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Tourist Attractions in India » Tourist Attractions in New Delhi » Monuments in New Delhi
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Monuments in New Delhi

Rashtrapati Bhavan

Built with a mix of Western and Indian styles, Rashtrapati Bhavan was originally built for the Governor General of India during the British Rule in India. The British architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens, a key member of the city-planning process, was given the prime architectural responsibility. The palace developed was very similar to the original sketches which Lutyens sent Baker, a fellow architect, from Shimla on June 14, 1912. Lutyens' design is grandly classical overall, with colors and details inspired by Indian architecture. Inaugurated in 1931 as the Viceroy's house, the name was changed to Rashtrapathi Bhavan in 1950 after India became a republic.

India Gate and Rajpath

India Gate and Rajpath

Situated along the ceremonial Rajpath avenue (meaning King's Way) in New Delhi, India Gate is one of the largest war memorials in India. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It is a prominent landmark in Delhi and commemorates the members of the erstwhile British Indian Army who lost their lives fighting for the Indian Empire in World War I and the Afghan Wars.

Originally, a Statue of King George V had stood under the now-vacant canopy in front of the India Gate, and was moved later to Coronation Park. Following India's independence, India Gate became the site of the Indian Army's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, known as the Amar Jawan Jyoti. The cenotaph (or shrine) in the middle is constructed with black marble and depicts a rifle placed on its barrel, crested by a soldier's helmet. The names of the soldiers who died in these wars are inscribed on the walls.

Each face of the cenotaph has inscribed in gold the words Amar Jawan (in Hindi, meaning Immortal Warrior). The green lawns at India Gate are a popular evening and holiday rendezvous for young and old alike.

Jantar Mantar (Yantra Mantra)

Jantar Mantar (Yantra Mantra)The Yantra Mantra (literally the 'instrument and formula', and often called the Jantar Mantar), is located in the modern city of New Delhi. It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, between 1727 and 1734, and is one of five built by him, as he was given the task of revising the calendar and astronomical tables by Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.

The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these purposes nowadays would be classified as astrology. It is a monument of the space research development of the Indians.

Humayun's Tomb

Humayun's TombHumayun's Tomb was built by Humayun's widow, Hamida Banu Begum.Designed by a Persian architect named Sayyed Muhammad ibn Mirak Ghiyathuddin and his father Mirak Ghiyathuddin from Herat, a city in western Afghanistan, the structure was begun in 1562 and completed in 1570. It had a Chahr Bagh Garden style in its design, which is a Persian-style garden layout and was the first of its kind in the South Asia region.

The tomb established a standard for all later Mughal monuments, which followed its design, most notably the Taj Mahal.

Qutub Minar

Qutub MinarThe Qutub Minar is located in a small village called Mehrauli in South Delhi. It was built by Qutb-ud-din Aibak of the Slave Dynasty, who took possession of Delhi in 1206. It is a fluted red sandstone tower, which tapers up to a height of 72.5 metres and is covered with intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an. Qutub-ud-din Aybak began constructing this victory tower as a sign of Muslim domination of Delhi and as a minaret for the Muslim priest, the muezzin, to call the faithful to prayer. However, only the first story was completed by Qutub-ud-din. The other stories were built by his successor Iltutmish. The two circular stories in white marble were built by Ferozshah Tughlaq in 1368, replacing the original fourth story.

The balconies in the tower are supported by exquisite stalactite designs. The tapering tower has pointed and circular flutings on the first story and star-shaped ones on the second and third stories.

The Qutub Minar is also significant for what it represents in the history of Indian culture. In many ways, the Qutub Minar, the first monument built by a Muslim ruler in India, heralded the beginning of a new style of art and architecture that came to be known as the Indo-Islamic style.

The Qutb Minar is 72 meters high (237.8 ft) with 379 steps leading to the top. The diameter of the base is 14.3 meters wide while the top floor measures 2.75 meters in diameter. Surrounding the building are many fine examples of Indian artwork from the time it was built in 1193. A second tower was in construction and planned to be taller than the Qutb Minar itself. Its construction ended abruptly when it was about 12 meters tall.The name of this tower is given as Alau Minar and construction of recent studies shows that this structure has been tilted in one direction.

Red Fort

Red FortThe decision for constructing the Red Fort was made in 1638, when The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan decided to shift his capital from Agra to Delhi. Within eight years, Shahjahanabad the seventh Muslim city in Delhi was completed with the Red Fort-Qila-i-Mubarak (fortunate citadel) ready in all its magnificence, to receive the Emperor. The fort lies along the Yamuna River, which fed the moats that surround most of the wall. The wall at its north-eastern corner is adjacent to an older fort, the Salimgarh Fort, a defense built by Islam Shah Suri in 1546. This Fort has had many developments added on after its construction by Emperor Shahjahan.

The significant phases of development were under Aurangzeb and later Mughal rulers. Important physical changes were carried out in the overall settings of the site after the First War of Independence during British Rule in 1857. After Independence, the site experienced a few changes in terms of addition/alteration to the structures. During the British period the Fort was mainly used as a cantonment and even after Independence, a significant part of the Fort remained under the control of the Army until the year 2003.

Though much has changed with the large-scale demolitions during the British occupation of the fort, its important structures have survived.

Purana Quila

Purana QuilaThe Purana Quila (Old Fort) is a good example of medieval military architecture. Built by Humayun, with later-day modifications by Sher Shah Suri, the Purana Quila is a monument of bold design, which is strong, straightforward, and every inch a fortress. It is different from the well-planned, carefully decorated, and palatial forts of the later Mughal rulers. Purana Quila is also different from the later forts of the Mughals, as it does not have a complex of palaces, administrative, and recreational buildings as is generally found in the forts built later on. The main purpose of this now-dilapidated fort was its utility with less emphasis on decoration. The Qal'a-I-Kunha Masjid and the Sher Mandal are two important monuments inside the fort. It was made by Aqeel in 1853.

Tughlaqabad

TughlaqabadWhen Ghazi Malik founded the Tughlaq Dynasty in 1321, he built the strongest fort in Delhi at Tughlaqabad, completed with great speed within four years of his rule. It is said that Ghazi Malik, when only a slave to Mubarak Khilji, had suggested this rocky prominence as an ideal site for a fort. The Khilji Sultan laughed and suggested that the slave build a fort there when he became a Sultan. Ghazi Malik as Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq did just that: Tughlaqabad is Delhi's most colossal and awesome fort even in its ruined state. Within its sky-touching walls, double-storied bastions, and gigantic towers were housed grand palaces, splendid mosques, and audience halls.

However it is said that Saint Nizamuddin Auliya, a Sufi mystic, got incensed as the work on his baoli (well) was stopped. The saint uttered a curse which was to resonate throughout history right until today : Ya rahey usar, ya basey gujjar (may it [the fort] remain unoccupied/infertile, or else the herdsmen may live here)

The fort till today remain distorted and unoccupied since then.

Safdarjung's Tomb

Safdarjung's TombThe Safdarjung's Tomb is a garden tomb in a marble mausoleum. The tomb was built for Safdarjung, the powerful prime minister of Muhammad Shah who was the weak Mughal emperor from 1719 to 1748. It was built in 1754 in the style of late Mughal architecture. The top story of the edifice houses the Archaeological Survey of India. The garden, in the style evolved by the Mughal Empire that is now known as the Mughal gardens, style known as a charbagh, is entered through an ornate gate. Its facade is decorated with elaborate plaster carvings.