Whose army was defeated by the army of Kakatiya rulers in 1303 at Warangal?

The correct answer is C) Alauddin Khalji. In 1303 the Delhi army sent under Alauddin's general Ulugh Khan, the future Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's brother-level commander in this campaign, was defeated near Warangal by Prataparudra of the Kakatiya dynasty. Amir Khusrau's Khazain-ul-Futuh is the main source for this campaign, and it records the Delhi forces retreating after heavy losses.

• Iltutmish ruled Delhi (1211-1236) and was not involved in a Warangal clash in 1303; he had died decades earlier.
• Balban ruled from 1266 to 1287, so he could not have been the Sultan in 1303.
• Muhammad Tughlaq came to power in 1325. Warangal was captured by the Tughlaqs only in 1323 under Ulugh Khan, which is a different event.

The core concept is the southward expansion of the Delhi Sultanate under the Khaljis, led by Malik Kafur's campaigns after 1308. For Mains, this links to how distant provinces were brought under control and how the Kakatiyas were eventually absorbed.

Trap: candidates pick Alauddin's rival dynasties or confuse the 1303 defeat with the 1323 conquest of Warangal by the Tughlaqs.