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DELHI, DEHLI
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See also:DELHI, DEHLI or DII.LI, the See also:ancient See also:capital of the See also:Mogul See also:empire in See also:India, and a See also:modern See also:city which gives its name to a See also:district and See also:division of See also:British India. The city of Delhi is situated in 28° 38' N., 77° 13' E., very nearly due See also:north of Cape See also:Comorin, and practically in a latitudinal See also:line with the more ancient cities of See also:Cairo and See also:Canton. It lies in the See also:south-See also:east corner of the See also:province of the See also:Punjab, to which it was added in 1858, and abuts on the right See also:bank of the See also:river See also:Jumna. Though See also:Lahore, the more ancient city, remains the See also:official capital of the Punjab, Delhi is historically more famous, and is now more important as a commercial and railway centre. Though the remains of earlier cities are scattered See also:round Delhi over an See also:area estimated to See also:cover some 45 sq. m., modern Delhi See also:dates only from the See also:middle of the 17th See also:century, when Shah Jahan rebuilt the city on its See also:present site, adding the See also:title Shah-See also:jahanabad from his own name. It extends for nearly 24 in. along the right bank of the Jumna from the See also:Water See also:bastion to the See also:Wellesley bastion in the south-east corner, nearly one-third of the frontage being occupied by the river See also:wall of the See also:palace. The See also:northern wall, famous in the See also:siege of Delhi in 1857, extends three-quarters of a mile from the Water bastion to the Shah, commonly known as the Mori, bastion; the length of the See also:west wall from this bastion to the See also:Ajmere See also:gate is r m. and of the south wall to the Wellesley bastion again almost exactly the same distance, the whole See also:land See also:circuit being thus 3; M. The See also:complete circuit of Delhi is 51 M. In the north wall is situated the famous See also:Kashmir gate, while the Mori or Drain gate, which was built by a Mahratta See also:governor, has now been removed. In the west wall are the Farash Khana and Ajmere See also:gates, while the See also:Kabul and Lahore gates have been removed. In the south wall are the Turkman and Delhi gates. The gates on the river See also:side of the city included the Khairati and Rajghat, the See also:Calcutta and Nigambod—both removed; the Kela' gate, and the Hadar See also:Rao gate, now closed. The See also:great wall of Delhi, which was constructed by Shah Jahan, was strengthened by the See also:English by the addition of a ditch and See also:glacis, after Delhi was captured by See also:Lord See also:Lake in 1803; and its strength was turned against the British at the See also:time of the See also:Mutiny. The imperial palace (1638-1648), now known as the " Fort," is situated on the east of the city, and abuts directly on the river. It consists at present of See also:bare and ugly British See also:barracks, among which are scattered exquisite gems of See also:oriental See also:architecture. The
two most famous among its buildings are the Diwan-i-Am or See also: On a marble See also:platform rises a marble pavilion, the See also:flat-coned roof of which is supported on a See also:double See also:row of marble pillars. The inner See also:face of the arches, with the spandrils and the pilasters which support them, are covered with See also:flowers and foliage of delicate See also:design and dainty See also:execution, crusted in See also:green See also:serpentine, See also:blue lapis lazuli and red and See also:purple See also:porphyry. During the See also:lapse of years many of these stones were picked from their setting, and the See also:silver See also:ceiling of flowered patterns was pillaged by the See also:Mahrattas; but the inlaid See also:work was restored as far as possible by Lord Curzon. It is in this hall that the famous inscription " If a See also:paradise be on the face of the See also:earth, it is this, it is this, it is this," still exists. It is given in Persian characters twice in the panels over the narrow arches at the ends of the middle hall, beginning from the east on the north side, and from the west at the south side. At the time of the Delhi See also:Durbar held in See also:January 1903 to celebrate the See also:proclamation of See also:Edward VII. as See also:emperor of India these two halls were used as a dancing-See also:room and supper-room, and their full beauty was brought out by the electric See also:light shining through their marble See also:grille-work. The native city of Delhi is like most other cities in India, a huddle of mean houses in mean streets, diversified with splendid mosques. The Chandni Chauk (" silver See also:street "), the See also:principal street of Delhi, which was once supposed to be the richest street in the See also:world, has fallen from its high See also:estate, though it is still a broad and imposing See also:avenue with a double row of trees See also:running down the centre. During the course of its See also:history it was four times sacked, by Nadir Shah, Timur, Ahmad Shah and the Mahrattas, and its roadway has many times run with See also:blood. Now it is the See also:abode of the jewellers and See also:ivory-workers of Delhi, but the jewels are seldom valuable and the See also:carving has lost much of its old delicacy. A See also:short distance south of the Chandni Chauk the Jama Masjid, or Great See also:Mosque, rises boldly from a small rocky See also:eminence. It was erected in 1648-1650, two years after the royal palace, by Shah Jahan. Its front See also:court, 450 ft. square, and surrounded by a See also:cloister open on both sides, is paved with See also:granite inlaid with marble, and commands a See also:fine view of the city. The mosque itself, a splendid structure forming an oblong 261 ft. in length, is approached by a magnificent See also:flight of See also: About a mile to the west is another burying-ground, or collection of tombs and small mosques, some of them very beautiful. The most remarkable is perhaps the little See also:chapel in See also:honour of a celebrated Mussulman See also:saint, See also:Nizam-ud-din, near whose See also:shrine the members of the imperial family, up to the time of the Mutiny, See also:lie buried, each in a small enclosure surrounded by lattice-work of white marble. Still farther away, some to m. south of the modern city, amid the ruins of old Delhi, stands the Kutb Minar, which is supposed to be the most perfect See also:tower in the world, and one of the seven architectural wonders of India. The Minar was begun by Kutbud-din Aibak about A.D. 1200. The two See also:top storeys were rebuilt by Feroz Shah. It consists of five storeys of red sandstone and white marble. The purplish red of the sandstone at the See also:base is finely modulated, through a See also:pale See also:pink in the second See also:storey, to a dark See also:orange at the See also:summit, which harmonizes with the blue of an See also:Indian See also:sky. Dark bands of Arabic See also:writing round the three See also:lower storeys contrast with the red sandstone. The height of the See also:column is 238 ft. The See also:plinth is a See also:polygon of twenty sides. The See also:basement storey has the same number of faces formed into See also:convex flutes which are alternately angular and semicircular. The next has semicircular flutes, and in the third they are all angular. Then rises a See also:plain storey, and above it soars a partially fluted storey, the See also:shaft of which is adorned with bands of marble and red sandstone. A bold projecting See also:balcony, richly ornamented, runs round each storey. After six centuries the column is almost as fresh as on the See also:day it was finished. It stands in the south-east corner of the See also:outer court of the mosque erected by Kutb-ud-din immediately after his See also:capture of Delhi in 1193. The design of this mosque is See also:Mahommedan, but, the wonderfully delicate ornamentation of its western See also:facade and other remaining parts is See also:Hindu. In the inner courtyard of the mosque stands the See also:Iron See also:Pillar, which is probably the most ancient See also:monument in the neighbourhood of Delhi, dating from about A.D. 400. It consists of a solid shaft of wrought iron some r6 in. in See also:diameter and 23 ft. 8 in. in height, with an inscription eulogizing Chandragupta See also:Vikramaditya. It was brought, probably from See also:Muttra, by Anang See also:Pal, a See also:Rajput See also:chief of the Tomaras, who erected it here in 1052.1
Among the modern buildings of Delhi may be mentioned the Residency, now 'occupied by a See also:government high school, and the See also:Protestant See also: Near it is the See also:town hall, with museum and library. Behind the Chandni Chauk, to the north, lie the See also:Queen's Gardens; beyond them the " city lines " stretch away as far as the well-known rocky See also:ridge, about a mile outside the town. From the summit of this ridge the view of the station and city is very picturesque. The principal See also:local institution until 1877 was the Delhi See also:College, founded in 1792. It was at first exclusively an oriental school, supported by the voluntary contributions of Mahommedan gentlemen, and managed by a See also:committee of the subscribers. In 1829 an English See also:department was added to it; and in 1855 the institution was placed under the See also:control of the Educational Department. In the Mutiny of 1857 the old
1 See the See also:paper by V. A. See also: A new college was founded in 1858, and was affiliated to the university of Calcutta in 1864. The old college attained to great celebrity as an educational institution, and produced many excellent scholars, but it was abolished in 1877, in See also:order to concentrate the See also: The city is served by five different See also:railways, the East Indian, the Oudh & See also:Rohilkhand, the See also:Rajputana-See also:Malwa & Bombay-See also:Baroda, the See also:Southern Punjab, and the North-Western, and occupies a central position, being 940 M. from See also:Karachi, 950 from Calcutta, and 96o from Bombay. Owing to the advantages it enjoys as a See also:trade centre, Delhi is recovering much of the prominence which it lost at the time of the Mutiny. It has See also:spinning-See also:mills and other mills worked by See also:steam. The principal manufactures are gold and silver See also:filigree work and See also:embroidery, See also:jewelry, muslins, shawls, glazed pottery and See also:wood-carving. The DISTRICT OF DELHI has an area of 1290 sq. m. It consists of a See also:strip of territory on the right or west bank of the Jumna river, 75 M. in length, and varying from 15 to 233 M. in breadth. Most of the district consists of hard and stony See also:soil, depending upon See also:irrigation, which is supplied by the Western Jumna See also:canal, the See also:Ali Mardan canal and the See also:Agra canal. The principal crops are See also:wheat, See also:barley, See also:sugar-See also:cane and See also:cotton. When Lord Lake See also:broke the Mahratta See also:power in 18o3, and the emperor was taken under the See also:protection of the East India Company, the present districts of Delhi and See also:Hissar were assigned for the See also:maintenance of the royal family, and were administered by a British See also:resident. In 1832 the See also:office of resident was abolished, and the See also:tract was annexed to the North-Western Provinces. After the Mutiny in 1858 it was separated from the North-Western Provinces and annexed to the Punjab. The population in 1901 was 689,039. The DrvIslox OF DELHI stretches from See also:Simla to Rajputana, and is much broken up by native states. It comprises the seven districts of Hissar, See also:Rohtak, See also:Gurgaon, Delhi, See also:Karnal, See also:Umballa and Simla. Its See also:total area is 15,393 sq. m., and in 190r the population was 4,587,092.
History.—According to legends, which may or may not have a substantial basis, Delhi or its immediate neighbourhood has from time immemorial been the site of a capital city. The neighbouring See also:village of Indarpat preserves the name of Indraprashta, the semi-mythical city founded, according to the Sanscrit epic Mahabharata, by Yudisthira and his See also:brothers, the five Pandavas. Whatever its dim predecessors may have been, however, the actual history of Delhi dates no further back than the 11th century A.D., when Anangapala (Anang Pal), a chief of the Tomara See also:clan, built the Red Fort, in which the Kutb Minar now stands; in 1052 the same chief removed the famous Iron Pillar from its See also:original position, probably at Muttra, and set it up among a See also:group of temples of which the materials were after-wards used by the Mussulmans for the construction of the great
Kutb Mosque. About the middle of the 12th century the Tot-See also:tiara' dynasty was overthrown by Vigraha-See also:raja (Visala-See also:deva, Bisal Deo), the Chauhan See also: He was the last Hindu ruler of Delhi. In 1191 came the invasion of Mahommed of See also:Ghor. Defeated on this occasion, Mahommed returned two years later, overthrew the Hindus, and captured and put to See also:death Prithwi-raja. Delhi became henceforth the capital of the Mahommedan Indian empire, Kutb-ud-din (the See also:general and slave of Mahommed of Ghor) being left in command. His dynasty is known as that of the slave See also:kings, and it is to them that old Delhi owes its grandest remains, among them Kutb Mosque and the Kutb Minar. The slave dynasty retained the throne till 1290, when it was subverted by Jalal-ud-din Khilji. The most remarkable monarch of this dynasty was See also:Ala-ud-din, during whose reign Delhi was twice exposed to attack from invading hordes of Moguls. On the first occasion Ala-ud-din defeated them under the walls of his capital; on the second, after encamping for two months in the neighbourhood of the city, they retired without a See also:battle. The house of Khilji came to an end in 1321, and was followed by that of Tughlak. Hitherto the See also:Pathan kings had been content with the ancient Hindu capital, altered and adorned to suit their tastes. But one of the first acts of the founder of the new dynasty, Ghias-ud-din Tughlak, was to erect a new capital about 4 M. farther to the east, which he called Tughlakabad. The ruins of his fort remain, and the See also:eye can still trace the streets and lanes of the See also:long deserted city. Ghias-uddin was succeeded by his son Mahommed b. Tughlak, who reigned from 1325 to 1351, and is described by See also:Elphinstone as " one of the most accomplished princes and most furious tyrants that ever adorned or disgraced human nature." Under this monarch the Delhi of the Tughlak dynasty attained its utmost growth. His successor Feroz Shah Tughlak transferred the capital to a new town which he founded some miles off, on the north of the Kutb, and to which he gave his own name, Ferozabad. In 1398, during the reign of Mahmud Tughlak, occurred the Tatar invasion of Timurlane. The king fled to See also:Gujarat, his army was defeated under the walls of Delhi, and the city surrendered. The town, notwithstanding a promise of protection, was plundered and burned; the citizens were massacred. The invaders at last retired, leaving Delhi without a government, and almost without inhabitants. At length Mahmud Tughlak regained a fragment of his former See also:kingdom, but on his death in 1412 the family became See also:extinct. He was succeeded by the Sayyid dynasty, which held Delhi and a few miles of surrounding territory till 1444, when it gave way to the house of See also:Lodi, during whose See also:rule the capital was removed to Agra. In 1526 See also:Baber, See also:sixth in descent from Timurlane, invaded India, defeated and killed See also:Ibrahim Lodi at the battle of See also:Panipat, entered Delhi, was proclaimed emperor, and finally put an end to the Afghan empire. Baber's capital was at Agra, but his son and successor, Humayun, removed it to Delhi. In 1540 Humayun was .defeated and expelled by Sher Shah, who entirely'rebuilt the city, enclosing and fortifying it with a new wall. In his time Delhi extended from where Humayun's See also:tomb now is to near the southern gate of the modern city. In 1555 Humayun, with the assistance of Persia, regained the throne; but he died within six months, and was succeeded by his son, the illustrious See also:Akbar. During Akbar's reign and that of his son See also:Jahangir, the capital was either at Agra or at Lahore, and Delhi once more See also:fell into decay. Between 1638 and 1658, however, Shah Jahan rebuilt it almost in its present See also:form; and his city remains substantially the Delhi of the present time. The imperial palace, the Jama Masjid or Great Mosque, and the restoration of what is now the western Jumna canal, are the work of Shah Jahan. The Mogul empire rapidly expanded during the reigns of Akbar and his successors down to Aurungzeb, when it attained its See also:climax. After the death of the latter monarch, in 1707, came the decline. Insurrections and See also:civil See also:wars on the part of the Hindu tributary chiefs, Sikhs and Mahrattas, broke out. Aurungzeb's successors became the helpless See also:instruments of conflicting chiefs. His See also:grandson, Jahandar Shah, was, in 1713, deposed and strangled after a reign of one See also:year; and Farrakhsiyyar, the next in See also:succession, met with the same See also:fate in 1719. He was succeeded by Mahommed Shah, in whose reign the Mahratta forces first made their See also:appearance before the gates of Delhi, in 1736. Three years later the Persian monarch, Nadir Shah, after defeating the Mogul army at Karnal, entered Delhi in See also:triumph. While engaged in levying a heavy contribution, the Persian troops were attacked by the populace, and many of them were killed. Nadir Shah, after vainly attempting to stay the tumult, at last gave orders for a general See also:massacre of the inhabitants. For fifty-eight days Nadir Shah remained in Delhi, and when he left he carried with him a treasure in See also:money amounting, at the lowest computation, to eight or nine millions See also:sterling, besides jewels of inestimable value, and other See also:property to the amount of several millions more. From this time (1740) the decline of the empire proceeded unchecked and with increased rapidity. In 1771 Shah Alam, the son of Alamgir II., was nominally raised to the throne by the Mahrattas, the real See also:sovereignty resting with the Mahratta chief, Sindhia. An See also:attempt of the puppet emperor to shake himself clear of the Mahrattas, in which he was defeated in 1788, led to a permanent Mahratta See also:garrison being stationed at Delhi. From this date, the king remained a See also:cipher in the hands of Sindhia, who treated him with studied neglect, until the 8th of See also:September 1803, when Lord Lake overthrew the Mahrattas under the walls of Delhi, entered the city, and took the king under the protection of the British. Delhi, once more attacked by a Mahratta army under the Mahratta chief See also:Holkar in 1804, was gallantly defended by Colonel See also:Ochterlony, the British resident, who held out against overwhelming odds for eight days, until relieved by Lord Lake. From this date a new era in the history of Delhi began. A See also:pension of £120,000 per annum was allowed to the king, with exclusive See also:jurisdiction over the palace, and the titular sovereignty as before; but the city, together with the Delhi territory, passed under British See also:administration. Fifty-three years of quiet prosperity for Delhi were brought to a See also:close by the Mutiny of 1857. Its capture by the mutineers, its siege, and its subsequent recapture by the British have been often told, and nothing beyond a short notice is called for here. The outbreak at See also:Meerut occurred on the See also:night of the loth of May 1857. Immediately after the See also:murder of their See also:officers, the See also:rebel soldiery set out for Delhi, about 35 M. distant, and on the following See also:morning entered the city, where they were joined by the city See also:mob. Mr See also:Fraser, the See also:commissioner, Mr See also:Hutchinson, the See also:collector, See also:Captain See also:Douglas, the commandant of the palace See also:guards, and the Rev. Mr Jennings, the residency See also:chaplain, were at once murdered, as were also most of the civil and non-official residents whose houses were situated within the city walls. The British troops in cantonments consisted of three regiments of native See also:infantry and a See also:battery of See also:artillery. These See also:cast in their See also:lot with the mutineers, and commenced by killing their officers. The Delhi See also:magazine, then the largest in the north-west of India, was in the See also:charge of See also:Lieutenant See also:Willoughby, with whom were two other officers and six non-commissioned officers. The magazine was attacked by the mutineers, but the little See also:band defended to the last the enormous See also:accumulation of munitions of See also:war stored there, and, when further See also:defence was hopeless, fired the magazine. Five of the nine. were killed by the See also:explosion, and Lieutenant Willoughby subsequently died of his injuries; the remaining three succeeded in making their See also:escape. The occupation of Delhi by the rebels was the See also:signal for risings in almost every military station in North-Western India. The revolted soldiery with one See also:accord thronged towards Delhi, and in a short time the city was garrisoned by a rebel army variously estimated at from 50,000 to 7o,000 disciplined men. The pensioned king, Bahadur Shah, was proclaimed emperor; his sons were appointed to various military commands. About fifty Europeans and Eurasians, nearly all See also:females, who had been captured in trying to escape from the town on the day of the outbreak, were confined in a stifling chamber
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of the palace for fifteen days; they were then brought out and massacred in the court-yard.
The siege which followed forms one of the memorable incidents of the British history of India. On the 8th See also:June, four See also:weeks after the outbreak, See also:Sir H. See also:Barnard, who had succeeded as commanderin-chief on the death of General See also:Anson, routed the mutineers with a handful of Europeans and Sikhs, after a severe See also:action at Badliki-Serai, and encamped upon the Ridge that overlooks the city. The force was too weak to capture the city, and he had no siege See also:train or heavy guns. All that could be done was to hold the position till the arrival of reinforcements and of a siege train. During the next three months the little British force on the Ridge were rather the besieged than the besiegers. Almost daily sallies, which often turned into pitched battles, were made by the rebels upon the over-worked handful of Europeans, Sikhs and Gurkhas. A great struggle took place on the See also:centenary of the battle of See also:Plassey (June 23), and another on the 25th of See also:August; but on both occasions the mutineers were repulsed with heavy loss. General Barnard died of See also:cholera in See also:July, and was succeeded by General Archdale See also: On the morning of the 14th See also:Sept. the assault was delivered, the points of attack being the Kashmir bastion, the Water bastion, the Kashmir gate, and the Lahore gate. The assault was thoroughly successful, although the column which was to enter the city by the Lahore gate sustained a temporary check. The whole eastern part of the city was retaken, but at a cost of 66 officers and 1104 men killed and wounded, out of the total strength of 9866. Fighting continued more or less during the next six days, and it was not till the loth of September that the entire city and palace were occupied, and the reconquest of Delhi was complete. During the siege, the British force sustained a loss of 1o12 officers and men killed, and 3837 wounded. Among the killed was General See also: Delhi was made over to the civil authorities in January 1858, but it was not till 1861 that the civil courts were regularly reopened. The shattered walls of the Kashmir gateway, and the bastions of the northern face of the city, still See also:bear the marks of the cannonade of September 1857. Since that date Delhi has settled down into a prosperous commercial town, and a great railway centre. The lines which start from it to the north, south, east and west bring into its bazaars the trade of many districts. But the See also:romance of antiquity still lingers around it, and Delhi was selected for the See also:scene of the Imperial Proclamation on the 1st of January 2877, and for the great Durbar held in January 1903 for the proclamation of King Edward VII. as emperor of India. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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