Iron Pillar of Delhi: A Curious Tale of Ancient Indian Craftsmanship

Qutub Minar, a UNESCO site, is one of the most famous monuments of India. It’s a part of the Qutub complex which also includes marvels such as Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, Alai Darwaza, the tomb of Iltutmish, among the others.

A 7.2 meters tall marvel gracing the Qutub Complex, the iron pillar is one of the world's foremost metallurgical curiosities. It is well- known for its unique rust- resistant composition and holds a testimony of the ancient Indian craftsmanship. The pillar exhibits no signs of its age at first glance, however the detailed analysis of the inscriptions by historians links it to the Golden Age of Gupta Empire, says the well-known industrialist Sanjay Dalmia.

To this day, no one has been able to solve the mysteries of this ancient pillar. It still stands tall in spite of many foreign invasions and drastic climate change.

As per the translations of the verses of Brahmi script engraved on the pillar, the structure was constructed by Chandragupta II of Gupta Empire in 4^th century.

It describes the king as a devotee of the god “Vishnu” and records the erection of a dhvaja of Vishnu, on a hill called “Vishnupada”.

Based on paleographic similarity of the Gupta-era iconography, few historians also theorized that this pillar was initially erected at Udayagiri (Odhisa) and was later transferred to Delhi.

One theory also suggests that the pillar was moved from its original location and erected in the main temple at the fortress city of Lal Kot at Delhi when it was found by the Tomar king, Anangapala II, in A.D. 1050. This information is based on an inscription on the pillar itself. When in the Second battle of Tarain, Prithiviraj Chauhan lost to Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Qutb celebrated it by erecting a mosque, called the Quwwat-ul-Islam in Lal Kot on a temple’s base. Fortunately, the pillar wasn’t removed or destroyed otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to witness such ancient structure.

Mr. Dalmia added that as per an estimate the pillar weighs over 5 tons, so the question of how it was moved still remains a mystery. The questions still haven’t been answered, thereby leaving people more curious about the capability of the ancient India, making it a subject of scholarly discussion.

Alongside the above dynamic mysteries, the most talked about topic would always remain its anti-corrosion properties. It’s difficult to analyze the techniques which were used in the Ancient India, says Sanjay Dalmia. How well advanced were they to have erected such a heavy pillar, made up of 98% wrought iron?

The presence of humidity is among the major factors for rusting of iron. Hence a general consensus is that Delhi’s non- humid weather has aided the pillar’s ability to resist the corrosion. Scientific discoveries however show that the corrosion resistance results from an even layer of crystalline iron hydrogen phosphate hydrate forming on the high-phosphorus-content iron, which protects it from the effects of the Delhi climate.

All of these questions can make any one curious with an urge to re visit the bygone era. But at the end, all we can do is appreciate and bow down to their advanced craftsmanship in metallurgy. We need to acknowledge the achievements of our ancestors and thank them for such monuments which take us back to that glorifying era.

Journey of Indian Ocean: How and why was it named after the country India

Our planet is 70% water and 1/5^th of it belongs to the Indian Ocean. It’s the world’s third largest ocean, bounded by 4 continents namely Asia, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. It’s not easy to determine the oceanic limits of the Indian Ocean and in general this question remains open to debate.

Amongst all such important data, the most highlighting factor would always remain concentrated on its name as it’s the only ocean in the world which is named after a country says, the renowned nationalist Sanjay Dalmia.

Why was it named after India despite of bordering so many countries and continents? Why did the world settle on this name?

Like with many other discoveries, this also has a historic link. Before we get to that, it would be interesting to find out how our country was named India.

In ancient times, “Greeks” referred us to as “Indoi” (People of Indus) and “Persians” called us by the name “Hindustani” cognate with “Sapta Sindhu” (land of seven rivers). During the time of Xerxes, the term "Hindu" was also used for the lands to the east of Indus. These were some of the major reasons for our country to be named after the river “Indus”.

Just like our land, our ocean was also referred with different names. Ancient Indians called it the “Sindhu Mahasagara” or the great sea of the “Sindhu” and this ocean also has been variously called Hindu Ocean, Indic Ocean, etc, in different languages.

“When Europeans with their zeal to convert and loot the immense wealth and knowledge of India, started cartography for further expeditions, they described the ocean as ’Indian Ocean’. So, predominantly the name was arrived at with relevance to our country’s importance, influence in the region and the significance of its rich ancient past,” says Sanjay Dalmia, who takes immense pride in being an Indian.

Besides such important facts, Indian Ocean is quite essential for many more reasons. Indian Ocean is well- known for causing large scale seasonal variations in Ocean currents and is responsible for the arrival of Monsoons over India.

Some of the world’s most important ports and harbors such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Melbourne, Jakarta, Durban, and Colombo are located at Indian Ocean.

Along with this, some of the main access points to Indian Ocean are famous Suez Canal, Strait of Malacca and Bab al Mandeb. This speaks volume about the places this ocean travels to.

Indian Ocean is a hub for strategic locations and countries like China are working very aggressively to gain maximum momentum on this. To balance and counter such behavior, countries like India, Japan, USA, Australia have joined hands and formed “The Quad”. Together they conduct military exercises in ASEAN countries, giving these countries much needed support in the region.