and houses, and beyond this to the north lay the city, remnants of which can be traced even now. Speaking to The Indian Express, writer Sohail Hashmi said, “The most significant thing about the place was a huge lake that existed on this site. (Water from) one of them was used to build the fort of Tughlaqabad and the other was to build a small fortress called Adilabad which was the personal residence of Mohammad Bin Tughlaq — Ghiyasuddin’s successor. Apparently, he was asked by his father to build a separate palace and that he would be given some stipend to keep the fortress in order.” The history of Tughlaqabad Fort would be incomplete without the legend of Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya. “Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq did not like Nizamuddin as he was very popular. a couple of times, he even told him to leave Delhi. It is said Nizamuddin got very irritated one day and cursed that only jackals will howl in the city he was building. And that is what seems to have happened. After Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq died, his son deserted the place and built another capital for himself. So, this palace did not live for too long,” said Hashmi. Another legend with regard to Auliya says when Ghiyasuddin was on his Bengal campaign, he learned that the workers had defied his orders and were working on the Sufi saint’s water tank. The ruler became so angry that he vowed to punish the saint on his return. On hearing this, Auliya let out a curse: “Hunuz Dilli dur ast” (Delhi is far off yet). On his return, a pavilion erected to honour Ghiyasuddin’s success from the campaign collapsed, causing his death and that of his younger son. He could never make it to Delhi.
