The capital of India presents a captivating combination of ancient and modern. As a major cultural centre, Delhi offers a glimpse of the diversity of the country’s many states.
Delhi is the political and administrative centre of the world’s largest democracy. It has a population of more than 13.7 million and covers 1,500 sq km (579 sq miles). Presenting a curious mixture of old and new, this sprawling city has two main parts, Old Delhi (former Shahjahanabad) and New Delhi (the former British capital), consisting of ancient villages and sites that have been engulfed by newer residential areas (colonies). The city struggles to cope with the effects of expansion - pollution, traffic congestion, shortages of water and power, continual construction - and an extreme climate. Recent positive moves include the conversion of all public transport from diesel to compressed natural gas, and the opening of the first stages of a metro system. There are three lines, which are constantly expanding - visit www.delhimetrorail.com to check their progress. Line 1 runs from Shahdara across the Yamuna to Kashmiri Gate before heading north to Rithala. Line 2, of more use to visitors, runs from Vishwa Vidyalaya in the north, crossing line 1 at Kashmiri Gate, before running down to the Central Secretariat via Connaught Place. Line 3 runs from Barakhamba to Dwarka.
Ancient cities of Delhi
Strategically located between the Aravalli hills and the Yamuna river, Delhi has been the site of more than a dozen cities. It is named after an earlier settlement, “Dillika”. The first of the cities was Indraprastha, legendary capital of the Pan-davas, epic heroes of the Mahabharata. Recent excavations at Purana Qila (Old Fort) date the settlement to between the 1st century BC and the 4th century AD.
The next documented city was Lai Kot, founded in the 8th century AD by Tomara Rajputs. It was captured and renamed Qila Rai Pithora by the Chauhan Rajputs in the 12th century. Later it was occupied by the Slave King Qutb-ud-din, who founded the Delhi Sultanate and began construction of the Qutb Minar. The monuments and ruins from this era stand in and around the Qutb Minar complex in South Delhi. The ruins of Siri, a capital established by the Turkish Ala-ud-Din Khilji, can be seen around Hauz Khas colony. In 1320 Ghias-ud-Din Tughlaq moved to his fortress city of Tugh-laqabad, east of Qutb Minar. His tomb, overrun by monkeys, stands across the road from the ruins.
Ferozabad, once the richest city in the world, was founded in 1351 by his successor, Feroz Shah Tughlaq, on the banks of the River Yamuna. The ruins of his palace and other monuments are situated in Feroz Shah Kotla, south of the memorials on the Ring Road.
They were followed by the Sayyids and the Lodis, whose tombs stand in Lodi Gardens, south of India Gate. Their defeat by the Central Asian invader Babur, in the 16th century, marked the end of the Delhi Sultanate and the dawn of the Mughal Empire. Din-Panah fort (Purana Qila) was built above the Yamuna River by Babur’s son, the studious Humayun, who was forced to flee by Sher Shah, an Afghan invader. Sher Shah began constructing his new capital of Shergarh, but Humayun won back Delhi in 1555 only to die a few months later when he fell down his library stairs. Akbar, Humayun’s son, moved his capital to Agra. His grandson, Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, returned to Delhi in 1638 to build the glorious Shahjahanabad. This walled capital, bound by 14 gates, included most of Old Delhi, Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque), the bazaars around Chandni Chowk and Lai Qila (Red Fort) from where he ruled his empire. Successive invasions from Persia reduced the power of the Mughals until the British took over Delhi in the 19th century.
In 1911, during the visit of King George V, Delhi was declared the capital of the British Empire in India. The present city of New Delhi, designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, was completed by 1931.
