What if Delhi was not the capital…?

Throughout the history of India, its capital was changed by the rulers many times. One such capital was in the central region of India.

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In the 14th century, the Delhi Sultanate ruled over many parts of the Indian subcontinent. Tughlaqs were the second dynasty of this empire, and their capital was Delhi. Throughout the history of the Indian, subcontinent many times City of Delhi had been the seat of power, as it has been even today for India. However, this story is about the city that could have been the capital of today’s India if the decision took by one sultan was well planned, executed and lasted a little longer. Muhammad bin Tughlaq during his reign shifted the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, which was also known as Devgiri. Many people thought of this decision as odd, unnecessary and eccentric, but Tughlaq had good reasons and intentions behind it. Daulatabad is situated more centrally as compared to Delhi, and that could have been helped him rule over the southern part of India more efficiently. Another reason being that, the capital city would be more secure from the Mongol invaders of the north, as Delhi was a little vulnerable to that. Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign was one of the most controversial of the Delhi sultanate, as was his personality. Some people said he was inhuman and wild, while some described him as a visionary and idealist and a man of knowledge. Tughlaq was a secular. He had an admiration for Hindus, and wanted the peace and unity between Hindu and Muslim. His decision to change capitals was the part of his great vision. Daulatabad or Devgiri was a Hindu dominant area, and moving the capital here would help in bringing some cultural and religious diversity in and around this area. With all of these good intentions and optimism, people still mocked and complained about this decision. Some rebelled against it. And just in 8 years, he changed his decision and moved the capital back to Delhi. This was very costly move which breaks the economy and that led to some more bad decisions by Tughlaq.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq was that figure of history who had knowledge, ambition, vision but due to lack of cooperation, bad advisors and influence his ideas and decisions were turned out to be a disaster rather than just a failed attempt. But one thing is for sure that irrespective of how the things and decisions turned out to be, Tughlaq had the guts to take those decisions in the first place, no matter how controversial or impulsive they sound. Many historians believed that the moving of the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad had a very deep impact on the empires of southern India since then. Especially the Muslim empires in the south. Bahamani empire which was built by one of the generals of Tughlaq became the important part of south India history. It is also said that Muslim power in south India remained intact for a very long time even in British Raj, through Nizam of Hyderabad. Because the seed was sown by Tughlaq centuries ago by bringing capital and Muslim population to Daulatabad and southern parts of India.

Now, if things turned out differently, we may have a Daulatabad as the capital of India. It may sound different or odd, but so was the decision of Tughlaq. For those who don’t know, Daulatabad fort was unwinnable for a long time due to its structure. When Alauddin Khiji won it, it remained in Delhi empire until the fall of Mughal, and then it became the part of Hyderabad province under Nizam. Today, Daulatabad is a small city/village near Aurangabad. Aurangabad who is in the top cities of Maharashtra might be the NCR if only Tughlaq and rulers after him continue to kept Daulatabad as the capital. India with its capital not Delhi but Daulatabad, how that could have been turned out, no one will never know.