Delhi
About the city
Although Delhi was a popular capital for land invaders, the British were a sea- faring race and preferred to rule India from the three centers of Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. However it was announced in 1911 that a move was to be made to Delhi, and Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker laid out a new city in the space between Shahjahanabad and the older cities to the south. New Delhi is a planned city on a grand scale with the main avenue 350m wide and more than 3km long. The new streets were aligned with exiting features so you will find a view of the Jama Masjid or Purana Qil along a modern road. Construction was delayed by the First World War, and it was 1931 when the government officially moved in.The great east- west avenue is Rajpath culminating in Rashtrapati Bhavan
Flanking rashtrapati Bhavan are the Secretariat buildings, which house a few of India's army of bureaucrats. Nearby is the circular Sansad Bhavan
Along way down Rajpath is India Gate
Once a part of the Aravalies, today Delhi has only the Ridge area to tell the story of the greenery this place once had. Delhi is actually a land locked area with the Himalayas to the North, Haryana on two sides and to the east, across the river Yamuna lies Uttar Pradesh. The river Yamuna runs through the centre of Delhi.
Both Old and New Delhi exert a beguiling charm on visitors. Lose yourself unwinding the secrets of the city's Mughal past in the labyrinthine streets of Old Delhi before emerging into the wide open spaces of imperial New Delhi, with its ordered governmental vistas and generous leafy avenues.
Delhi is the capital of India and the most important arrival point for foreign visitors. At the time of independence Delhi was a quiet British and Muslim city with a population of a around 500,000. As a result of Partition many Muslims left, and there was a huge influx of Punjabis, mostly Sikhs, who had been forced to leave their homes and wealth in what became Pakistan. Naturally enterprising and very hard working, they have made Delhi their city. The population is now over 10 million. It's a bit brash and raucous. Happily, again under Punjab influence, it has a lively and welcoming air. Certainly a better place to arrive in India than Mumbai, which can be a bit of a culture shock.
Delightful Delhi, the capital city of India, has traditionally been the seat of administrative power of India. It is a bustling metropolis which is known to be devastanted and rebuilt many a times in written history. Here several dynasties rose and fell, leaving monument gifts to posterity. The Qila Rai Pithora, bequeathed by a Rajput king; the Qutb Minar, grand gesture of an Afghan King; the Red Fort that shah Jahan, the great Mughal built; the ruined old Fort where once the wise king sher shah lived; the glorious Jama Masjid, eloquent reminder of Mughal religious fervour; the tombs and mausolea in remembrance of ruling nobles and kings. It is all here to see, this slow march of history, carved in stone.
The old ‘dilli' is not one but the seven cities Hindu and Moghul emperors gave India. In its great buildings, standing or in ruins, may be seen the glories of the empires of ages past. The New Delhi, the eight Delhi, Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker gave India. This is the Delhi, of a world which plans its every move. and Lutyens planned New Delhi, in all its geometrical symmetry, when city planning was still in its infancy. But despite all the planning that has gone into it, Delhi still has a majestic beauty and an old world charm. Far, away from New Delhi, a garden city that is one of the world's most elegant capitals, old Delhi is ever present. Today's Delhi blends its historic past with a virbrant present. Great monuments old and not so old lie side by side besides crisp nes office and residential buildings, harmonising the past with the present. Thus the city is a real delight for the tourist who wish to learn about the past and present of India and Indian people. Mirza ghalib the world renowned poet and son of Delhi, has rightly described this amazing city as "the soul in the body of the world".
Location
Delhi is located in the northern part of the India and extends between 28.380 N latitude and longitude 77.120 E. It is encircled by the North Indian state of Utta Pradesh in the east and by the state of Haryana in the other three sides.Demography
Delhi's population has more than doubled between 1970 (3.53 million) and 1990 (8.62 million), and has increased to about 12.77 million by the year 2000 (UN, 1989). In 1981, the city covered an area of nearly 591.9 sq.km. With a population density of about 9,647 persons per sq.km.Welcome to New Delhi, the capital of India, the third largest city in the country. The sprawling city divided into Old Delhi and New Delhi, gives the feel of the old and the new, with its ancient historical monuments interspersed with soaring skyscrapers, embassies and bustling commercial complexes. In addition to its fascinating history and role as the government center, the city, is a major travel gate way. The city has extreme climates, immense heat waves during summer and chilly coldness during winter.
Given its central location and easy accessibility to several neighbouring states and sights (the Taj Mahal in Agra is a stone's throw away), the phrase 'Dilli door nahi hai' (Delhi is not too far away) takes on a whole new meaning. Geography apart, politics and history have never co-habited in such close proximity as they do in this National Capital Territory. The old and the new, the past and the present, the historical and political, live simultaneously as imposing Mughal structures provide the background for the great Indian political arena. Old Delhi flaunts its Mughal past with the Qutub Minar, the Red Fort, the Jami Masjid, the mausoleums of Humayun's tomb alongside the parliamentary buildings of New Delhi - Sansad Bhavan, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Rajpath. With a maze of bazaars that rival its historical and present day political intrigues, Delhi is a living paradox. Infamous for its crimes of passion, feudal Delhi stands for the brash and boisterous on one hand and for art and culture, on the other. The city has an active art and literary community, chic restaurants and nightclubs, haute couture, is not quite women-friendly, loves to eat well and live life kingsize. Love it or hate it, you can't ignore it.
Fast Facts
Orientation
Delhi is located in Northern India and is bordered by the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. It may be divided into two parts --Old Delhi and New Delhi. The former is the 17th century walled city sprinkled with remnants of the past --city gates and labyrinths, the Red Fort, Jami Masjid, temples, mosques, bazaars and the legendary Chandni Chowk. New Delhi, in contrast, is starkly modern and is characterised by the circular Connaught Place whose connecting streets are filled with offices and hotels. New Delhi may be further divided into business and residential areas around Connaught Place and government areas around Rajpath to the south with the India Gate at one end and the Indian parliament building at the other.History
Delhi, the capital of India before and after independence has perhaps seen, more of history than any other city in India. It was first created as the capital of an independent kingdom by the Tomars in 736 AD. Delhi changed hands at the end of the 12th century and passed on to the Muslim conquerors. The city of Delhi went under the British in 1803 Ad. In 1956, Delhi was converted into a union territory. However, in 1991, the national capital territory Act was passed by the parliament, and the actual enforcement of the legislation came in 1993.Delhi is strategically located at the crossroads of northern India and, despite official moves to other places, has always been at the centre of events. Lacking any natural defences it has long been the target of invaders from the north- west. The Muslims, in the shape of the Pathans, first took it in 1192, it was raided by Tamurlane (or Timur) the Mongol in 1398, Sher Shah (an Afghan) deposed Humayun for a time, and the Persian Nadir Shah despoiled it in 1739. From then until the British took it from the Marathas in 1803, it was a story of constant decline and destruction. Despite heavy fighting during the Muntiny and the deposing of the last Mughal emperor in 1857, the British made little mark on Delhi until they decided to establish New Delhi as their capital. With independence this proved a fortuitous move as it would have been unthinkable for Indians to govern the country from one of the coastal cities.
It is believed that Delhi was the site of the city of Indraprastha, home to the Pandavas, over 3000 years ago. This early settlement is believed to have been close to the river Yamuna and existed on the spot where the Purana Quila stands today. There is evidence that Delhi lay on an important trunk route in the Mauryan period and was mentioned by Ptolemy as 'Dilli' after his visit in the second century AD. However, modern Delhi came into being under the Tomara Rajputs in the 12th century, and then flourished after they lost it to their rival clan, the Chauhans. Later, when Qutab-ud-din Aibak (who built the Qutub Minar) occupied the city in 1193, he ushered in six and a half centuries of Muslim rule. The Delhi Sultanate lasted from 1206 to 1526, despite its inconsistent rule, and was followed by the Mughals from 1526 to 1857. Old Delhi, as it is known today, was built during the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658). In 1803, the British captured Delhi, vesting power from the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and installed a British administrator in his place. Delhi was not the capital of India at the time, but it was an important commercial centre and had a population of 150,000 by the start of the 20th century.