IJUPKAR'S DELHI GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (With Latest Facts & Data) By Dr. C.L. Khanna Revised and Enlarged Edition UPKAR PRAKASHAN, AGRA-2 Scanned with CamScannerIntroducing Direct Shopping ‘Now you can purchase from our vast range of books and magazines al your convenic Card/Debit Card or Net Banking facility on ou y.upkar.in OR : ny on our ne Send Money Order/Demand Draft of the print price of ipook favouring Ua Prakash payable af Aga In cae roa Goonot know the price of the book, please. send. Money Order/Demand Draft of€ 100/- and we will end the books by Ger (Cash on delivery). 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Phone : 0522-4109080 ‘Mob. : 7060421008 Phone : 033-25551510 1461, Juni Shukrawari, Sakkardara_ 30-31, Jinsi Haat Maidan, Road, Near Baba Ramdev Mandir, ‘Opp. Hanuman Mandir, Malharganj, Nagpur—440 009 Indore—452 002 (MP) Mob. : 9370877776 Phone : 9203908088 © The publishers have taken ll posite prection in pubishing is book er Fans make crept tn, the publishers shall not be responsible forthe same © This book or any part shereof may wot he repradced in any form b trany other method, for any use, witout writen permission fm © Only the courts at Agra shal! have the Jurado fr any esa ote ono graphic, Mecano he Publishers ISBN : 978-03-5013-141-1 Code No. 308 ‘Printed at s UPKAR PRARASHAN IIT amy) DAUR ted at UPI Ht UPKAR PRAKASHAN (Printing Unit) Bye-pass, AGRA Vcr — Scanned with CamScannerContents Delhi: Ata Glance sue History Ata Glance. = Climate Ancient HiStOry smn — Delhi Ridge Pandavas and the Harappan Culture (before — Geological features. 300 BC) . Selenite = Indraprastha = Forest Cover — Mauryan Empire (300 BCE to Ist Century AD) 5 ‘Tomuars & Chaubane 10. Polity and Administration (736-1192 AD) .. Medieval History smn — The Dethi Sultanate — (1206-1526). = Initiatives for Improving — Moghal Era (1526-1857 AD) .. Governance nue Modern History mm = Lt. Governors of Delhi ‘ational Movement and Delhi. — Landmarks of India's Freedom Struggle in Delhi jous Major Establishments.. Khandayprastha and Indraprastha (Indrapatta)2L. — Dhillika/Dilli/Daidala/Dhillipura/ Yoginipura22.. — LalKot : Qila-Rai Pithora — Physiography 5 = 3 SexRato. — Killa Ghathi (Kitokri pice opus be = Rural Population — Tughlagabad .. 23 7 a is = Jahanpanah 24 —_Sociorreligious Composition Ferozaba 24 12. Employment and Unemployment nme 37-39 = Khizrabad .. 24 = Composition of Employment. — Mubarakabad 25 — Growth of Organised and = Dinpanah .. 25 ‘Unorganised Employment = Dilli Sher Shat 25 = Unemployment Scenario in Deli... — Shahjahanabad . 25 36 13+ Migration Level wvironmental Concerns. 27 = AirPollution .. 27 —_ Water Pollution... = Noise Pollution. = Waste Management .. 29 — Biomedical Waste = Industrial Hazardous Waste = Blectronie Waste — New Dethi (Lutyen's Delhi) Arts & Culture of Delhi — Ants and Crafts — Fairs — Festivals Geography. = General Characteristics .. = Physical Features. Hydrology snus Scanned with CamScanner i TERNoe 16, ENergy soornennee 17, Industrial Development. 18, Transport... 19, Education senses — Rain Water Harvesting — Climate Change Mitigation Measures. — Other Measures = Forest Cover. Agriculture & Rural Development — Land Use Pattern in Delhi — Crop Intensity — Cropping Pattern —_Inigation in Delhi — Rural Development — The Literacy Rate — Elementary Education: Salient Features .. 59 — Education for Children wit (CWSN) — The Higher Education Scenario — Special Features of Primary and Upper Primary Schools in Delhi, DISE 2010-11 ao 5 Investment on Education as Rati Investment on Education Rao t Agere 20. Health a 21. Vulnerable Group: = Sueet Children and Child Labourers — The Elderly. — The Differently-Abled — Gender Equality . 22, Social Security 23, Places of Interest smn Tess 24, Highlights Budget 9 © Objective Questions mimnmmmnnnnnnendI-56 th Special Nee, ee Scanned with CamScannerGENERAL KNOWLEDGE Scanned with CamScannerDelhi : At a Glance Formation : Ist November, 1956 ‘Area sq. KM. : 1483 sq km Districts : n Sub-divisions : 3 Bordered by : Haryana in the east and by Uttar Pradesh across the river Yamuna Share of Delhi's Population : 139 per cent in All In Share of Delhi's geographical area in All India : About 0:05 per cent Annual rate of growth of population : 2-09 per cent per annum Density (Per Sq. km) : 11320 Total Population (Census 2011) : Persons : 1,67, 87,941 Mal 89, 87,326 Female : 78, 00,615 Rural 419,042 (250%) Urban: 16,368,899 (97-50%) Population Growth Rate (2001-11) : 21-21 per cent Male: 181% Female: 249% ‘Sex Ratio (per 1000 Males) : 868 Child Population 0-6 Years : ‘Total Child Population : 2,012,454 Percentage of Child Population : 12% Sex Ratio : 868 Child Sex Ratio : 87 SC Population : Persons 28, 12,309 (16-75%) Male: 14,88,800 Female : 13,23,509 0-6 age population : Pervons ; 20, 12,454 Mate: 10, 75,440 Female ; 9, 37,014 a : Literacy Rate (%) Persons : 8621 Literacy Rate (%) Males : 90:94 Literacy Rate (%) Female : 8085 Literacy Rate (%) Rural : 819 Literacy Rate (%) Urban : 863 Total Work Participation Rate (WPR) : 333% Rural WPR : 311% 333% 529% 10-58% Main Workers : 94:99% (Working For Six Months or More, As percentage of total workers): Marginal Workers : 501% (Working For Less Than Six Months, ‘As Percentage of total Workers : Categories of Workers Cultivators : 060% Agricultural Labour : 071% Household Industry : 325% Other Workers : 95-44% District Wise Population : North West : 21-78% North: 5.29% North East 13535% Eas 10-18% New Delhi: 085% Central 347% West : 15-15% ‘South Wes 13-66% South: 1627% Subdivision Wise Population Highest: Saraswati Vihar (North West) 2,250,816 Lowest : Connaught Place (New Delhi) 28, 228 Percentage of Child Population (0-6) Highest : Seelampurl40% Scanned with CamScanner4 | Delhi GK. Lowest : Parliament SYConnaught Place 8-4% Subdivision Wise Literacy Rates Highest : Karol Bagh (91-1%) Lowest : Narela (81-4%) Birth Rate (per 1000), 2015 : 20-50 Death Rate (per 1000), 2015 : 682 Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000), 2015 : 23 Maternal Mortality Rate (per 1000), 2012: 1-04 Average life expectancy for males’: 71 years Average life expectancy for females: 748 years Growth in urban area (2001-2011) : 20-44 per cent ‘Number of villages (2011) : 2 Number of urbanized villages (2011) : 135 ‘Number of census towns (2011) : M0 ‘Total no. of live stock in Delhi (As per census 2012) : 360397 Total Installed power Generation ‘capacity (As on 30.09.2018) Total consumption of electricity 1983-2 MW (2017-18) : 31874 milion Pet-Capita Consumption of Electricity ‘ (2016-17) 1561 ta No. of registered Factories (2017): 03 Primary School (2017-18) ny Pre-Primary + Middle Schools (2017-18) Secondary Schools (2017-18) am Senior Secondary Schools (2017-18) ie Total se ‘Total no. of police stations in Delhi (As on Jan. 2019) : m No. of parliamentary constituencies : 1 No. of constituencies of the Delhi Vidhan Sabha: 1 The first Chief Minister of Delhi: First Woman CM : First Lieutenant Governors ‘A. Jha (7th Nov. 1966-19th Jan. 97) House Spams Ch. Braham Prakash (NO) Sushma Swarg of State Bird : _ Medieval History The Delhi Sultanate (1 206-1526) The Background of Delhi Sultanate Invasion (712 AD) : Mol India in 712 AD and conquered Sindh which became the province of Omayyad Khilafat, © First Turk Invasion-Mahmud Ghaznavi' (998-1030 AD) : Sultan Mahmud of Gh; 17 expeditions to India to enrich him: away the wealth from India. In 1025 hy ‘aided the most celebrated Hindu temple of Somnath that lies on the coast in the extreme south of Kathiwar, The temple was destroyed in 1026 AD, ® Second Turk Invasion-Mohammad Ghori's Invasion (1175-1206 AD) : Mohammad Ghori invaded India and laid the foundation of the Muslim domin: He may be considered the founder of India. © Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the ‘Tomara Rajputs, who were defeated in the middle of the twelfth century by the Chauhans (also referred to as s) of Ajmer. © Iwas under the Tomaras and Chauhans that Delhi an important commercial centre. * Many rich Jaina merchants lived in the city and constructed several temples. Coins minted here, called ‘dchliwal , had a circulation, © The transformation of Delhi into a capital that Controlled vast areas of the subcontinent started with the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in the beginning ofthe thineenth century, © The Delhi Sultans built many cities in the area that we ‘how know as Delhi, The rulers of Delhi Rajput Dynasties © Tomaras © Ananga Pala © =Chauhans © Prithviraj Chauhan 's Invasion azni led about self by taking 1 attacked and ation in India, ‘muslim rule in ‘carly twelfth century-1165 1130-1145 1165-1192 1175-1192 Early Turkish Rulers RoE RH © Quibuddin Aybak 1206139 © Shamsuddin Itutmish Roary, © Raziyya 1236-129) © Ghiyasuddin Balban 126.125 | The Khiljis Dynasty 90.4199 © Jalauddin Khalj 150.1355 © Alauddin Khaji 1296.136 | Tughlug Dynasty 1320444 © Ghiyasuddin Tughlug 120.8 | © Muhammad Tughtug 128 | © Firoz Shah Tughluq 1351-88 | The Sayyid Dynasty 14141480 | © KhizrKhan 1414.12 | Lodi Dynasty 1451-1586 © Bahlol Lodi Jasin] © Although inscriptions, coins and. architecture provided lot of information, especially valuable are “historic” tarikh (singular) /tawarikh (plural), written in er the language of .dministration under the Sultans. © The authors of tawarikh were leaned menses administrators, poets and courtiers, who! athe ‘events and advised rulers on governance, emphiss#° the importance of just rule. ps © The authors of tawarikh lived in cities oe any and hardly ever in villages. They often vids histories for Sultans in the hope of rich rew: on, ‘© These authors advised rulers on the need hn ‘a an “ideal” social order based on bist gender distinctions, Their ideas were no! everybody, it © Mohammad Gauri invaded Dethi and Pt” ‘Chauhan was defeated and killed in the Mohammad Gauri, ant bn © Mohammad Gauri returned to his hoo = ain" over the reign of Delhi to a slave, Qui as Viceroy. ihvi Rab Scanned with CamScanner‘Qutb-ud-lin started the construction of Qutab Minar in 1200 AD, but could not complete it. His son-in-law, Itumish, could complete it during 1211-1236 AD. Sultana Razia, the daughter of IItumish, ruled Delhi during 1236-1240 AD. Balban, the next ruler of Slave Dynasty (1265-1287 AD), shifted Delhi, the capital of his Kingdom, from Mehrauli to Kilokheri, Jalal-ud-din Khiljitook over the reign of Delhi by 1290 AD by making an end of Slave Dynasty. Ghiyas-ud-din (1320-1325 AD) conquered Delhi. He shifted his capital to the Rocky Hills near Badarpur opposite the site of Suraj Kund, ‘Mohammad-bin-Tuglaq conspired and killed Ghiyas- ud-din and ruled Delhi during 1325-1351 AD. He shifted capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and again shifted back his capital to Tuglakabad. Fire Tughlag succeeded Mohammad-bin-Tuglag (1351- 1388 AD). He established a new capital city Firzabad, ‘now called Firz Shah Kotla, ‘The last King of Tuglag Dynasty, Mohammad Tughlaq, ruled Delhi upto 1413 AD. ‘The worst period was from 1398-1414, right after the attack of Tamerlane (Taimur Lung), which ended the Tughlaq Dynasty and pushed Delhi into a state of Chaos. ‘There was no administration for 16 years and the law- order was in hands of locals. Then, Daulat Khan Lodhi tried to restore law and order in Delhi. ‘Thereafter, Daulat Khan was nominated to the throne of Delhi, but he declined. But before he could establish his administration properly, he was overthrown by Khizr Khan, who ruled under the name of Taimur and called himself a mere tax collector appointed by Taimur. Khizr Khan, the Governor of the Punjab, took over. ‘The Sayyed Dynasty rule came to an end by 1450 AD. Bahlol Lodhi, the Governor of Punjab, took over the reign of Delhi by staging a coup and laid the foundation ‘of Lodhi Dynasty. _Abrahim Lodhi was the last ruler of Lodhi Dynasty during 1517-1526 AD. Zahit-ud-din Mohammud Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat in 1526 AD and took ‘ver the reign of Delhi on 24th April, 1526. ‘The sayyad dynasty was again averthrown by Lodhi dynasty in 1451, when Bablal Lodhi took over. Delhi G.K. | 1 {In 1526, Ibrahim Lodhi was defeated by Zaheeruddin ‘Mohammad Babur and the Sultanate Period was now tumed into Mughal Era. ‘The chronicler of the age, Minhaj-i Siraj, recognised that she was more able and qualified than all her brothers. But he was not comfortable at having a queen as nuler. Nor were the nobles happy at her attempts to rule independently. She was removed from the throne in 1240, In the early thirteenth century the control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrisons. The Sultans seldom controlled the hinterland of the cities and were therefore dependent upon trade, tribute or plunder for supplies. Controlling garrison towns in distant Bengal and Sind from Delhi was extremely difficult. Rebellion, war, ‘even bad weather could snap fragile communication routes. ‘The state was also challenged by Mongol invasions from Afghanistan and by governors who rebelled at any sign of the Sultan's weakness. ‘The first set of campaigns along the “internal frontier” of the Sultanate aimed at consolidating the hinterlands of the garrison towns. During these campaigns forests were cleared the Ganga-Yamuna doab and hunter-gatherers and ‘pastoralists expelled from their habit ‘These lands were given to peasants and agriculture was encouraged. New fortresses and towns were established to protect trade routes and to promote regional trade. ‘The second expansion occurred along the “external frontier” of the Sultanate. Military expeditions into southern India started during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and culminated with Mohammad Tughlug. In their campaigns, Sultanate armies captured elephants, horses and slaves and carried away precious metals. By the end of Mohammad Tughlug'’s reign, 150 years after somewhat humble beginnings, the armies of the Dethi Sultanate had marched across a large part of the subcontinent, They had defeated rival armies and seized cities. The Sultanate collected taxes from the peasantry and dispensed justice in its realm, Quwwat al-Islam mosque and minaret built during the last decade of the twelfth century. This was the congregational mosque of the first city built by the Delhi Sultans, described in the chronicles as Debli-l Kuna (the old city). ‘The mosque was enlarged by Itutmish and Alauddin Khali The mina was built by three Sultans~Quibuaddin Aybak, ttutmish and Firoz Shah Tughtug, Scanned with CamScanner12 | Delhi GK. f¢- Begumpuri mosque, built in the reign of Mohammad Tughlug, was the main mosque of Jahanpanah, the “Sanctuary of the World”, and his new capital in Delhi. ‘Moth ki Masjid, built in the reign of Sikandar Lodhi by his minister. ‘Mosque of Jamali Kamali, built in the late 1520s. The consolidation of a kingdom as vast as the Delhi Sultanate needed reliable governors and administrators, Rather than appointing aristocrats and landed chieftains as governors, the early Delhi Sultans, especially Iirutmish, favoured their special slaves purchased for military service, called bandagan in Persian. They were carefully trained to man some of the most important political offices in the kingdom. Since they were totally dependent upon their master, the Sultan could trust and rely upon them. The Khaljis and Tughlugs continued to use bandagan and also raised people of humble birth, who were often ‘heir clients to high political positions. They were appointed as generals and governors. However, this also introduced an element of political Slaves and clients were loyal to their masters and patrons, but not to their heirs. ‘New Sultans had their own servants. As a result the ‘accession of anew monarch often saw conflict between the old and the new nobility. The patronage of these humble people by the Del ‘Sultans also shocked many elites and the authors of Persian tawarikh criticised the Delhi Sultans for appointing the “low and base-born” to high offices. Sultan Mohammad Tughlug appointed Aziz Khummar, ‘a wine distil, Firoz Hajjam, a barber, Mank a Tabbakh, cook, and two gardeners, Ladha and Pira, to high adminiswative posts. Ziyauddin Barani, a mid fourteenth- céstury-chronicler, teported their appointments as a sign of the Sultan's {oss of political judgement and his incapacity to rule. Like the earlier Sultans, the Khalji and Tughlug ‘monarchs appointed military commanders as governors -of territories of varying sizes. ‘These lands were called iqta and their holder was called igladar oF mugt. : ‘The duty of the mugtis was to lead military campaigns ‘and maintain Jaw and order in their igus. Jn exchange for their military services, the muqtis collected the revenues of their assigninents as salary. ‘They also paid their soldiers from these reven >| Control over muqtis was most effective if ti, was not inheritable and if they were assgnediga a short period of time before being shied." These harsh conditions of service were rig i - ns imposed during the reigns of Alauddin Khai oo ‘Muhammad Tughlug. ‘Accountants were appointed by the state toch amount of revenue collected by the mugis, Care was taken that the mugti collected only tes prescribed by the state and that he kept the requ number of soldiers ‘As the Delhi Sultans brought the hinterland oft ces under their control, they forced the landed chieftains ~ the samanta aristocrats — and rich landlords tose their authority. Under Alauddin Khalji the state brought the assesment and collection of land revenue under its own conta, The rights of the local chieftains to levy taxes wee cancelled and they were also forced to pay taxes. ‘The Sultan's administrators measured the land andlept careful accounts. Some of the old chieftains and landlords served te Sultanate as revenue collectors and assessor. There were three types of taxes — (1) on cultivation called kharaj and amounting to about $0 per cent ofthe peasants produce, (2) on cattle and (3) on houses It is important to remember that large parts of he subcontinent remained outside the control ofthe Delhi Sultans. It was difficult to control distant provinces ike Bengal from Delhi and soon after annexing souter India, the entire region became independent Even inthe Gangetic plain there were forestedaress Sultanate forces could not penetrate. Local chiefais established their rule in these regions. Sometimes rulers like Alauddin Khali Tughlug could force their control in t only fora short duration. Ibn Battuta, 2 fourteenth-century wavelet fom Morocco, explained that chieftains sometimes TT oy themselves in mountains, in rocky, uneven places as wel as in bamboo 8° several In India the bamboo is not hollow: 18 PS ery parts are so intertwined that even te and they are on the whole ¥e S8 rests which serve | them as SS ee vireatle ‘and their crops ‘and Mohammad hese areas, bul re cannot tampa, inside which ate Be a ‘Thee is also water forthe thin Ht which collects there, Hence ho entering thes except by powerful armies: “ 9 ily pe forests, cut dawn the bamboos 8! instruments — | Scanned with CamScanner‘The Mongols under Changez Khan invaded Transoxiana innorth-cast Iran in 1219 and the Delhi Sultanate faced their onslaught soon after. ‘Mongol attacks on the Delhi Sultanate increased during, the reign of Alauddin Khalji and in the eatly years of ‘Mohammad Tughlug’s rule, ‘This forced the two rulers to mobilise a large standing army in Delhi which posed a huge administrative challenge. Delhi was atacked twice, in 1299/1300 and 1302-03. ‘Asa defensive measure, Alauddin Khalji raised a large standing army. Alauddin constructed a new garrison town named Siti for his soldiers. ‘The soldiers had to be fed. This was done through the produce collected as tax from lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. ‘Tax was fixed at $0 per cent of the peasant’s yield. ‘The soldiers had to be paid. Alauddin choose to pay his soldiers salaries in cash rather than iqtas. The soldiers would buy their supplies from merchants in Delhi and it was thus feared that merchants would raise thei prices. To stop this, Alauddin controlled the prices of goods in Delhi. Prices were carefully surveyed by officers and ‘merchants who did not sell atthe prescribed rates were punished. Alauddin’s administrative measures were quite successful and chroniclers praised his reign for its cheap prices and efficient supplies of goods in the market. He successfully withstood the threat of Mongol invasions. The Sultanate was attacked in the early years of Mohammad Tughluq’s reign. The Mongol army was defeated. Rather than constructing a new garrison town, the oldest of the four cities of Dethi (Debli-i-Kuhna) was emptied Of its residents and the soldiers garrisoned there. ‘The residents ofthe old city were sentto the new capital of Daulatabad in the south, Mohammad Tughlug also paid his soldiers.cash salaries. Bur instead of controlling prices, he used a “token” ‘currency, somewhat like present-day paper currency, bbut made out of cheap metals, not gold and silver, People in the fourteenth century did not trust these coins, They were very smart they saved their gold and tilver coins and paid all their taxes to the state with this token currency. This cheap currency could also be ‘counterfeited easily. Mohammad Tughlug’s administrative measures were a failure, Delhi GK. | 13 © Hiscampaign into Kashmir was adisaster. He then gave up his plans to invade ‘Transoxiana and disbanded his large army. © ‘The shifting of people to Daulatabad was resented. The raising of taxes and famine in the Ganga-Yamuna belt Jed to widespread rebellion. And finally, the “token” currency had to be recalled. © After the Tughlugs, the Sayyid and Lodhi dynasties ruled from Delhi and Agra until 1526. © By then, Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan ‘and the entire south India had independent rulers who established flourishing states and prosperous capitals. © This was also the period which saw the emergence of new ruling groups like the Afghans and the Rajputs. © Some of the states established in this period were small, but powerful and extremely well administered. © Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545) started his career as the ‘manager of a small territory for his uncle in Bihar and ‘eventually challenged and defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun (1530-1540, 1555-1556). © Sher Shah captured Delhi and established his own dynasty. © Although the Suri dynasty ruled for only fifteen years (1540-1555), it introduced an administration that borrowed elements from Alauddin Khalji and made them more efficient. ‘© Sher Shah’s administration became the model followed by the great emperor Akbar (1556-1605) when he consolidated the Mughal Empire. ‘Mughal Era (1526 - 1857 AD) © The Mughals were descendants of two great lineages of rulers. © From their mother’s side they were descendants of Genghis Khan (died 1227), ruler of the Mongol tribes, China and Central Asia, © From their father’s side they were the successors of Timur (died 1404), the ruler of Iran, Iraq and modern- day Turkey. (© However, the Mughals did not like tobe called Mughal ‘or Mongol. This was because Genghis Khan's memory ‘was associated with the massacre of innumerable people. © It was also linked with the Uzbegs, their Mongol competitors. © On the other hand, the Mughals were proud of theie Timurid ancestry, not least of all because their great ancestor had captured Delhi in 1398, © The Mughal Dynasty ruled Delhi for the maximum longest period except the period of 1540-1855 AD when Sher Shah Suri took aver the reign of Delhi from Humayun, Scanned with CamScannereS 14 | Delhi GK. ‘eThe Mughal/Timurid Dynasty by Babur. fe From the later half of the sixteenth cently they ‘expanded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi until in the seventeenth century they ‘controlled nearly the entire subcontinent. fe Babur, the first Mughal emperor (1526-1530), succeeded tothe throne of Ferghana in 1494 when fe was only 12 years old. He was foreed to leave his neestra throne due tothe invasion of another Mongol group, the Uzbegs. fe After years of wandering he seized Kabul in 1504. In 1526 he defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodhi, at Panipat and captured Delhi and Agra. ‘© His son ruled the throne for a decade before Babur's general Sher Shah Suri took over and forced Humayun {nto-an exile. (© Sher Shah started the Suri dynasty and established the city of Dili Sher Shahi ‘© The citadel of this city was Shergarh, which is now known as Old Fort of Delhi. ‘© This dynasty saw seven rulers from Sher Shah Suri to ‘Adil Shah Suri and ruled north India from 1540to 1556 AD. © 1n1556,as Humayun's forces defeated Sur's forces, Adil Shah's general Hemu assumed the throne of Delhi and styled himself as Samrat Hemchandra Vikramaditya. © Heestablsbed the Hindu rule on lines of the Vijayanagar Empire of south, but his ambitous efforts lasted only for 30 days. ‘© Within 1 month of his crowning, Bairam Khan, the ‘general leading Akbar’s forces beheaded Hemu and proclaimed Akbar (then Jalaluddin) as ‘Ghazi. ‘© ‘Humayun took back the crown but lost his life from fe sas of Sher Mandal in Shergarh (Fort) within 1 © His son, Jalaluddin (Akbar) became emperor and started ruling from Agra. ‘© Asaf Khan was appointed the governor of Delhi and ‘who continued to govern from Lahore, © Akbar shifted the capital of his Ki i ees {Red the capital of his Kingdom from Delhi © Abul Fazal wrote ; beet st es chee Kis) Abr (© The first volume dealt with Akbar's ancestors, . jon second volume recorded the events of Akbar’s © The third volume is the Ain-e- deme ans and geography of his empire: It also provides rich details about the traditior eek and culture of the people was introduced in India © In Akbar’s reign these jagirs were © The main source of income availa ‘© ‘Shahjshan shifted back the capital © The most interesting aspect about the is its rich statistical details about tinge 2% crops, yields, prices, wages and revenue @ Abul Fazal explained that the em : ; ni into provinces called subas, governed by ayy. carried out both politcal and military fg province also had a financial office orgy ‘© Forthe maintenance of peace and orderinti the subadar was supported by other offer the military paymaster (Bakhshi), the misye charge of religious and charitable patronize i military commanders (Faujdars) and the tay, Gommander (Kotwal). The mother of laugees Kachhwaha princess, daughter ofthe Rajput ‘Amber (modern day Jaipur). © The mother of Shah Jahan was 2 Retoepiae daughter ofthe Rajput ruler of Marwar ods, ‘© The term mansabdar refers to an individual winks ‘amansab, meaning a position or rank, Itwasagné system used by the Mughals to fx (I) rank, Q)sit nd (3) military responsibilities. © Rank and salary were determined by a mumerial called zat. © The mansabdar’s military responsibilities rt him to maintain a specified number of 4! cavalrymen. © Mansabdars received their salaries assignments called jagirs which were som*™ igtas. © But unlike mutis, most mansabdars did fel reside in or administer thei apis. Thes om tothe revenue of their assignments which WS", for them by their servants while the ™ themselves served in some other pat of cared sgl t0! it ss as ret so that their revenues were rougly € of the mansabdar. fe 101 rc was tax on the produce ofthe peasami gs © Akbar's revenue minister, Todar Mal. cnn careful survey of erop yields, prices md! for a ten-year period, 1570-1580, 0" data tax was fixed on each crop 8" oh cit Each province was divided into reve Ca? its own schedule of revenue rates for ‘This revenue system was known ss 20 yt {© Mehninnis marie the Emperor 8h! received the title Nur Jahan. vit petit ‘quilt construction of Shahjahanabac La! _—d Scanned with CamScanner© Aurangzeb ascended the throne and ruled Delhi for ‘the maximum period of 50 years between 1658-1707 AD. © Afier Aurangzeb, the Mughal Dynasty could not provide any strong and capable ruler to Delhi © As the Mughal empire was moving towards decline, the emperor's powers were reduced to that of a titular king and more power was in hands of provinces like Oudh, Hyderabad and Rajputana. Delhi GK. | 15 During this period, the British penetrated the royal court and sometime later, the mutiny of 1857 broke out, which, ‘became the first war of independence of India ‘This was the changing point of Indian history and Delhi ‘was one of the most affected cities due to this war. Bahadur Shah Zafar was arrested and exiled to Burma. ‘Mughal Dynasty was dissolved forever. Scanned with CamScanner© Modern History ‘After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, many Mughal governors (Subadars) and big Zamindars began asserting their authority and establishing regional kingdoms. As powerful regional kingdoms emerged in various parts of India, Dethi could no longer function as an effective centre, In 1737, Maratha forces sacked Delhi, following their victory against the Mughals inthe First Battle of Delhi, In 1739, a weakened Mughal Empire lost the Battle of Kamal, following which the victorious forces of Nader ‘Shah invaded and looted Delhi, carrying away many treasures, including the Peacock Throne. ‘A treaty signed in 1752 made Marathas the protector of the Mughal throne at Delhi. 1n January 1757, Abdali invaded Delhi. He retumed to Afghanistan in April 1757 giving the control of Delhi to Najib-ud-Daula. However, Marathas occupied Delhi after defeating Najib ina siege of the city, In 1761, the Marathas lost Delhi as a consequence of the third batle of Panipat, the city was again raided by Abdali. In early 1771, ten years after the collapse of Maratha supremacy in north India in the Third Battle of Panipat, ‘Marathas under Mahadji Shinde recaptured Delhi and ‘estored the Mughal king Shah Alam Il as a titular head to the throne in 172. In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Battle of Delhi, ending the Maratha rule over the city. Lord Lake led the British Army and defeated the Marathas in a battle fought near Humayun Tomb. Dethi passed into the direct control of British Government in 1857 after the First War of Indian Independence, The city received significant damage during the 1857 siege. Early on 11 May, the first parties of the 3rd Cavalry reached Delhi, From beneath the windows of the ‘King’s apartments in the palace, they called on him to acknowledge and lead them, Bahadur Shah did nothing at this point, apparently treating the sepoys as ordinary petitioners, but others in the palace were quick to join the revolt. During the day, the revolt spread. Guijars from Chandrawal, led by Chaudhry Daya Ram, destroyed the house of Chief Magistrate Theophilus Metcalfe. European officials and dependents, Indian Christians and shop keepers within the city were killed, some by sepoys and others by crowds of rioters. ‘There were three battalions of Bengal Native Infantry stationed in or near the city. Some detachments quickly joined the rebellion, while others held back, but also refused to obey orders to take action against the rebels In the afternoon, a violent explosion in the city was heard for several miles. Fearing that the arsenal, which contained large stocks of arms and ammunition, would fll intact into rebel hands, the nine British Ordnance officers there had opened fre ‘on the sepoys, including the men of their own guard. When resistance appeared hopeless, they blew up the arsenal. Although six of the nine officers survived, the blast killed many in the streets and nearby houses and other buildings. The news of these events finally tipped the sepoys stationed around Delhi into open rebellion. ‘The sepoys were later able to salvage at least some arms from the arsenal and a magazine two miles (3 km) outside Dethi, containing up to 3,000 barrels of gunpowder, was captured without resistance. Many fugitive European officers and civilians had congregated at the Flagstaff Tower on the ridge north of Delhi, where telegraph operators were sending ne™s of the events to other British stations, When it became clear that the help expected fo Meerut was not coming, they made their way carriages to Kamal, ‘Those who became separated from the main boty °* ‘who could not reach the Flagstaff Tower also set for Kamal on foot. Some were helped by villages °* the way, others were killed, “ ‘The next day, Bahadur Shah held his first formal for many years. Scanned with CamScanner# It was attended by many excited of unruly sepoys, ‘The King was alarmed by the tum events had taken, but eventually accepted the sepoys' allegiance and agreed to give his countenance to the rebellion, On 16 May, up to 50 Europeans who had been held prisoner in the palace or had been discovered hiding in the city were said to have been killed by some of the King's servants under a peepal tree in a courtyard outside the palace. ¢ The news of the events at Delhi’ spread rapidly, provoking uprisings among sepoys and disturbances in ‘many districts, In many cases, it was the behaviour of British military and civilian authorities. themselves ‘hich precipitated disorder. Learning ofthe fall of Delhi by telegraph, many Company administrators hastened to remove themselves, thet families and servants to places of safety. At Agra, 160 miles (260 km) from Delhi, no less than 6,000 assorted non-combatants converged on the Fort. The haste with which many civilians left their posts encouraged rebellions in the areas they left, although others remained at their posts until it was clearly impossible to maintain any sort of order. Several were murdered by rebels or lawless gangs. The military authorities also reacted in disjointed manner. Some officers trusted their sepoys, but others tried o disarm them to forestall potential uprisings. At Benares and Allahabad, the disarmings were bungled, also leading to local revolts. © Although rebellion became widespread, there was little unity among the rebels. While Bahadur Shah Zafar was restored to the imperial throne there was afaction that Wanted the Maratha rulers to be enthroned also and the ‘Awadhis wanted to retain the powers that their Nawab Used to have. * There were calls for jihad by Muslim leaders like Maulana Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi and the millenarian ‘Ahmedullah Shah, which were taken up by Mustims, panicularly artisans, which caused the British to think that the Muslims were the main force behind this event, ‘The Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, resisted these ‘alls for jihad because, it has been suggested, he feared outbreaks of communal violence. In Awadh, Sunni Muslims did not want to see a return to Shiite rule, so they often refused to join what they perceived to be a Shia rebellion. However, some Muslims like the Aga, Khan supported the British. The British rewarded him by formally recognising his title. Although most of the rebellious sepoys in Delhi Were Hindus, a significant proportion of the insurgents Were Muslims. The proportion of ghazis grew to be ‘about a quarter of the local fighting force by the end f the siege, and included a regiment of suicide ghazis from Gwalior who had vowed never to eat again and to Delhi G.K. | 17 fight until they met certain death at the hands of British troops. In Thana Bhawan, the Sunnis declared Haji lmdadullah their Ameer. In May 1857 the Battle of Shami took place between the forces of Haji Imdadullah and the British. ‘The Sikhs and Pathans of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province supported the British and helped in the recapture of Delhi. Historian John Harris has asserted that the Sikhs wanted to avenge the annexation of the Sikh Empire eight years earlier by the Company with the help of Purabias (‘Eastemers'); Biharis and those from the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh who had formed part ofthe East India Company's armies in the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars. He has also suggested that Sikhs felt insulted by the attitude of sepoys who in their view had only beaten the Khalsa with British help; they resented and despised them far more than they did the British. ‘The Sikhs feared reinstatement of Mughal rule in North, India because they had been persecuted heavily in the past by the Mughal dynasty. Hugh, Sikh support for the British resulted from grievances surrounding Sepoys' perceived conduct during and after the Anglo-Sikh Wars. Firstly, many Sikhs resented that Hindustanis in service of the Sikh state had been foremostin urging the wars which lost them their independence. Sikh soldiers also recalled that the bloodiest battles of the war, Chillianwala and Ferozeshah, were won by British troops, and they believed that the Hindustani sepoy’ had refused to meet them in battle. These feelings were compounded when Hindustani Sepoys were assigned a very visible role as garrison troops in Punjab and awarded profit-making civil posts in Punjab. In 1857, the Bengal Army had 86,000 men of which 12,000 were European, 16,000 Sikh and 1,500 Gurkha soldiers, out of a total of 311,000 native soldiers, and 40,160 European soldiers ns well as 5,362 officers. Fifty-four of the Bengal Army's 75 regular Native Infantry Regiments rebelled, although some were immediately destroyed or broke up with their sepoys drifting away to their homes. A number ofthe remaining 21 regiments were disarmed or disbanded to prevent of forestall rebellion, In total only twelve of the original Bengal Native Infantry regiments survived to pass into the new Indian Army All ten of the Bengal Light Cavalry regiments rebelled. ‘The Bengal Army also included 29 Irregular Cavalry and 42 Irregular Infantry regiments. These included a substantial contingent from the recently annexed state of Awadh, which rebelled callectively, Another large contingent from Gwalior also rebelled, even though Scanned with CamScanner18 | Delhi G.x, {that state's ruler remained allied to the British, The remainder ofthe regular units were raised from a wide variety of sources and wet actively supported the Company; three Gurkha and five of six Sikh infantry units, andthe six infantry and sta ‘cavalry units of the recently raised Punjab Irregular Force. On April 1, 1858, the number of Indian soldiers in the Bengal army loyal to the Company was 80,053. This {otal included a large number of soldiers hastily ised inthe Punjab and North-West Frontier after the outbreak ofthe Rebellion. The Bombay army had three mutinies in its 29 regiments whilst the Madras army had no ‘mutinies, though elements of one of its 52 regiments refused to volunteer for service in Bengal. Most of southem India remained passive with only sporadic and haphazard outbreaks of violence. Most of the states did not take part in the war as many parts of the region were ruled by the Nizams or the Mysore royalty and were thus not directly under British rule, © Afterwards, the last titular Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar Il was exiled to Rangoon and the remaining Mughal territories were annexed as a part of Briti India. © Britishers came to the help of Shah Alam in 1803, Shah. ‘Alam became the pensioner of the British. He was succeeded by Akbar Shah, it os ie te | Bahadur Shah If, better known a8 "Zafar", succeeday ah in 1857. Setishes took over he eign of Delhi nd lat Muha Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was deported t0 Rangocg as a punishment for taking lead role in first freedon, ‘movement for India in 1857. ‘The East India Company took over in 1858 and staring ‘governing the State of India from Calcutta, In 1876, Queen Empress Victoria officially took og, and India came under the British Rule, From Governor General Viscount Canning in 135 to Lord Northbrook in 1876, India saw many politcal changes and Delhi suffered the most. ‘There were major landscape changes as the area around Red Fort was cleared and there were political and religious restrictions imposed on people. In 1876, as the country officially went under the crown, Lord Lytton took over. The British did major development work and in December 1912, shifted the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. ‘The fight of Independence was getting intense and te crown was under huge pressure. Finally, on 15th August 1947, India was freed from the clutches of British crown, but it also had to see the painful event of partition and Pakistan was created Scanned with CamScanner© National Movement and Delhi Dethi has been the seat of power of the largest democracy of world. Most of the government buildings used today was built by the British when they had setup “New Delhi”. However, the names were changed. For example, the Viceroy House became Rashtrapati Bhawan, ‘The Great India War Memorial became India Gate. Council House became Parliament House. Kingsway tumed into Rajpath and Queen’s way became Janpath. © The genesis of freedom struggle in Delhi can be traced to the Great Revolt of 1857. © The flames which lit in Meerut on May 10, 1857 reached Delhi the next day and engulfed the entire city. ‘The soldiers proclaimed Bahadur Shah as Emperor of India. © In the resultant violence many Europeans and Indian Christians were killed. By September 1857 the Britishers were able to suppress the revolt, but the ‘cruelty perpetrated by them was never forgotten by the people, who had to stay out of their houses for days and months. © The Delhi Durbar of 1876, the formation of Indian National Congress in 1885, the second Delhi Durbar of 1903, the partition of Bengal in 1905, the change of Capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1912 © The hurling of bomb on Lord Harding in 1912 were some of the major events in the history of Delhi which contributed in preparing the base for the freedom ‘struggle in the subsequent decades. © The transfer of capital in 1911 turned Delhi into a center of political activity. It gained in stature and the areas around looked up to it for guidance. Naturally, this caused a lot of anxiety to the British rulers even in far away districts of Multan and Gujarat. © The period of one and half decades starting with Rowlatt Satyagraha in 1919 and ending with Civil Disobedience Movement in 1934 however, constitutes the most important phase of the freedom struggle in India and also in Delhi. © The enactment of Rowlatt Act in March 1919 was the most vital event of Indian freedom struggle: The ‘Act was enacted by the British to contain the violent ‘ctivities of the tertorist groups of the country. © Gandhi emerged as the most dominant leader of the freedom struggle in the wake of Rowlatt Satyagraha. Prior to the Satyagraha, Gandhi was litle known and enjoyed litte political support in the country. The political awakening in the country in general and Delhi in particular and emergence of Gandhi as a mass leader were two principal factors which directed the ‘course of freedom struggle in the subsequent years and ultimately brought freedom to the country. ‘The Non-cooperation Movement in the early twenties ‘was again the direct outcome of Rowlatt Satyagraha. Gandhi led the movement on the ground prepared by the political awakening during the Satyagraha. The ‘coming together of the Khilafat and Non-cooperation ‘Movements lent great strength to the latter. If the country had not been caught in the unfortunate communal divide after the suspension of Non- cooperation Movement pethaps, India would have gained its independence some two decades earlier. ‘Though the battle for freedom did not progress on the desired lines, the discontent of the people forced the British Government to take some remedial measures to assuage their feelings. The appointment of Simon ‘Commission was the outcome of this thought process. The visit of the Commission to India aroused public discontent and laid ground for a fresh. bout of struggle. Subsequently, when British Government refused to implement the report of the Commission as per the expectations of Indian leadership the unrest again surfaced. ‘The Indian communal divide has to be blamed for this ‘as much as the British insincerity to grant dominion, status to India forthwith, Finding the Govemment unresponsive to people's aspirations, Gandhi launched the Civil Disobedience Movement which stirred the country as never before. It lasted from 1930 to 1934 and found manifestation in salt satyagraha, boycott, no-tax campaign and swadeshi movement, ‘There was some thaw inthese activities afterthe Gandhi Inwin Pact and during the Congress participation in Round Table Conference in 1931, but owing to failures the movement again picked up and lasted till 1934, The fifteen years of freedom struggle beginning with Rowlatt Saiyagraha in 1919 and ending with Civil Scanned with CamScanner20 | Delhi GK. Disobedience Movement in 1934 did not usher in independence, but it di firmly laid the ground for it. © All major events related to freedom struggle viz. the Rowlatt Satyagraha, Khilafat Movement, Non- cooperation Movement, Simon Commission and il Disobedience Movement occurred during this period and these finally led to the independence of the country. © These aspects of the freedom struggle, in so faras they relate to Delhi, have not been investigated by scholars in sufficient measure and need therefore, a thorough study. Landmarks of India’s Freedom Struggle in Delhi The Indian capital is full of landmarks- some quaint, some prominent- associated with the struggle for Indian independence. Here are some: ‘Urdu Parkin Urdu Bazaar: Urdu Park, justadjacent to Urdu Bazaar in Old Delhi and under the shadow of the ‘Shahjahani Jama Masjid, was the place where Maulana ‘Abul Kalam Azad had conducted an important public meeting Aug 1, 1942, with a local youth leader, M Mushtaq Ahmed, imploring people to side with the “Quit India Movement”. Incidentally the last abode of Maulana ‘Azad is here. When Azad died Feb 22, 1958, his mazaar ‘was made here at the behest of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister. ‘The Central Hall of Parliament : When Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw the two bombs in the Central Assembly Hall (known as the Central Hall of Parliament) April 18, 1929, they shouted, “Inquilab zindabad!” No one was hurt as the bombs were thrown deliberately away from the people. They also scattered red-coloured leaflets beginning with the quote, “It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear.” It was the same marvellously dome d hall where Nehru made his “tryst ‘with destiny” speech. Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park : Bhagat Singh has another association with Delhi - his Hindustan Socialist Republican Army that was bom at Firoz Shah Kotla. However, there's also the Shaheed Park memorial of Bhagat Singh just adjacent to the office of the Indian Express. Sharif Manzil Havell : Sharif Manzi in Ballimaran has changed since the days of the freedom struggle and is now the capital’s biggest optical accessories market, But it was the place where Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana ‘Azad, Nehru and Hakeem Ajmal Khan conducted many meetings, especially during the Rowlatt Act struggle. ‘Actually, the haveli belonged to Hakeem Ajmal Khan (1863-1927), president of the Indian National Congress, who was a famed apothecary of the Indian Unani system of medicine besides being a freedom fighter and writer. He was also an exponent of the Khilafat movement, He was givem the title of Haziq-ul-Mulk by the people for his philanthropy. ‘ Old Viceregat Lodge : Though the Viceregal Lodge ‘uccommodates the offices of Delhi University, during the days of the freedom struggle it served as the coun oom forthe trial of 14 people charged with conspiracy 19 ‘commit murder and the possession of arms and explosives offences. The case started here April 15, 1931. Red Fort Barracks : Red Fort, asplendid architecty ral Jandmark, saw ugly barracks erected during the 1857 ‘War of Independence. It was here that the English used 10 imprison the condemned prisoners of freedom strugale and hang them. It was in 1945 that trials of members of the Indian National Army took place here. Shah Nawaz Khan, ‘Gurbakhsh Singh Dhillon, Prem Kumar Sehgal, ll senior officers, were among the many tried there. Eminent lawyers of the day like Nehru, Bholabhsi Desai, Te} Bahadur Sapru and K.N. Katju appeared for the prisoners at barrack number B4 that had been the trial room. While the trial was going on, posters on the walls of the walled City of Delhi threatened the death of “20 English dogs” for each condemned member of the INA! Of the many barracks, two have been turned into memorials as the Archaeological Survey of India took these from the Indian Army in 1993 for preservation as these were in a shambles. Chandni Chowk : Various places at the vintage selling street of Chandni Chowk were witness to the freedom movement. It was in the 1857 freedom strugsle that more than 200 ulema were hanged. There were ‘umpteen public meetings involving Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru, Azad, Mahadey Desai, C. Rajgopalachari and Hakeem Ajmal Khan besides others. ‘The biggest of them all was the public meeting 2 the Bhai Mati Das Chowk (Fountain) when about 30.000 people tumed up to protest the Rowlatt Act as it had extended the emergency during World War | on March 30. 1919. Actually the crowd was strong as earlier in the dss five people had been killed in police firing. The meetin? was called at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi and Hakeem ‘Ajmal Khan under the banner of the Delhi Satyazraha ‘Committee. There was no more firing that day as police thought it better not to go against a mammoth crowd In connection with the meetings, there were poli? atrocities and riots in the Ballimaran, Edward Park (" ‘Subhash Park) and Jama Masjid areas. During one ssh riot, Swami Shraddhananda, an important leader who 35 ‘against British rule, even bared his chest before thendep? commissioner H.C. Beadon asking him to shoot at hi outside the Town Hall, according to historian and wt Biba Sobti. I's ironic that even today; a locality in K2"" Bagh is named after the British officer - Beadonpw Valmiki Sadan : it was at Valmiki Sadan, a1" colony in Mandir Marg that Gandhi had reside! !° the end of March 1946 to June 1947, Gandhi ha! os taught some kids here, The government has bees "5 build a memorial at the place where Gandhi had 0", but the Valmiki Samaj Sanstha members are aga tokenism, saying they are stil atthe tail end» facilities are concemed, Scanned with CamScannerVarious Major Establishments No. Established | Name Type Dynasty Present Location 1. | ©8008. | Indraprastha 1. Major City | Pandavas | Around Old Fort & Pragati Maidan 2 | c.100Bc. | Dhitlika 1.SmallTown | RajaDhillu | Mebra 3+) 1040p | Lalkor (2, Major City | Tomar Rajputs | Sanjay Van, between Mehrauli and INU. 4. | 70AD. | QilaRaiPithora | 03.Majorcity | Chauhans | Lado Sarai, Saket, Mehrauli S| 1288AD. | Kiloka 2.Small Town | Mamluk/Slave | Near Ashram Kill Ghariy 4 Maharanai Bagh 6 | oan. | sit 04. Major City |» Kbit Siri Fort, Shahpur Jat 7. | 1320AD. | Tughlagabsd | 05.MsjorCity | Tughlags | Tughlagabad, near Badarpur 8 | 13340, | Jahanpanah 06.Major City | Tughlags | Area between Siri, Mehrauli & Tuphlagabad 9. 13SLAD. Ferozabad_ 07. Major City ‘Tughlags ‘From Pragati Maidan to. Shajahanabad 1a ]- 1sisap, | Khiarabad 3.SmallTown | | Sayyids ‘Near New Friends Colony M. 1433 A.D. Mubarakabad 4. Small Town Sayyids ‘No significant traces left 12, | 1530, Dinpanah 08, Major City ‘Mughals From Pragati Maidan to : ‘Nizamuddin 3, 1542 A.D. Dill Sher Shahi 09. Major City ‘Suris From Old Fort to Feroz Shah_ Kotla 14, 1648 A.D. Shahjahanabad_ | 10, Major City ‘Mughals Old Delhi lis | isa. | NewDelhi 11 Major City — | British Central Dethi Different historians count cities of Delhi in different manner. Some say there are seven cities in Delhi and some Say there are eleven, While there is a wide disconnect in the theory. Khandavprastha and Indraprastha (Indrapatta) The legend of Mahabharta tells that Pandavas got five villages from their brothers, the Kauravas. These five villages were Sonprastha, Paniprastha, Baghprastha, Tilprastha and Khandavprastha. The Pandavas made their ‘apital inthe forest of Khandva (Khandavprastha) where built @ nice palace, comaprable 10 the empire of brd Indra, hence called Indraprastha. The date of their ‘SMistance is highly debateable and different historians have used their own techniques to calculate different 's. The only comming thing came out of this is that aisting somewhere between 1500 BC and 800 BC, legend goes, Rishi Ved Vyasa led Pandavas in the Ceremony of land measurement for the city. They choose the land on the western bank of river Yamuna withthe {vet lowing from North to South, This location was ideal Per Kastu Shavira. Aravali on the western side gave natural protection to city from enemies. Deep trenches were built around the city and were filled with water, which gave deceptive appearance of ocean. The city had 32 large gates with wodden bridges over these trenches. King Yudhishtira is said to have built Nigambodh Ghat and Nili Chhatri Temple, which are still in use. Ancient form of canons (called Sarahini and Isupa), capable of shooting 100 stones and arrows at a time were mounted at regular intervals on the wall of city. The city is said to have flood and draught prevention measures, ‘Onthe auspicious day, King Yudhishthira entered the city siting on the royal elephant through Vardhman Gate and passed through the Raj Marg to the mansion. Torans were erected at prominent places and drums were beaten to announce the entry. Brahmins chanted swastivachnam and mantras, It is said that this very palace was the cause ofthe famous Mahabharta war, which took place 80 kms away from Indraprastha Gih century Brahmin, Buddhist and Jain literature shed some more light on this magnificent city. Shams Shira] Afs 14th century work Tarith-i-Firueshahi Scanned with CamScanner