Indra Gandhi open university

PTS-4
Study of Ancient Monuments and Cultural
Heritage Sites in Delhi
BY MIHIR HAREET
Enrollment no.-189702930
SUBMITTED TO
THE SCHOOL OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY SERVICES
MANAGEMENT, IGNOU
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR
THE AWARD OF BACHELORS DEGREE IN TOURISM
STUDIES
YEAR OF SUBMISSION-2020
 PROGRAMME CODE- BTS(BACHELOR IN TORISM STUDIES)

COURSE CODE- PTS-4

ENROLLMENT NO. – 189702930

STUDY CENTRE CODE- 07186

REGIONAL CENTRE CODE- 07

TOPIC- Study of Ancient Monuments and Cultural Heritage Sites in

Delhi

THE PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO IGNOU UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DIPLOMA IN
TOURISM STUDIES. I HEREBY DECLARE THAT THIS IS MY ORIGINAL WORK AND
HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED ELSEWHERE

Name of candidate-MIHIR HAREET

Signature-

Institute address (if any) - IIHM, B-2/70, Mohan Co-Operative Industrial

Estate, Mathura Road, Near Badarpur, Metro Station, New Delhi 110044

YEAR-2019-20
 CERTIFICATE
THE PROJECT REPORT CERTIFIED THAT ENTITLED(Study
of Ancient Monuments and Cultural Heritage
Sites in Delhi)SUBMITTED BY (MIHIR HAREET) IS
HIS/HER OWN WORK AND HAS BEEN DONE UNDER MY
SUPERVISION.

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THIS PROJECT BE PLACED

BEFORE THE EXAMINER FOR EVALUATION.

(SIGNATURE OF SUPERVISOR)
NAME-
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 INDEX
S.NO Study of Ancient Monuments and Cultural
. Heritage Sites in Delhi
1. ABSTRACT
2. INTRODUCTION
3. OBJECTIVES
4. HISTORICAL SURVEY OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS
5. Historical Ancient Monuments
6. Historical Modern Monuments
7. CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES
8. CONCLUSIONS
9. REFERENCE
ABSTRACT
The ancient historical cities and the cultural heritage sites have been
engulfed into the concrete jungle of high rise buildings in Delhi. The
different infrastructure facilities and opportunities available in Delhi
have attracted peoples from all over the country, India. At present,
Delhi is a complex agglomeration of built fabric which exists as evidence
in the form of layers of various historic time periods. Throughout the
history, the Delhi was built and rebuilt seven times on different sites
through out the history within a triangular area of about 142.20 sq.
kms. lying between the last ridge of the Aravalli Range and the River
Yamuna. So, with the fast pace of urbanisation there has been wide
spread land use changes which took place from the city centre and to
across the River Yamuna and the Northern Ridge during the 20th
Century. It has begun to blur the line of distinction between Old and
New Delhi. The high rise buildings now stand check-by-jowl with Delhi’s
1,300 historical monuments. Delhi is one of the ancient historical and
greatest cultural cities of the World. Delhi’s two monuments the Qutb
Minar and Humayun’s Tomb have been declared the World Cultural
Heritage sites. However, it is noteworthy to mention that the vertical
and horizontal expansions have adversely been affected the historical
areas as well as several cultural heritage sites particularly during the
post-independence period in Delhi. The coexistence of the past and the
present at many levels characterises Delhi, as unity in diversity in terms
of culture and historicity. Therefore, the widened role is not only to
meet the challenges of development, but also to preserve and protect
the different facets of the Delhi’s historical personality.
INTRODUCTION
Delhi has rich historicity of the ancient monuments and the cultural
heritage sites of the World. On reviewing the magnitude of ancient
historical and cultural heritage sites in Delhi, one would find that
historically it commenced with the habitation by 736 A.D. Delhi is one
of the greatest and oldest capital cities of the World. It is situated on
the west bank of the River Yamuna. It was built seven times on different
sites throughout the history (Hearn, 1974). The previous seven cities do
not exist any more, except as remanents of historical ruins of the LalKot
(10th Century), Siri (1303), Tughluqabad (1321), Jahanpanah (1327),
Firuzabad (1354), Purana-Qila (1533) and Shahjahanabad (1639). There
were many reasons for their demise range speculatively from lack of
sufficient water, to epidemics, to migrations, to poor governance and to
land encroachment etc. In addition, presently formed New Delhi (1911),
of course, is eighth one among the cities of Delhi. Moreover all the
ancient cities shifted from one site to another over a time within the
triangular area of about 142.20 sq. kms. lying between the last ridge of
the Aravalli Range and the River Yamuna to the east. From the earliest
records, it is known Indraparastha, the capital of the Pandavas of
Mahabharata. Presently, Indraparastha estate evokes the old
memories. The British built New Delhi south of Shahjahanabad, and
shifted the capital city from Kolkota (Calcutta) in 1911. The capital city
of India, after independence, has grown in size and density, therefore,
engulfing all the ancient cities, and overflowing across the River
Yamuna and the Northern Ridge. According to the urban sociologists
and historians (Mumford, 1966) all cities are “living entities”, which go
through a life-cycle as the birth, growth, consolidation, expansion,
decline, and quite often some kind of end, or state of decay, unless
they are “turned-around” and “revived” by combined human efforts.
However, the remanents and relicts of the ancient building structures
along with all the seven historical cities built during the 10th Century to
17th Century, now stands as the historical monuments in Delhi. Delhi’s
population is continuously growing and engulfing all the ancient
historical monuments and archaeologically and culturally significant
sites. Consequently, the Delhi has more layers of culture, civilisation,
history and built fabric extant in it than any other city in the World. It
cradled and nurtured seven cities, and was built and rebuilt to meet the
demands of different emperors and the people of each of those times.
It is the enthralling and enigmatic feature of this ancient modern city,
that Delhi today, is a complex agglomeration of built fabric which exists
as evidence in the form of layers of various historic time periods. These
layers can be easily distinguished on the basis of their design,
construction techniques, materials and architectural elements that add
diversity to the basic typology. These range from domes, brackets,
chhajjas, columns, plinths, finishes, etc. Therefore, the Archaeological
Survey of India has been entrusted with the preservation and
protection of known monuments, in order to protect ancient historical
monuments and the cultural heritage of Delhi, started a search for
hitherto unknown areas of historical importance.

OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of the study were as follows:
− to illustrate the historicity of existing ancient historical cities
and monuments
− to examine the impact of urbanisation on historical and
cultural heritage sites
-to suggest the suitable strategies for conservation of historical
monuments and cultural heritage sites.

HISTORICAL SURVEY OF ANCIENT

MONUMENTS
The ancient cities and historical monuments are still found
existing in different parts of the Delhi. All these historical
monuments are the remanents and relicts of the ancient seven
cities and ancient building structures in Delhi. So, these
historical monuments restoration and conservation are the
main concerning issues of the present. It is really a daunting
task to survey and gather info for all these historical
monuments. However, while keeping in view the time and
available resources, the well known ancient seven cities and
historical monuments have been taken into consideration and
are covered in the present study. Therefore, this study is
primarily concerned with the historical ancient seven cities,
historical ancient forts, historical ancient and modern
monuments along with the World’s cultural heritage sites in
Delhi.
Historical Ancient Monuments
Jama Masjid was built in 1656 by Emperor Shah Jahan is the largest and
most splendid mosque in India. With three majestic black and white
marble domes covering the prayer hall, it can seat 20,000 people. This
is one among the most important architectural gifts of the Shah Jahan
to Delhi (Fanshawe, 1902). Shah Jahan also built the World famous Taj
Mahal at Agra.

Safdarjung Tomb is situated besides the Safdarjung Airport. This tomb

was built in 1754 for the prime minister of Emperor Mohammed Shah
by the Nawab of Avadh for his father. The tomb structure itself is one of
the finest example of architecture with ornate carvings and an imposing
Mughal dome of its time and tells a saga of the last remanents of a
dying empire.

Bara-Gumbad is situated adjoining to the India International Center. It

is a square tomb. It was built during the reign of the Sikandar Lodhi
(1489-1517). The Delhi Development Authority developed a Lodhi
Garden, around the tombs of Sayid and Lodhi . This garden is very well

planned and has artificial streams. The Tombs of the rulers

adorn the architectural style as the arches and bracket-and-
lintal beams are both used as spans here.
Chandni Chowk is one of the main markets of Delhi Chandni
Chowk was once lined with beautiful fountains. But today the
place is very crowded and congested. Chandni Chowk is located
opposite the Red Fort. On one end of Chandni Chowk is the
Fatehpuri Mosque which was erected by the wives of Shah
Jahan. Opposite the Kotwali (Police Station) is the Sunheri
Masjid from where Nadir Shah ordered his troops to plunder
and massacre Delhi. Chandni Chowk is also one among the
most important architectural gifts of Shah Jahan to Delhi.
Jantar Mantar is located at a few minutes walk distance from
Connaught Circus is a strange collection of Solomon coloured
structures. This is actually an astronomical observatory which
was built by Swai Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in about 1724.
Samrat Yantra the largest structure is a gigantic sundial. The
other five instruments plot the course of the planets and
predict eclipses. The Misra-Yantra (mixed instrument) is located
to the north-west as is shown in the Figure 13. It is consisted by
the four instruments in one. These are the Niyata-Chakra,
Equinoctial Dial, Dakshinottara-bhitti-Yantra and Karka-rasi-
valaya. The instruments are built with brick rubble and
plastered with lime.

Historical Modern Monuments

India Gate is 42 metres high war memorial stone arch of
triumph as is shown in the Figure 16. It was built in honour of
90,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World War I, the
North-West Frontiers operations and the 1919 Afghan Flasco.
Below the arc is the memorial to the unknown soldiers where it
burns the Amar Jawan Joyti, the eternal flame in tribute to all
martyred soldiers of India. India Gate is surrounded by green
grass lawns and trees.
Rashatrapati Bhavan, as is shown in Figure 17 was designed by
Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Backer (Spear, 1945). It is the
official residence of the President of India. It is an imposing
structure with 340 rooms, constructed high up on Raisna Hill.
On its either side, are the impressive office buildings as the
North Block and South Block. The Moghul garden is located in
the premises of the President House. During the spring seasons
of February and March, the garden is in full bloom. This garden
has some exotic and rare flower plants. The dwarf orange trees
and numerous rose plants are special attraction in the garden.
The fountains add to the beauty of the palace.

CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

SITES
Due to fast urban sprawls and land use changes, most of the
cultural heritage sites are almost endangered by such changes
in Delhi. The land-environment is under stress due to the fast
pace of urbanisation. Delhi, however, is known as one of the
most fascinating modern city with the World renowned ancient
architectural and cultural heritage sites. For instance, the Qutb
Minar and Humayun’s Tomb have been declared the World
Cultural Heritage sites in Delhi. Likewise large portions have
been well earmarked as archeological sites. Because the rulers
of successive dynasties between 10th and 17th Centuries
established seven cities in different parts of Delhi. It serves as a
perfect introduction to the cultural wealth, the complexities
and the dynamism of India. However, the two most important
government organisations, the Archeological Survey of India
(ASI) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) have taken
initiatives in the direction to restore and conserve the historical
ancient cities and monuments of Delhi.

CONCLUSIONS
Delhi is one of the most historic capitals in the World. Delhi was
built and rebuilt seven times on different sites throughout the
history. There are two historical monuments as the Qutb Minar
and Humayun’s Tomb which have been declared the World
Cultural Heritage Sites in Delhi. It is also one of the greenest
capitals of the country. For the visitors, it serves as a perfect
introduction to the cultural wealth, the complexities and
dynamism of India. The fast pace of urbanisation has engulfed
all the ancient seven cities and the several historical
monuments and then overflows across the River Yamuna and
the Northern Ridge. Sustainable urban development is the most
important concern of the present for conservation of the
historical monuments in Delhi. In lieu of this, there is a need of
an integrated spatial information system and a relevant
historical monuments and cultural heritage sites database
creation in order to effectively implement plans and policies of
restoration and conservation of the archaeological significant
sites. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has been playing
an important role in the restoration and preservation of the
number of historical monuments in Delhi. Whereas the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) involved in evacuation of
historical monuments is an important milestone in the
restoration process and their historical database generation,
based on which sound decisions can be made for conservation
of the Delhi’s crowning ancient glory.

REFERENCES
1. Bradford, Michael (2003) “Regenerating the city and the
discipline”, Geography: An International Journal, Vol. 88
2. Breese, Gerald (1978) Urbanisation in Newly Developing
Countries, New Delhi, PrenticeHall of India Pvt. Ltd.
3. Census, India (2001) Provisional Population Totals – Delhi,
Paper 2 of 2001, Series-8, Rural-Urban Distribution of
Population, Registrar General of India, New Delhi.
4. Mohan, Madan (2003) “GIS-Based Integrated Approach for
Monitoring and Modeling of Hyper-Urbanisation for
Sustainable Development in Delhi”, in 2nd FIG Regional
Conference Proceedings, Marrakech, Morocco.
5. Sharma, Y.D. (2001) Delhi and its Neighborhood, New
Delhi, Archaeological Survey of India.
6. Wirth, L. (1938) “Urbanisation as a way of life”, American
Journal of Sociology, Vol. 44.