Qila Mubarak, Bhatinda
Known to have been built by the Kushan Emperor Kanishka during the 1st century AD, The Quila Mubarak is one of the oldest forts in India. The fort is notable for being the final resting place of Razia Sultan, the first female monarch of Delhi who was incarcerated here.
Razia sat warily sat on the throne of Delhi. The first woman to become a Sultan. The men of the court were not comfortable with that notion. She felt a thousand eyes staring at her. Six months ago, the same people rejected her claim to the throne and made her brother Sultan. They were now bowing before her. Her brother had been a bad ruler. he had spent his days either in his harem or drinking wine. They had assassinated him and reluctantly made her the Sultan of Delhi.
Razia proved to be an efficient ruler. She dressed like a king, wore no purdah and wore a turban. She was wise in her judgments and was loved by her people. She even lead her armies into war, riding atop an elephant. She was also a shrewd politicians. She managed to make the rebel factions fight among themselves to oblivion. She refused to be addressed as Sultana, the wife of a Sultan, but only responded to Sultan Razia.
The nobles and courtiers of the court did not like to bow before a woman. They were waiting for her to make a mistake. Like hyenas in the grass, waiting for the buffalo to slip. Razia was careful not to fall into their hands; but no one can tame the human heart.
She first saw him in the kitchens. A slave. His name was Yaqut. The queen felt her cheeks redden when she saw him. She wished she had worn a purdah so that the others didn’t see her blush. She ordered hat the slave be made her personal servant. The queen and the slave became close, meeting in secrecy at the banks of the Ganges. She even promoted him to the be the superintendent off stables.
The hyenas scented blood. When the nobles and the provincial governors heard about their queen’s affair, they took up arms. She had disgraced the throne by falling in love with a slave. The clouds of war gathered over Delhi. The rebels, lead by Malik Altunia, the governor of Bathinda, clashed with the queen’s army. In the battle, Yaqut, the slave who loved the queen, was killed. Razia was taken prisoner and imprisoned in Bathinda’s Qila Mubarak. To escape death, Razia agreed to marry Altunia.
Razia and Altunia were waylaid by a troop of Jats on their way to Delhi and were killed near Kaithal in Haryana.
