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This article deals with the metropolis of Delhi. For the capital of India see New Delhi.

Delhi (Hindi: दिल्ली Urdu: دہلی or دلّی) is a metropolis in India. The name Delhi also refers to the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), which is a special union territory jointly administered by the Central government, NCT's elected government and three municipal corporations. New Delhi, an urban area within the metropolis of Delhi, is the seat of the Government of India.

Delhi's metropolitan area, known as the National Capital Region (NCR) encompasses the entire NCT as well as the neighbouring satellite towns of Faridabad and Gurgaon in Haryana, and Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh making it the 6th largest megalopolis in the world with a total population of 19.5 million people.

Delhi has the most vibrant history of any of the more prominent cities or towns of India. It has been the "capital of seven empires" in Indian history and as per the Archaeological Survey of India, has over 60,000 recognized monuments built over several millennia. The first city of Delhi is believed to be founded by the Pandavas of the Mahabharata around 3000 BC. It was called Indraprastha. Archaeological evidence suggests that Indraprastha once stood where Purana Quila is today. A village called Indarpat existed in Delhi until the beginning of the 19th century.

The name Delhi may originate from the Persian word Dahleez (دہلیز) (English: threshold, or frontier) or from the name of a Mauryan king, Raja Dhillu. The people of Delhi are known as Delhi-ites. The latter is a historical and cultural term 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 (Urdu: دلی والے) in major Pakistani cities who still identify their clan with neighbourhoods in the Old City of Delhi. The Persianized surname Dahelvi is also related to residents of Delhi.

Economically, Delhi is one of the most affluent urban centres 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, Calcutta, Chennai and Bombay combined and is widely considered to have the best transport and utilities infrastructure in the country. It has in recent years emerged as an entrepôt 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 centres 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 calibre 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 cosmopolitan city due to the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural presence of the vast Indian bureaucracy and political system, and now expanding economic base.

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 centre.

With a steadily increasing quality of life, a booming economy and consumer market and by virtue of the fact that it is the nation's capital, cultural and intellectual life in Delhi are burgeoning as well. Delhi also has a high standard in education. It is the home of many major educational institutions in India. Delhi also boasts of a great number of quality schools. Delhi is also home to a number of think tanks, museums, art galleries, parks and theatres.

History

Delhi has seen the rise and fall of many empires which have left behind a plethora of monuments that attest to the grandeur and glory of bygone ages. Traditionally, Delhi is said to be the site of the magnificent and opulent Indraprastha, capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. A village called Indarpat existed in Delhi until the beginning of the 19th century. The ancient historic village was obliterated to make place for construction of New Delhi by the British.

Ancient history

Excavations have unearthed sherds of the grey painted ware (c. 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 (c. 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. Two sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were later brought to the city by Firuz Shah Tughluq. The famous Iron pillar near the Qutub Minar was commissioned by the emperor Kumara Gupta I of the Gupta dynasty (320-540) and transplanted to Delhi at some time in the 10th century. Eight major cities have been situated in the Delhi area. The first four cities were in the southern part of present-day Delhi.

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. They are

1. Qila Rai Pithora built by Prithvi Raj Chauhan, near the oldest Rajput settlement in Lal-Kot;
2. Siri, built by Alauddin Khilji in 1303;
3. Tughluqabad, built by Ghiyazudin Tughluq (1321-1325);
4. Jahanpanah, built by Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-1351);
5. Kotla Firoz Shah, built by Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388);
6. Purana Qila built by Sher Shah Suri and Dinpanah built by Humayun, both in the same area near the speculated site of the legendary Indraprastha (1538-1545); and
7. Shahjahanabad, built by Shah Jahan from 1638 to 1649, containing the Lal Qila and the Chandni Chowk.

8th century to 16th century

The Tomara Rajput dynasty founded Lal Kot, which lies near the Qutub Minar, in 736. In the Prithvirajaraso, the Rajput Anangpal is named as the founder of Delhi. The Chauhan Rajput kings of Ajmer conquered Lal Kot from the Tomaras in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora. The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by the Afghan army of Muhammad Ghori. After 1206, Delhi became the capital of the Delhi Sultanate. the first rulers were known as the Slave Dynasty as many of the rulers of this dynasty were former slaves. This includes the first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak who was a former slave who rose through the ranks to become a general followed by governor and then Sultan of Delhi. Qutb-ud-din started the construction the Qutub Minar, instantly recognisable as a symbol of Delhi, to commemorate his victory but died before its completion. He also constructed the Quwwat-ul-Islam (might of Islam), which is the earliest extant mosque in India, in the Qutb complex. He was said to have pillaged exquisitely carved pillars from 27 temples for this mosque many of which can still be seen. After the end of the Slave dynasty, a succession of Turkic and Central Asian dynasties, the Khilji dynasty, the Tughluq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty and the Lodhi dynasty held power in the late medieval period and built a sequence of forts and townships that are part of the fabled seven cities of Delhi. In 1526, following the First Battle of Panipat emperor Babur defeated the last Lodhi sultan and founded the Mughal dynasty which ruled from Delhi, Agra and Lahore.

16th century to Present

In the mid-sixteenth century there was an interruption in the Mughal rule of India as Sher Shah Suri defeated Babur's son Humayun and forced him to flee to Afghanistan and Persia. Sher Shah Suri built the sixth city as well as the old fort known as Purana Qila. After his early death, Humayun was able to recover the empire with Persian help as Suri's son was not as able as his father. The third and the greatest Mughal emperor, Akbar, moved the capital of his empire to Agra resulting in a decline in the fortunes of Delhi. 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 the Red Fort (Lal Qila) and the Jama Masjid. The old city served as the capital of the later Mughal empire from 1638 onwards, when Shah Jahan transferred the capital back from Agra. Aurangzeb (1658-1707) crowned himself as the emperor in Delhi in 1658 at the Shalinar garden ('Aizzabad-Bagh); a second coronation took place in 1659.

Delhi passed to British control in 1857 after the First War of Indian Independence; the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, was pensioned to Rangoon, and the remaining Mughal Territories were annexed as a province of British India. Delhi ceased to be India's capital with the British preferring their city of Calcutta. In 1911 the Capital of British India was again moved to Delhi from Calcutta. Parts of the Old City were pulled down to create New Delhi, a monumental new quarter of the city designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens to house the government buildings. A brief but fascinating account of the Indian contractors behind this construction can be found in Khushwant Singh's autobiography Truth, Love and a Little Malice.

The Partition of India brought hundreds of thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees from West Punjab, and large numbers of Muslims left the city for Pakistan. In 1984, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi led to a violent backlash against the Sikh community by Congress Party activists and Hindus mobs, killing over 5,000 people in an orgy of bloodshed. Since then, Hindu and Sikh relations have improved considerably and the city also is home to a vibrant Muslim community.

On October 29, 2005, Delhi was subjected to terrorist attacks, with three bombs shaking crowded market places and a bus. 70 people were killed as a result.

Government

After the commencement of the sixty-ninth amendment to the Constitution of India in 1991, Delhi was granted the status of a special union territory and officially it's name was changed to the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Even though Delhi is not one of the 28 states of India, it has it's own Legislative Assembly, Lieutenant Governor, Council of Ministers and Chief Minister. The seats in Delhi's Legislative Assembly are filled by members chosen by direct elections from territorial constituencies in the NCT. However, Delhi is jointly administered by the State Government of Delhi and the Government of India. New Delhi, an urban area within the metropolis of Delhi, is the seat of both the State Government of Delhi and the Government of India.

Delhi has always been a stronghold of the Indian National Congress, locally known as the Congress Party. The trend started to change in the 1990s when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Madan Lal Khurana came into power for the first time. However, in 1998 Sheila Dixit of the Congress Party defeated Madan Lal Khurana in state elections and has remained in power since then.

Climate

Delhi has a semi-arid climate with high variation between summer and winter temperatures. The summers are long, starting in early April and lasting till October with the rainy season in between. Extreme temperatures have ranged from a minimum of −2 to a maximum of 47 °C . These are historical records and typically winter nights almost never go below +2 °C or summer afternoons above 45 °C.

The average annual rainfall is approximately 670 mm or 27 inches, most of which falls in the months of July and August during the Monsoon. Traditionally, the Monsoon is supposed to touch Delhi on June 29 every year.

Demographics

Delhi has a population of more than 15 million people (Est. 2005) making it the 3rd largest metropolitan area in India after Mumbai and Kolkatta. There are 827 women for every 1000 men and the metropolis has a literacy rate of 78.5%. The ratio of urban population stands at approximately 90%. Delhi has one of the highest per capita incomes in India and is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Asia. According to the census carried out by the Indian government in 2001, 13.0 million people lived in the Delhi metropolitan area. However, it is now estimated that more than 15.0 million people live in Delhi and its surrounding suburbs with migrants accounting for 60% of the increase in population. If you include the surrounding satellite towns of NOIDA, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad, the population is estimated to be over 20 million. Due to relatively high employment opportunities and better living conditions, Delhi has attracted millions of people from rural areas in neighbouring Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Delhi's state government has come under tremendous pressure as the city's infrastructure struggles to keep pace with the rising population. In 2001, the state government of Delhi launched a 'master plan' to allocate more residential, commercial and industrial areas in the region and also decided to invest billions of dollars in city's infrastructure.

Hindus form the religious majority, but large, vibrant communities of Sikhs, Muslims, Jains and Christians bring diversity. Punjabis and Jats are large ethnic communities, but a collage of peoples from almost every Indian state inhabits the city. Large numbers of Kashmiris also inhabit the city and its outskirt areas. 83.67% of Delhi's population practices Hinduism, 9.2% Islam, 6.1% Sikhism and 0.9% Christianity. Other minorities include Jains, Buddhists and Jews.

The principal spoken language is Hindi-Urdu (sometimes called Hindustani). The principal written language is Hindi. Other common languages spoken are English and Punjabi. Since Delhi is the capital, linguistic groups from all over India are represented including: Tamil, Kannada, Telegu and many others.

Economy/Entertainment

Delhi is one of the largest markets in the country because the per capita income in Delhi is much higher than in other cities. Many multinational companies have set up their headquarters in Delhi and adjoining cities—from Pepsico and Gap, Inc. to the zipper giant, YKK. On Christmas Day, 2002, the New Delhi Metro opened, running in the urban area.

Keeping pace with globalization, there are many discotheques and dance clubs — most of them located in five-star hotels. Some of these are C.J.'s (Le Meridien), Annabelle's (The Hilton), Dubliner (Maurya Sheraton), Oasis (Hyatt Regency), Djinn's (Hyatt Regency) and My Kind of Place (Taj Palace). Other places include Shalom (Greater Kailash), Voda (Saket), Buzz (Saket), T'zers (Saket), Punjabi by Nature (Vasant Vihar) and Fabric (on the Gurgaon-Mehrauli road). Many Delhiites also throng the many malls that have sprung up within Delhi and its surrounding areas: you will find a steady stream of cars heading towards Gurgoan which probably has the highest concentration of shopping malls in India.

There are also a lot of modern restaurants in the city. One can find a wide array of cuisines, including Greek (It's Greek To Me in Safdarjung), Chinese, Thai, Italian (Olive Bar and Kitchen in Mehrauli), Mexican and American Food.

International restaurant chains and fast food chains have set up franchises in Delhi with success, including Pizza Hut, Subway, McDonald's, Baskin-Robbins and others. It is notable that in each case, the franchises modified their respective menus with respect to Indian culture and religion, clearly indicating vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods, often by a relatively common colour code (red for non-vegetarian foods, green for vegetarian foods) and preparing the vegetarian foods in compliance with Hindu customs and practices.

Delhi has been chosen as the site for the Commonwealth Games (2010). This has led to a spate of development work, like construction of flyovers, metro etc.

Transportation

Delhi by its variety, congestion, and large expanse is a transportation challenge. Delhi, however, has an advantage in terms of good infrastructure in the form of wide roads and decent railway and air connectivity.

Roadways

As Delhi's population continues to increase at an exponential rate, the city's transportation authority is struggling to reduce traffic congestion problems. Delhi's state government initiated a massive traffic decongestion plan on the late 1990s investing billions of dollars in the city's road transport system. Today, there are more flyovers and highways in Delhi than in all other Indian metropolitan cities combined. The city's transportation system is regarded as the best in India. The Government's modest efforts have also helped reduce pollution level in the city.

Road connectivity is mostly reliant on private vehicles. Delhi has the highest ratio of vehicles per capita in India. Government-Owned Delhi Transport Corporation buses, and private buses, including chartered buses, White-line buses and Yellow-line buses also play a crucial role on connecting Delhi.

Buses

Delhi has one of India's largest Bus transport systems. Most of the Buses which ply across Delhi are operated by State-owned Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and other private operators such as the BlueLine Transport Corporation. It is mandatory for all private bus operators to acquire permit from Delhi's State Transport Authority.

The fares in buses are based on the colour of the stripe on the bus. Regular DTC buses which are yellow in colour and have bus numbers in white plates. These buses have fares of denomination 2,5,7 and 10 rupees. Similar private buses are either yellow or blue in colour. Buses with Green stripe have yellow number plates and have GL printed ahead of the number. These buses charge a flat rate of 10 rupees.

The DTC operates the world's largest fleet of environmentally friendly CNG buses. While not particularly high-tech, the DTC's natural gas-burning buses nevertheless pollute much less than the poorly designed and even more poorly maintained diesel-burning buses operated by most other State Road Transit Commissions (RTCs) in India. The buses are also much easier on the lungs of other road users as there is no cloud of carbon particles in the face of the unfortunate motorcyclist who sidles up next to a bus at an intersection. Directly, and indirectly, the gas-burning buses have also reduced, to some degree, the downward trend in Delhi's air quality and related illnesses.

Auto-Rickshaws

The auto rickshaws (sometimes shortened to Auto) are a very important mean of public transportation in Delhi as they charge a lower fare compared to Taxis. Hiring an Auto in Delhi is very tricky as not many auto-drivers accept the standard meter charges. The typical method is to negotiate and haggle for an agreeable rate. It is also typical for the rate to be almost doubled after 11 p.m. at night. With the introduction of electronic meters, the tamperability of meters has been reduced, and a stronger jurisdiction for a sanctioning body has forced more autorickshaws to comply with the meter-based charging scheme.

Taxis

Though easily available, Taxis do not form an integral part of the public transportation system in Delhi. Most of the Taxis are operated by Delhi Transport Corporation, Indian Tourism Ministry and various private operators. The tourism ministry grants private companies permits to operate Taxis in the city. These Taxis, locally known as Tourist Taxis, provide better service than the Taxis run by the DTC. However, these Taxis are not metered unlike the DTC run Taxis and usually charge a higher fare. In order to hire a Taxi, one either has to go to the Taxi stand or telephone the Taxi service provider; they are not usually flagged from the street.

Railway connectivity

Delhi was designed with a great deal of railway connectivity. There are many railway stations located with a great deal of connectivity with major parts of the city and the suburbs. The major stations connected through the trains are Old Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi, Okhla, Pragati Maidan, Purani Dilli, Shahdara, Shakur Basti and Tilak Bridge.

One of the major local trains is the one that operates between Palwal station and Shakur Basti station.

Metro

A metro (local train service) built and managed by the DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) is also under operation.

There are two lines currently in operation. Line 1 runs east-west for 22kms on an elevated track between Rithala and Shahdara. Line 2 runs north-south for 11kms in an underground tunnel between Vishwa Vidyalaya and the Central Secretariat. A third line, running between Indraprastha and Barakhamba Road/ Dwarka is due to open partial services in December 2005.

Airports

For international connections, the city is served by Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI). The airport is situated in the southwestern corner of the city. The Airport has all modern facilities like Duty-Free Shopping, money exchange service and various other recreational facilities.

Palam Airport is located near the IGI Airport and serves national connections to major cities within India.

Education

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 and management. The presigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences is rated as among the best medical institutions in the world. Other notable educational and research institutes include Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Delhi School of Economics, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Lady Shri Ram College for Women and Delhi College of Engineering. There are more than nine universities situated in the Delhi metropolitan area. The top 5 universities in Delhi include the Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Indraprastha University and Indira Gandhi National Open University. In 2001, the Delhi University had a strength of 220,000 students, making it one of the largest universities in Asia. The university has 14 faculties, 86 academic departments and 79 colleges spread all over the city. In 2003-04, Delhi's 4800 primary and secondary level schools enrolled more than 310,000 students. However, as the city's population booms, more educational institutions will be required. Most of the schools in Delhi are affliated to the national CBSE board.

See Also: Educational Institutions in Delhi

Suburbs/Satellite cities around Delhi

• Gurgaon
• Noida
• Faridabad
• Ghaziabad

Famous sites in Delhi

• Birla Temple
• Akshardham Temple
• Appu Ghar
• Chattarpur Temple
• Hanuman Temple
• Chandni Chowk
• Connaught Place
• Deer Park
• Red Fort, or the Lal Qila
• Garden of Five Senses
• Gurdwara Bangla Sahib
• Pragati Maidan
• Sis Ganj Gurdwara
• Rakab Ganj Gurdwara
• Humayun's Tomb
• India Gate
• International Dolls Museum
• Jama Masjid
• Jantar Mantar
• Kalindi Kunj
• Ashoka's pillar
• Tibet House
• ISKCON Temple
• Lodhi Gardens
• Bahá'í House of Worship also known as the Lotus Temple
• Mughal Gardens
• National Museum
• Nehru Planetarium Delhi
• Purana Qila or the Old Fort
• Qutb complex
• Rashtrapati Bhawan
• India Habitat Centre
• Safdarjang's Tomb
• Sansad Bhawan or Parliament House
• Tughlaqabad Fort
• Pitampura TV Tower

Famous people from Delhi

• Amir Khusro
• Mirza Ghalib
• Mukesh
• M.F.Hussain
• Nizamuddin Auliya
• Pervez Musharraf was born in Delhi
• Ravi Shankar lives in Delhi
• Koushik Kumar
• Khushwant Singh
• Shah Rukh Khan
• Gyanendra Kumar Sharma
• Shila Dikshit
• Safdar Hashmi

Newspapers

• Asian Age
• Business Line
• Business Standard
• The Economic Times
• Financial Express
• The Hindu
• The Hindustan Times
• Indian Express
• Navbharat Times
• Pioneer
• Sandhya Times
• The Statesman
• The Times of India

Markets/Shopping Districts in Delhi

• Chandni Chowk
• Chhawla
• Dilli Haat
• Connaught Place
• Greater Kailash
• Janpath
• JanakPuri
• Jwala Hedi
• Karol Bagh
• Kamla Nagar
• Khan Market
• Lajpat Nagar Central Market
• Najafgarh
• Nehru Place
• New Friends Colony
• Palika Bazaar
• Rajouri Garden
• Sadar Bazaar
• Saket
• Sarojini Nagar
• South Extension
• Tilak Nagar
• Vasant Kunj
• Vasant Vihar
• Azadpur Mandi and Okhla Mandi - Wholesale vegetable markets
• Mehrauli - Wholesale food-grain market

Malls in Delhi

• Ansal Plaza, South Delhi
• Ansal Plaza (Factory Outlet Mall), Vaishali
• Centrestage mall, NOIDA
• SAB Mall, NOIDA
• Shipra Mall, NOIDA/Ghaziabad
• Pacific Mall, NOIDA
• MGF Metropolitan Mall, Gurgaon
• Sahara Mall, Gurgaon
• DLF City Centre, Gurgaon
• SRS Plaza, Faridabad
• East End Mall, Ghaziabad
• The India Mall, New Friends Colony

See Also

• New Delhi
• National Capital Territory
• The Delhi Way (1964) documentary film directed by James Ivory

External links

• Template:Wikitravel
• Government of Delhi
• Municipal Corporation of Delhi
• Whereincity.com: Delhi
• New Delhi City Pedia
• Delhi Metro Map
• Photographs from around old Delhi

Template:NationalCapitalTerritory Template:Metropolitan Cities of India Template:India state and UT capitals

• Delhi
• Indian Union Territory capitals