Photo of iron pillar in Bharatpur fort falsely shared to claim Mughals’ ‘Hindu ancestry’

The Qutub Minar is a UNESCO world heritage site in South Delhi. The name literally means victory tower. Qutbu’d-Din Aibak laid the foundation of this monument in 1199 AD and it was later completed by his successor and son-in-law Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish. The Qutub complex in Mehrauli, Delhi, illustrates magnificent ancient and medieval indo-islamic architecture. In this complex lies an iron pillar, known as the Kirti stambh (victory column) which was built by Chandragupta II in (circa) the 3rd or 4th Century CE.

Social media users have shared an image that claims to be of the iron pillar in the Qutub complex. The pillar has the names of Hindu rulers engraved on it. Some users claimed these Hindu rulers were the ancestors of the Mughals who ruled a large part of India in the 16th and 17th centuries.

A Twitter handle named @Sarvesh38453373 shared this image with the aforementioned claim. The tweet has over 8000 views at the moment.

कुतुबमीनार मुगलों ने बनाया था, सबूत के तौर पर कुतुबमीनार के लोहस्तंभ पर देखो मुगलों के बाप दादाओं के नाम लिखे हैं। pic.twitter.com/ZBbZNV3SwU

— S.K (@Sarvesh38453373) February 19, 2023

Another Twitter handle by the name @4Pradeepthakur, shared this image with a similar claim. The tweet has over 3228 views at the time of the writing of this article.

कुतुबमीनार मुगलों ने बनाया था, सबुत के तौर पर कुतुबमीनार के लोहस्तंभ पर देखो मुगलों के पूर्वजों के नाम लिखे हैं, विश्वास नहीं हो रहा तो zoom करके देख लो 🧐🧐 pic.twitter.com/8dRLOVRoHq

— ठा. प्रदीप कुमार सिंह (@4Pradeepthakur) February 20, 2023

The image has gone viral on both Twitter and Facebook with multiple accounts sharing the image with similar claims.

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Fact Check

By simply reverse-searching the image on Google Lens, we found that the image is not of the iron pillar in the Qutub Complex in Delhi. The image is of the Loha Stambha of Jawahar Burj in the Lohagargh Fort in Bharatpur, Rajasthan.

We also found similar images of the monument on Alamy.

According to the Archeological Survey of India‘s website, this iron pillar bearing the genealogy was recently erected by Maharaja Brijendra Singh, who passed away in 1995. He was the last ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Bharatpur. If one goes through the official website of the royal estate of Bharatpur, one will find the names of former kings which are engraved on the pillar. These include Maharaja Kehri Singh, Nawal Singh, Ranjit Singh et al. This shows that the claims that suggest that these rulers were forefathers of the Mughals are baseless.

Therefore, the image that has been circulating on social media claiming it to be of the iron pillar in Qutub Complex is actually of Jawahar Burj in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. The claims that the names inscribed on it are of the ancestors of Mughal rulers are false.

Vansh Shah is an intern with Alt News.