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| Delhi, apart from being a prominent cosmopolitan city has also been witness to an eventful and prolific history. Evidence of this is exists in the numerous historical buildings present today in the architectural ruins that dot Delhi’s urbanscape. The pluralistic culture of Delhi city is a product of its complex history, and has produced a variety of traditions. It is manifested in the varied expressions of tangible and intangible, natural and man made, heritage. Many efforts have been made already to record and conserve this extraordinary legacy. |
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| In sheer volume and variety of its historical legacy, it rivals other acknowledged World Heritage cities like Rome and Edinburgh. But unlike Rome, only a few of its historic monuments are highlighted in the public domain: consequently it does not contribute to its urban identity. Some monuments like the Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb and Red Fort are so exceptional that they have already been inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list. Others like Jama Masjid, Hauz Khas, Tughlakabad and Purana Qila, Khirki and Begumpur Masjids, are in the tourist circuit. The remaining majority however, though of comparable significance, lie in the interstices of the modern city, neglected and forgotten. Few people therefore, whether visitors or residents, are able to appreciate the extent of Delhi’s actual architectural heritage. |
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| It is in the light of the changing attitudes towards architectural heritage, that the INTACH Delhi Chapter has taken up the task to have Delhi inscribed in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Cities. |
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| Delhi which is today a cosmopolitan city, has been developing over a long period of time. It is an amalgam of several historical cities. The chronological development of Delhi over the centuries is as follows: |
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City: INDRAPRASTHA
Date: 1450 BC (approx.)
Site: In Purana Qila
Remains: Archeological finds (dating to a few centuries B.C.) now support the view that this was indeed Delhi's earliest city. This has not surprised anyone in Delhi, for popular opinion never doubted the existence of Indraprastha, which finds mention in the Indian epic tradition. |
City: LAL KOT OR QILA RAI PITHORA
Date: 1060 AD; built by Tomar Rajputs. In the 12th century it was captured and enlarged by the Rajput King Prithviraj Chauhan.
Site: Mehrauli, around Qutb Minar complex.
Remains: Very little remains of the original Lal Kot. Of the 13 gates of Rai Pithora fort, now only three remain. |
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City: SIRI
Date: 1304 AD; built by Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate. The walls of this settlement were built as defence against the Mongols. The Hauz-i-Alai, a 14th century reservoir, was built to supply water to the city, and the emperor Firuz Shah Tughlaq later added a magnificent theological seminary and his own tomb was built in the complex.
Site: Near Hauz Khas and Green Park.
Remains: Substantial ruins of buildings and walls remain. |
City: TUGHLAQABAD
Date: 1321-23 AD. Built by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.
Site: 8km from the Qutub complex.
Remains: Massive battered walls, built to withstand Mongol invasions, and some ruined buildings amidst considerably encroached settlements. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq’s tomb is a fortified jewel, separated from the main fort. |
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City: JAHANPANAH
Date: Mid -14th century. Built by Mohammad- bin-Tughlaq.
Site: Between Siri and Qutub Minar.
Remains: These walls were actually meant to enclose the inhabited area between the fortifications of Qila Rai Pithora and Siri. A few remnants of defensive ramparts are still evident. |
City: FEROZABAD
Date: 1354 AD; by Firuz Shah Tughlaq. It remained the capital until Sikander Lodi moved to Agra.
Site: Kotla Firuz Shah, South of Shahjahanabad.
Remains: Some ruined palace buildings, a mosque which is still in use, a step-well, and an Asoka Pillar erected on top of a massive building still remain, though in a ruined state. |
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City: DILLI SHER SHAHI (Shergarh)
Date: 1534; This Delhi was actually started by Humayun, the second Mughal emperor. After he was defeated and forced into exile, his far more able rival, Sher Shah Suri, completed it.
Site: Opposite the Delhi Zoo. Around Purana Qila.
Remains: High gates, walls, a beautiful mosque, an octagonal building known as Sher Mandal, bath-house and a baoli (step-well). |
City: SHAJAHANABAD
Date: Mid-17th century. Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor moved his capital from Agra to this purpose – built capital.
Site: The existing ‘Old Delhi’.
Remains: The Red Fort, Jama Masjid, main streets of Old Delhi (like Chandni Chowk), long sections of walls and several city gates. Though a busy commercial hub, this is still the vibrant heart of the city where old lifestyles, traditional crafts and cuisines can still be appreciated. |
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City: NEW DELHI
Date: 1920s. The formal announcement to move the seat of power from Calcutta to Delhi was made during the famous Delhi Durbar in 1911. Contractors and workers working from the designs of Edwin Lutyens and a team of architects including Herbert Baker, completed the main buildings 20 years later. Since then New Delhi has remained the capital of India.
Site: Connaught Place, Rajpath and the surrounding areas, including the so-called ‘Lutyens Bungalow Zone’.
Remains: All the main British buildings, which include the spacious bungalows of the political and administrative elite, the President's House, Parliament and the Supreme Court. |
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| Pictures courtsey Dissolve studio (dissolvestudio@gmail.com) |
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