What do you know about Delhi?

Let us peep into the ages of Delhi:

How to Reach

How to reach Capital of India (Delhi):

By Air

Delhi is well connected with domestic and international flights, to all the major cities within and outside India. Almost all the major airlines have their flights operating from Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi. Domestic Airport connects Delhi to the major cities in India.

Click here for further information

By Train

The railway network connects Delhi to the all major and, nearly, all the minor destinations in India. The three important railway stations of Delhi are New Delhi Railway Station, Old Delhi Railway Station and Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station.

Click here for further information about Trains Arrival / Departure

By Road

Delhi is well connected, by a network of roads and national highways, with all the major cities in India. The three major bus stands in Delhi are Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Kashmiri Gate, Sarai Kale-Khan Bus Terminus and Anand Vihar Bus Terminus. Both the government and private transport providers provide frequent bus services. One can also get government as well as private taxis here.

DELHI GENERAL INFORMATION

Area: 1484 sq km

Time Zone: IST (UTC+5:30)

Capital: New Delhi

Population: 13.7 million (census 2001)

Literacy Rate: 81.82% (census 2001)

Geography: Located at 23.38°N 77.13°E

STD Code: 011

Local Languages: Hindi, English, Punjabi and Urdu

Local Conveyance: Rickshaws, Taxis, Metro Rail, Autos and Buses

GEOGRAPHY OF DELHI

Delhi is located at 23.38 degree north and 77.13 degree east in the Northern part of India and bounded by Haryana State on the Northwest and South, Rajasthan state on the Southwest and Uttar Pradesh state on the east. The metropolis city is demarcated into three parts with the Gangetic plains forming the major part, the Yamuna flood plain and the Delhi ridge. The flood plain is filled with rich and fertile alluvial soil that makes agriculture suitable around that area but the flood line can sometimes reach a massive height of 318 metres destroying crops around it. The ridge is seen dominating and originating from the Aravalli Hill range encircling the south through to the west, northwest and northeast region of the city while the sacred Yamuna River flows through Delhi and the Hindon River separates Ghaziabad towards the eastern region of Delhi and it is well connected with road bridges and Metro Subways across the Yamuna River.

Delhi covers an area of 1484 Sq. Km. out of which 783 Sq. Km. is under the rural and 700 Sq. Km. is under the urban section. The land stretches about 51.9 km long and 48.48 km wide. The region falls under the seismic zone IV which makes it prone to earthquakes; however, the city has not witnessed any major earthquake as such but certain trembles have been experienced because of earthquakes in Gujarat and neighbouring places.

The concept of creating a National Capital Region was planned back in 1962 with the aim to develop a metropolitan section in order to divert increasing population to those areas and to protect the infrastructure of the city from excessive planned development.

Four states were pooled in to form a part of the National Capital Region or NCR of India which is the National Capital Territory of Delhi or NCT that covers 1483 Sq. Km., Haryana that contributed to 13413 Sq. Km. of area, Uttar Pradesh that contributed to 10853 Sq. Km. of area and Rajasthan that contributed to 7829 Sq. Km. of area.

NCT lies in the centre of NCR that consists of Old Delhi, New Delhi and the central seat of the government of India with a population of 13,782,976 people making it the largest populated area in the entire NCR. NCR region of Haryana constitutes of Faridabad, Gurgaon and Sonepat which is going to soon be a part of NCR and developments are in a fast track mode. They bound NCT on the west and south and form the northern and western part of NCR. The NCR region of Rajasthan does not share boundaries with Delhi but constitutes of Alwar that forms the southwest core part of NCR. While Uttar Pradesh forms the major part of the eastern portion of NCR and is bounded by Delhi on the east that constitutes of Ghaziabad and the Gautam Buddha Nagar area curved out of Noida and Greater Noida.

Delhi does not follow any specific pattern geographically and it is widely erratic. It transforms from agricultural fields in the north to the dry parched hills which branches out of the Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan in the south. To explain its boundaries in a better way, the extreme end spans from Sarup Nagar in the northern part to Rajorki in the southern part. Towards the extreme west isNajafgarh and extreme east is the holy Yamuna River, Shahdara and Bhajanpura which are major shopping centres. The main city of Delhi ends in Saket on the south and central northern area is Connaught Place whilst the western boundary limits at National Highway - 8.

DELHI CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Delhi experiences extreme weather conditions with subtropical humid climate ranging from extremely hot and long summers to a short monsoon and autumn, extreme cold winters and a short pleasant spring season. Though monsoons are very unpredictable, you will sometimes witness only a few spell of rains and sometimes it can stretch for 1-2 months raising the flood line of the Yamuna River. Summers can bring the hot loo or hot waves that are carried from the Rajasthan desert while winters is very cold due to the city's close proximity to the Himalayan ranges especially during snow fall season around J & K, Shimla and Uttarakhand and the Yamuna River water body; hence, all these factors and surrounding areas modulates the temperature of Delhi and sometimes called the Continental Climate.

The average temperature of Delhi in summers ranges from 41°C to 27°C. It starts rising from mid April and hits the peak temperatures of 41 - 45°C beginning mid May to mid June and then tapers down to 40 and 37°C by July and further dips till the monsoon arrives bringing some respite to the population. The summer is not only hot but humid especially when it is close to monsoon season and sometimes a very dry weather when the wind direction reverses and the hot loo blows accompanying sand particles and dust from Rajasthan desert. Most people stay indoors to avoid heat strokes and dehydration.

Monsoon arrives in Delhi from mid July but nowadays it arrives by August and last till September. Though it does not receive continuous showers for days like the coastal areas, it does rain only for 1-2 hours continuously and at an interval gap of 2-3 days; hence, during the days when it does not rain the humidity and heat shoots up which makes it unbearable at times. The average rainfall that the city receives is 714 mm.

The advent of autumn sets in from October to mid November when monsoon stops and one sees a more reasonably and yet a little pleasant weather which is bearable compared to the humid period.

Winter in Delhi is comparatively very short than the summer season and sets in from mid November when it is a bit tolerable and light woollens will do the job; however December and January sees extreme cold when you really need heavy woollens, caps, gloves and mufflers along with a room heater to keep you warm. The cold waves travel from the Himalayan ranges and the chillness from snow fall regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh that makes the winter months really nail-biting cold and especially unbearable at night with temperatures substantially dipping to a low 3 to 4°C. A few years ago, the temperature in this city recorded a very low 0 degree C and it saw a very small patch of snowfall at night which melted by the early afternoon hours but that was a very rare and one in a lifetime occasion; However, Fog and Smog does set in every winter from late nights to early mornings making visibility very poor; hence, it is not recommended to drive during those hours. On the flipside, this season makes it the best time to visit Delhi as it does offers sunny and pleasant afternoons with an average temperature of 25° C maximum allowing visits to the tourist sites enjoyable unlike summer afternoons which makes enjoying impossible. Tourist can enjoy Bonfire at night along with evening barbeques.

The climate of Delhi transitions from February with the onset of spring when temperatures are a pleasant 27°C to 10°C staring from mid February till the end of March with sunny mornings and afternoons and frosty nights.

For tourists and travellers, the best time to visit Delhi is during the autumn season from October to November and spring season from February to March offering sunny afternoons and pleasant nights when you get to witness greenery and the city comes alive after a cold winter and makes for the advent of colourful spring festival at Surajkund held every year beginning 15th of February, the festival ofFLOWERS called Vasant Panchami and the festival of colours called Holi usually held in march.

LONG HISTORY OF DELHI

Delhi has a long historical past dating back to the pre-historic 6th Century BC era when it was founded as 'Indraprastha', the capital of the Pandavas of the Mahabharata epic. It was earlier known as 'Hastinapur' or 'Elephant City' according to the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text. It is said that the ancient Indraprast Village existed where the Old Fort stands after which it was demolished by the British to make way for constructing New Delhi towards the late 19th Century. Archaeological excavations in 1966 revealed fragments of grey painted ware dating back to the Pandava era and the remains of 7 cities, relics dating back to the Mauryan Period including two sandstone Pillars with inscription of Emperor Ashoka [273 BC-236 BC] discovered near Noida in Srinivaspuri that were brought to the city by Firuz Shah Tughlaq in the 14th Century.

Earlier named 'Dhillika' and 'Dhilli' in short, the first medieval town located on the south-western border of the present Mehrauli area of the City and founded by King Dhillu in 800 BC according to Satyarth Prakash of Swami Dayanand of 1875 CE; however other theories also exists and differ in their own context. This town was the first in the series of seven medieval cities.

From the 8th Century, the Tomar Rajput dynasty reigned. Anangpal, a Tomar Rajput founded Lal-Kot in 736 BC near the famous Qutub Minar in Mehrauli area of Delhi. His name is inscribed into the Iron Pillar that lies with the Qutub Complex of the Chandragupta II era. Lal-Kot was the centre of learning and people spoke eloquent languages. The city gates were gilded in gold and studded with gems. King Anangpal also built a Citadel in 731 BC situated 10 km from 'Surajkund'.

In 1180, Lal-Kot was conquered by the Chauhan Rajput Kings of Ajmer and renamed it as 'Qila Rai Pithora'. Later in 1192, King Prithviraj Chauhan III was defeated by the Afghan Muhammad Ghori and since 1206, 'Dhilli', was made the capital of the Delhi Sultanate under the Slave Dynasty by Qutub-ud-din Aibak, a former slave who rose to the ranks of a general, then a governor and finally the first Sultan of Delhi. He constructed the famous Qutub Minar but died before its completion. During his reign he destroyed 27 Jain Temples that had existed then and used its debris to construct the Quwwat-al-Islam mosque. The City was then succeeded by Turkic and Afghan Rulers followed by the Khilji, the Tughlaq, the Sayyid and the Lodi dynasties that ruled during the late medieval period and constructed forts and towns. Later in 1398, Timur Lenk invaded India and left Delhi in ruins. In 1526, the first Battle of Panipat, Zahiruddin Babar defeated the last surviving Afghan Lodi Sultan and established the Mughal Empire in Lahore, Delhi and Agra.

Later in the 16th Century Shershah Suri defeated Emperor Humayun, son of Emperor Zahiruddin Babar. Humayun escaped to Afghanistan and Persia and Shershah Suri rebuilt the 6th medieval town of Delhi and constructed the Old Fort or 'Purana Quila'. Emperor Humayun reclaimed the Delhi Throne with assistance from the Persian Rulers after Shershah Suri reign from 1540 to 1556 and demise. The throne was then succeeded by Akbar, son of Emperor Humayun who moved the capital to Agra and between 1553 - 1556, Delhi was taken over by Hemu Vikramaditya who defeated the Mughal forces of Akbar in Agra. Later Akbar reclaimed the throne after defeating Hemu in the second Battle of Panipat. Later Akbar's son, ShahJahan [1628-1658] succeeded the Throne and moved the capital back to Delhi and restored its fortunes which had then declined and constructed the 7th medieval town of Delhi that was named 'Shahjahanabad' after him and now is popularly known as 'Old City' or 'Old Delhi'. Many architectural delights are still visible like the 'Red Fort' or 'Lal Quila' and the 'Jama Masjid'. Later Aurangzeb grabbed the Throne in 1658 and crowned himself in the famous 'Shalimar Garden' or 'Aizzabad Bagh' and ruled till his death in 1707.

On February 1739, the Mughal army was then defeated by Nader Shah in the Battle of Karnal. He captured and looted Delhi including the famous Peacock Throne after which a treaty was signed in 1752 for the Marathas to protect the Mughal Throne and its belongings. The Marathas rule accelerated through the entire North and Central India until they were defeated by Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1761 during the third Battle of Panipat and again Delhi remained just a fragment after it was raided by Abdali. On 11th September 1803, the British forces overpowered the Marathas and the Mughal reign over the City and took over Delhi in 1857 and the remaining Mughal territories. Bahadur Shah Zafar II, the Last Mughal Emperor was exiled to Rangoon.

The British moved their capital to Delhi in 1911 and pulled down parts of Old Delhi to construct New Delhi. Government buildings and offices were designed by Edwin Lutyens and constructed in beautiful English Colonial style. The British held the seat of the Government till 1947 and Post Independence, Delhi was still made the seat of the Indian Government with Jawaharlal Nehru as their first Prime Minister of India.

Throughout its History Delhi was bruised 7 times and rebuilt 7 times. The City, however, survived against all odds and now stands as the main political, cultural and commercial empire of India.