In 1303 the Sultan himself marched against Chittor. The Rajputs fought
valiantly, but finally the ruler, Raja Ratan Singh, submitted. Ala-ud-din also
marched against Marwar, where the ruler ultimately submitted. The Sultan
was satisfied with establishing his overlordship over the Rajput chiefs, since
he wished essentially to ensure communications between Delhi and Gujarat.
MALIK KAFUR
Malik Kafur was the slave general of Alauddin Khilji who had won for
him the Deccan territories of Warangal, Devgiri, Madura, Dwarasamudra,
etc. He was originally a Hindu slave who fell into the hands of the
Muslims at Cambay after the conquest of Gujarat. Alauddin’s general
Nusrat Khan had paid 1,000 dinars to buy him and that is why Malik
Kafur is also known as the “Hazardinari”.
Because of his abilities and service, he won the confidence of the
Sultan who raised him to the position of the ‘Vazir’ or the Chief Minister.
Soon he was made the Commander-in-Chief of the royal forces that were
sent for the conquest of the Deccan.
He proved to be a very capable general. Within a short time he won
the Deccan states of Warangal, Dwarasamudra, Devgiri, and Madura and
brought enormous booty for his master.
The conquest of Deccan was the greatest achievement of Malik Kafur,
and because of this achievement his influence over Alauddin Khilji
increased abnormally and nobody could dare to oppose him. It was he who
told the Sultan that his wife and sons were conspiring against him and
consequently he got Malika Jahan and Alauddin’s two sons imprisoned.
Similarly Malik Kafur got his rivals heavily punished under the orders of
the Sultan.
Malik Kafur was very ambitious and intriguing. After Alauddin’s
death on February 6, 1316, he tried to get the throne for himself and for
this purpose he put a minor son of the late Sultan (named Shihab-ud-Din
Umar) on the throne. Then he began to get rid of the survivors of the
Khilji Sultan one by one. Malika Jahan was robbed of all her jewellery and
thrown behind the bars. The other sons of Alauddin Khilji were blinded
and their supporters dismissed.