One of the most famous monuments in Delhi is Qutab Minar is believed to be constructed by two Muslim rulers named Qutbuddin Aybak and Iltutmish. At least this is what we had learned in our school days from our school books, and the website of Delhi Tourism also says so. However, there is a twist in the story. In 2012, Neeraj Atri, author of Brainwashed Republic, wrote to the National Council Of Educational Research And Training (NCERT) and asked for the source of this information.

@AtriNeeraj RTI @AtriNeeraj The claim, the question and the reply aboutQutubMinar @Sanjay_Dixit @SureshChavhanke @madhukishwar @TimesNow @republic @Republic_Bharat @OpIndia_com @ShefVaidya @missionkaali pic.twitter.com/xOL9MHWIYQ — Neeraj Atri (@AtriNeeraj) January 18, 2021

The NCERT did not have any. 

NCERT was exposed for spreading the misinformation as their textbook has no proof to back their claim about Mughals destroying Hindu temples and later Shahjan and Aurangzeb making financial provisions to repair them. Now NCIRT is again exposed through RTI Act for lying . In his Right to Information (RTI) application, when Niraj Atri asked about the lessons taught in the VII history textbook titled ‘Our Pasts’ in which it is said that the Minar was built by Qutbuddin Aybak and Iltutmish. In response to the application submitted on 21st November 2012, it was disclosed that NCERT does not have any proof to back this information.

1. In this history textbook, an image of Qutub Minar is published and the description reads, “Quwwat al-Islam mosque and minaret, built during the last decade of the twelfth century. This was the congregational mosque of the first city built by the Delhi Sultans, described in the chronicles as Dehli-i- Kuhna (now known as the Old City)
2. Qutubuddin Aibak started to build the mosque, but the son-in-law of Aibak, the third sultan of Mamluk empire Iltutmish completed the construction.
3. This textbook teaches the definition of a mosque and its meaning in Arabic. Also contains information on Namaz recitation.

Five questions asked by historian and author Niraj Atri to NCIRT and their answers

1. Which are the certified copies of the references/texts which were used to conclude that the structure called Qutub Minar was built by these Sultans, as per records. The answer from NCIRT was, there is no such certified document available in the department.
2. Any epigraphic or other evidence to support the above-mentioned assertion, as per records. And the answer to this question was a ‘no’
3. The 3rd question was, name(s) of the persons who had put forward the proposal for including the above-mentioned sentences in the textbook, as per records. To this the answer was, the list of members, Chief Advisors, Advisors, and Chairperson of the advisory committee for textbooks are given the textbook.
4. Name(s) of the persons who vetted the proposal. The answer to this was, the textbook was approved by the National Monitoring Committee Chaired by Prof. Mrinal Miri. This information has also been given in ‘Foreword’ to the textbook.
5. The last question was whether any notings are available about the evidence ? The answer was ‘No’.

While speaking to OpIndia about his RTI, Atri said that the information in History books should be based on historical facts and not biased by the ideology of the authors. He added that during his interactions with engineering and medicine students, he felt that they have strong opinions about history that are not based on facts.

“AIT has been debunked by all disciplines of Science and History. I felt that may be they are being fed such wrong information during their formative years. To cross-check my hunch, I filed such RTI applications.” He added.

He further added that those who twist the fact should be punished. In Germany, there is a law that forbids the denial of the holocaust of jews. Neeraj believes that India should also have a law on similar lines that prohibits and punishes those who try to twist the historical events of India. “Right to true history should be a fundamental right. Our students should be taught about different religions as subjects,” he added.

Reply from DESS, NCERT

The application was submitted on November 28, 2012. On January 1, 2013, the Department of Education in Social Sciences (DESS) under NCERT replied to his query. In her reply, Prof. Saroj Bala Yadav, Head, DESS & Public Information Officer, said that her office received a copy of RTI on December 11, 2012. To his queries, the department said that there are no records of any references/texts that were used to conclude that those two Sultans built the Minar.

DESS further said that they do not have any evidence to support the above-mentioned assertion. The names of those who proposed the content are mentioned in the book, and it was approved by the National Monitoring Committee, Chaired by Prof. Mrinal Miri.
Prof. Miri has a PhD in Philosophy from Cambridge University. When we checked the details about the team involved in compiling the book, we found that the Archaeological Survey of India provided the figure of Qutub Minar. However, the book does not provide any specific information chapter-wise about the historians or contributors who worked on the book. The list of team members only contains names and their designations. PDF of the book can be downloaded [PDF] for free from NCERT’s website.

The information on Qutab Minar on Government websites

The website of Delhi Tourism has interesting information about the Minar. It says Qutab-ud-din Aibak built the Minar in 1193, immediately after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu kingdom. However, the website further stated, “Qutab-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, commenced the construction of the Qutab Minar in 1200 AD, but could only finish the basement. His successor, Iltutmush, added three more storeys, and in 1368, Firoz Shah Tughlak constructed the fifth and the last storey.”

As per KnowIndia website by the Government of India, the foundation stone was laid down by Aibak in 1199. It has to be noted that Aibak demolished 27 Hindu and Jain temples, and their stones were used to construct the rectangular courtyard of the structure. This fact is used by Tourism website to assert the reason behind the presence of Hindu and Jain ornamentation in the structure. It says, “The main mosque comprises of an inner and outer courtyard, decorated with shafts and surrounded by piller. Most of these shafts are from the 27 Hindu temples, which were plundered to construct the mosque. It is, therefore, not surprising that the Muslim mosque has typical Hindu ornamentation.” Qutab Minar is a Heritage Building under UNESCO.

It was clear from the RTI application in 2012, that there are no documents to prove the claims about who built the Qutub Minar, then why are students still being taught this ? Even after 6 years of BJP government, why the students are not being told the truth? *The actual name of Qutub Minar is ‘Vishnusthambh’ and it belongs to Hindus. This has been proven by many historians. Now that this petition has gone to the Supreme Court, the Government should take the proper decision.