Bharat Ek Khoj 25: Delhi Sultanate Part II, Prithviraj Raso (II) & Alauddin Khilji
Channel: PublicResourceOrg
Date: 2016-09-02

Bharat Ek Khoj—The Discovery of India
A Production of Doordarshan, the Government of India’s Public Service Broadcaster
Episode 25: Delhi Sultanate Part II, Prithviraj Raso (II) & Alauddin Khilji

With K.K. Raina as Shahabuddin Ghori, Vijay Kashyap as Chand Bardai, Achyut Potdar as Makwana, Ravi Jhankal as Prithviraj, Ahmed Khan as Mahmud Gazni, S.K. Makhija as Jaichand, Suman Dubey as Vasir, Nisha Singh as Sanyukta, Irfan Khan as Al-Beruni, and Salim Arif as Firdausi.

We eavesdrop into the bedchamber of Prithviraj and his lovely bride having an idyllic union, with Samjukta serenading her lover. But the bliss is short-lived, as there are rumblings of war needing him to march out, but without any support from other kings due to his illicit affair. The Langa song narrates his fateful fight against Shahab-ud-Din Ghori once again when Prithviraj is defeated and held captive. There is no reciprocation of the earlier chivalrous treatment meted out to the Afghan Sultan, and the Rajput king is blinded and thrown into prison. He is repentant for neglecting his fighting skills by being immersed in dalliance. The song revives a legend that Prithviraj avails of an offer to hit his target blindfolded and strikes a fatal arrow on the Sultan’s heart by following his voice of command. Nehru muses that Prithviraj lost his life, throne and Delhi, the seat of empire all for the love of a woman. But his love story is still sung and he is a hero, while Jaichand is looked upon almost as a traitor.

As noted by Nehru, Delhi passed into the hands of invaders and the throne was captured by the Slave dynasty ruler Qutb-ud-Din Aibak who started building the famous Qutb Minar. 1290 AD saw the end of the Slave dynasty and a great Afghan ruler, Alauddin Khilji, ascended the throne in Delhi. The Afghans, initially rigid in their faith, came as fierce warriors and made India their home and many of them even married Indian women. Alauddin himself married a Hindu lady, and so did his son.

The unfolding drama shows how Alauddin plans with his minister to develop espionage network, watch the aristocrats and their social relationships like marriages and keep the army in battle-ready condition. On the economic front, he arranges control of prices and market norms for ‘profit plus’ for conducting business. On the religion front, mass conversions take place, as this helps the Hindus to avoid the vexatious Jiziya tax. The drama also shows the Sultan’s rapid reprisal system on receiving complaints of bribery and use of force, wherever called for. His policy helps in extracting largesse from Gujarat and South Indian kingdoms.