RAS question
Razia Sultan was the daughter of:
Correct answer: (A) Iltutmish.
Razia Sultan was the daughter of Sultan Iltutmish, the Delhi Sultan who nominated her as his successor.
Explanation
Razia Sultan, who ruled from 1236 to 1240, was the daughter of Iltutmish. NCERT’s chapter on the Delhi Sultans states that in 1236 Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter Raziyya became Sultan, and adds that her inscriptions and coins described her as the daughter of Sultan Iltutmish. Razia was therefore Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter. The point matters because Razia’s rule was not a routine dynastic succession: Iltutmish nominated her as successor, while nobles of the Chahalgani opposed her authority. NCERT also records that nobles were unhappy with her attempts to rule independently, which explains why her reign was short despite her recognised ability.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Qutbuddin Aibak belonged to an earlier generation, while NCERT identifies Raziyya specifically as Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter.
- (C) Balban came after Razia in the Sultanate sequence and was not her father.
- (D) Nasir-ud-din Mahmud was a different ruler, whereas Iltutmish was Razia’s father.
Concept
The Delhi Sultanate’s early dynastic succession includes the Iltutmish-Razia episode. It recurs in RAS because it combines chronology, gender and the politics of the Turkish nobility in one compact fact.