Qutb Minar, the famous victory tower, started by Qutb-ud-Din Aibak and completed by Iltutmish from sandstone with marble additions by Firoz Shah Tughlaq and repairs by Sikandar Lodi, can boast interventions by the royal authority of three different dynasties – the Mamluks, the Tughlaqs, and the Lodis.

They say lightning never strikes the same place twice, but a tall structure like Qutb Minar has always been an exception. Several records of the tower being struck by lightning and other natural disasters have left their mark on the tallest stone tower in the world. However, a series of calamities left the Minar unharmed, except for a slight tilt.

The first recorded lightning strike on Qutb Minar occurred in 1368, when a lightning bolt severely damaged the top floor of the Qutb Minar. Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq replaced the fallen floor with two new ones and crowned them with a dome. The restoration also introduced white marble into the construction of red and ochre sandstone.

Sikandar Lodi also carried out some repairs on Qutb Minar in 1503, but the nature and extent of the damage were not documented.

The last significant damage occurred during the earthquake of 1803. Although it was much less powerful than the lightning strike of 1368, the damage was significant enough to permanently destroy Firoz Shah’s dome.

After visiting the architectural complex and seeing the minaret with its ruined top, the then British Governor-General of India, Lord Wellesley, commissioned Major Robert Smith, until then a respected builder of St. James Church in Delhi, to carry out the necessary repairs. The work was completed in 1828 at a considerable cost of 17,000 rupees at the time. However, Major Smith decided to add a “cherry on the multi-layered cake” and exceeded his authority by reimagining what he was asked to restore. He replaced the Indo-Islamic dome with a Bengali chhatri. The great tower of Islamic rule was crowned with a Hindu dome!

Minaret with Smith’s dome

The perspective was so absurd, and the dome so out of place, that Lord Harding eventually ordered it removed in 1848 and placed on the outer lawn of the Qutb complex, where it still stands today, like a fake crown fallen from the minaret’s head. Harding decided that the absence of a crown was still better than a ridiculous crown.

“Smith’s Folly” still stands next to the tower it was supposed to glorify. Since then, it has been called “Smith’s Folly.”

Sources:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/smiths-folly

https://delhipedia.com/the-fallen-crown-of-qutub-minar-story-of-smiths-folly/