Question

Poet Amir Khusro lived during the reign of
A) Balban
B) Qutub-ud-din Aibak
C) ILtutmish
D) Alau-din khilji

Answer 1

Hint:
-The Sufi composer, poet and scholar from India was Abul Hasan Yamin ud-din Khusrau, best known as Amir Khusrau Dehlavi.
-In the cultural background of the Indian subcontinent, he was an iconic figure.
-He was a Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi, India, a mystic and a spiritual disciple.

Complete answer:
Let us look into the given options:
Option A) Balban – is an incorrect answer because Ghiyas ud din Balban was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. The regent of the last Shamsi sultan, Nasiruddin Mahmud, was Ghiyas ud din. He was an IIbari Turk. Thus, it is incorrect here.

Option B) Qutub-ud-din Aibak – is an incorrect answer because Qutub-ud-din Aibak was a general of the Ghurid king Mu’izzad-din Muhammad Ghori. He was in-charge of the Ghurid territories in Northern India, and after Mu’izzad-din’s death, he became the ruler of an independent kingdom that evolved into the Delhi Sultanate ruled by the Mamluk dynasty.

Option C) IItutmish – is an incorrect answer because Iltutmish, also called Shams al-din Iltutmish, Iltutmish also spelled Altamash, third and the greatest Delhi Sultan of the so called Slave dynasty. He died on 29th April, 1236.

Option D) Alau-din Khilji – is a correct answer because though Khusrao was associated with courts of various Delhi Sultanate rulers, his prominent works were created during the reign of Alau-din Khilji. His most famous work the khamsa known as khusro ka khamsa was composed in khilji’s court.

Hence, option D is the correct answer.

Note:
i) Amir Khusro is regarded as the father of qawwali and introduced the ghazal style of song into India, both of which still exists widely in India and Pakistan.
ii) He was born in 1253 and died in 1325.
iii) He was an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent.