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Delhi - This article deals with the metropolis Delhi, which is India's National Capital Territory. For the capital of India see New Delhi.
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| | lassification | National capital territory | | a href="/encyclopedia/Country" title="Country">Country | India | | a href="/encyclopedia/State" title="State">State | Delhi | | a href="/encyclopedia/District" title="District">District | Delhi District | | a href="/encyclopedia/Language" title="Language">Language | Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and English, | | a href="/encyclopedia/Time-zone" title="Time zone">Time zone | GMT+5:30 | | mportance | Capital of India, separate state, Second largest metropolitan city in India, Industrial & IT Hub, Education center par excellence. Seat of government and influence | a href="/encyclopedia/Population" title="Population">Population
- Total
- Density
- Sex Ratio |
13,850,507 (2001)http://www.censusindia.net/t_00_003.html
9,339.52/km2
821 | a href="/encyclopedia/Literacy-Rate" title="Literacy Rate">Literacy Rate
- Total
- Male
- Female |
81.7%http://www.censusindia.net/t_00_006.html
87.3%
74.7% | | a href="/encyclopedia/Area" title="Area">Area | 1483 km2 | | a href="/encyclopedia/Postal-Index-Number" title="Postal Index Number">PIN | 110 xxx | | ieutenant Governor | Shri B L Joshi | | hief Minister | Mrs. Sheila Dixit | | uling Party | INC | | ajor Political parties | INC, BJP | Delhi (दिल्ली or Dillī in Hindi and Bengali and دیلی in Urdu) is a term that refers to either the State of Delhi or the National capital territory (NCT) of the Republic of India. In popular use, the term refers to NCT which includes several neighbouring areas in the adjoining states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The name Delhi originates from urdu/hindustani word Dahleez (English: threshhold, or frontier). The people of Delhi are known as Delhiites or "Dilliwaalay". The latter has a historical and cultural background describing people of the old city and the associated diaspora. There are, for example, communities (often living in neighbourhoods dominated and named after them) of Dilliwaalay in major Pakistani cities who still identify their clan with neighbourhoods in the Old City of Delhi. Delhi has the most vibrant history of any of the more prominent cities or towns of India. It has been the "capital for seven empires" in Indian history and as per the Archaeological Survey of India, has over 60,000 recognized monuments built over several millenia. Delhi first finds reference in the Indian epic Mahabharata as Indraprastha. Economically, Delhi is one of the most affluent urban centers in India and is at the heart of India's largest consumer belt. As an indicator, Delhi has more cars plying its roads than India's other four 'metros', Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai have combined and is widely considered to have the best transport and utilities infrastructure in the country. It has in recent years emerged as an entrept for multi-nationals and is the primary destination for FDI in India, particularly with the emergence of its suburbs Noida and Gurgaon as commercial and industrial centers in their own right. The nation's automobile, media and consumer goods industries have facilities in and around Delhi. There is also a strong showing by key knowledge-based industries in Delhi, particularly in the life sciences, telecom and the information technology arena. A preferred destination due to the quantity and high caliber of English speakers, Delhi and its suburbs account for over 30% of India's IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports, the second largest in the country (Bangalore accounts for 35%). Delhi is a very cosmpolitan city due to the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural presence of the vast Indian bureaucracy and political system. From an international perspective, there are more than 160 embassies present and an ever increasing expatriate population. Delhi derives its historic importance from its position in northern India, occupying a location between the Aravalli Hills to the southwest and the Yamuna river on whose western banks it stands. This enabled it to dominate the old trade routes from northwest India to the plains of the Ganges. As a result, it has always been an important cultural and intellectual center. With a steadily increasing quality of life, booming economy and consumer market and by virtue of the fact that it is the nation's capital, cultural and intellectual life in Delhi is burgeoning as well. Delhi also has a high standard in education. It is the home of three major educational institutions in India, namely the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University. Delhi also boasts of a great number of quality schools. Delhi is also the home of a number of think tanks, museums, art galleries, parks and theaters. Strictly defining Delhi's borders, it occupies an area of some 1,483 square kilometres (572 square miles) with a population of approximately 14 million (though with its suburbs it crosses well over 23 million). The principal spoken language is Hindi. Other common languages spoken are English, Urdu, and Punjabi. Timeline Local politics Delhi has always been a strong hold of Indian National Congress. The trend started to change in 1990s when Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Madan Lal Khurana came into power. Since Sheila Dikshit lead Indian National Congress to power in December 1998, she has remained in power. History Traditionally, Delhi is said to be the site of Indraprastha, capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. A village called Indarpat existed in Delhi until the beginning of the 19th century. Excavations have unearthed sherds of the grey painted ware (ca. 1000 BC) that some archaeologists associate with the age of the Mahabharata, but no coherent settlement traces have been found. Some locate Indraprastha in the Purana-Qila area. The earliest architectural relics age back to the Mauryan Period (ca 300 BC), since then, the site has seen continuous settlement. In 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan King Ashoka, 273-236 BC was discovered near Srinivaspuri. The famous wrought iron pilar of Ashoka now to be seen in Qutb Minar was only manufactured in the Gupta-Period (AD 400-600) and transplanted to Delhi at some time in the 10th century. Two sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were only later brought to the city by Firuz Shah Tughluq. In the Prithvirajaraso, the Rajput Anangpal is named as the founder of Delhi. He is supposed to have constructed the Lal-Kot and brought the Iron Pillar to the city. The Rajput period is dated from ca. 900-1200. The name of Dhilli or Dhillika first appears in an inscription from 1170 from Udaipur. By 1316, it may have become the capital of Haryana. After 1206, Delhi was the capital of the Delhi Sultanate (Mamluk dynasty, Khalij dynasty, Tughluq dynasty, Sayyid dynasty and Lodhi dynasty). The more recent city is believed to be made up of seven successive cities, the remains of some of which can still be seen on the ground. - Qila Rai Pithora built by Prithvi Raj Chauhan, near the oldest Rajput settlement in Lal-Kot
- Siri, built by Alauddin Khilji in 1303
- Tughluqabad, built by Ghiyazudin Tughluq (1321-1325).
- Jahanpanah, built by Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-1351)
- Kotla Firoz Shah, built by Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388)
- Purana Qila built by Sher Shah Suri and Dinpanah built by Humayun, both in the same area near the speculated site of the legendary Indra-Prastha (1538-1545)
- Shahjahanabad, built by Shah Jahan from 1638 to 1649, containing the Lal Qila and the Chandni Chowk.
In the mid-seventeenth century, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658) built the city that sometimes bears his name (Shahjahanabad), the seventh city of Delhi that is more commonly known as the old city or old Delhi. This city contains a number of significant architectural features; including most notably the Red Fort or Lal Qila. The old city served as the capital of the later Mughal empire from 1638 onwards, when Shah Jahan transferred the capital from Agra. Aurangzeb (1658-1707) crowned himself as emperor in Delhi in 1658 at the Shalinar garden ('Aizzabad-Bagh), a second coronation took place in 1659. Delhi passed under British control in 1857 after the First War of Indian Independence and after Bahadur Shah Zafar II had been transported to Rangoon and became the Capital of British India in 1911 (formerly Calcutta). In the large scale rebuilding, parts of the Old City were pulled down to provide place for New Delhi. Economy Delhi is one of the largest markets in the country despite its being smaller in population than Mumbai. This is primarily because the per capita income in Delhi is much higher than in other cities. Since the 1990s it has become the number one destination for all foreign direct investment. Many multinational companies have set up their headquarters in Delhi and adjoining cities - from Pepsico and Gap Inc to zipper giant, YKK. On the Christmas day of 2002, New Delhi Metro was commenced, running in the urban area. The metro is proposed to be completed in 2022. The city is served by Indira Gandhi International Airport. Transportation Delhi by its variety , congestion and Large expanse is a transportation challenge. But Delhi has an advantage in terms of good infrastructure in terms of wide roads and Decent railway and Air connectivity with other cities of India and the world. Roadways Delhi roads are connected by Delhi Transport Corporation buses , Private buses as in chartered buses, White-line buses , Yellow-line buses. All buses and public transport vehicles were converted to be fitted with CNG-Powered Environment-Friendly engines after great hue and cry. Yes all auto-rickshaws are also CNG powered. CNG conversion of Public Vehicles Road Connectivity is mostly reliant on private vehicles. Delhi has the highest per capita vehicle in whole of india . Buses Delhi has one of India's largest bus connectivity. The State-Owned Delhi Transport Corporation runs buses across the city . DTC buses are also supplemented with private buses in form of white line and yellow line buses. Auto-Rickshaws Auto-Rickshaw forms a very important economic means of private transportation. With the conversion of all Autos as CNG-powered-ones. The auto charges are very economical compared to other Cities of India. Hiring an Auto in Delhi is very tricky as not many auto-drivers accept the standard meter charges. But this introduction of electronic meters, the tamperaboility of meters have reduced and stronger juristriction are forcing more autos to comply by the Meter based charging. Railway connectivity Delhi was designed with good deal of Railway connectivity. there are many railway station located with a good deal of connectivity with major parts of the city and the suburbs. One of the major local trains being the one that operate from Palwal station to Dilli station. Educational institutions Delhi, being the capital of the country attracts students from all over India. It has a number of government and private colleges offering quality education in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, arts, law, management etc. Some prominent educational institutes are : Societies Universities Schools Suburbs/Satelite cities around Delhi Famous sites in Delhi Famous people from Delhi Newspapers Markets in Delhi External links Literature - Y. D. Sharma, Delhi and its neighbourhood (New Delhi, Archaeological Survey of India 1990). -Historical architectural remains.
- William Darlymple, The City of Djinns:A Year in Delhi
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