Munirka is now an urban village in

South West Delhi South West Delhi is one of the eleven administrative districts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. Kapashera serves as the administrative headquarters of South West Delhi. South West Delhi is bounded by the districts of West D ...

, located near

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

and

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is a public institute of technology located in New Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technolo ...

campuses. Originally it was a jat and brahmins village of Tokas, Rathi and mudgal Gotra. Munirka villager's land was acquired by the government on which now exists RK Puram, JNU and parts of Vasant Kunj. Its neighborhood consists of the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on the south, Vasant vihar on the northwest, RK Puram on the northern side and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi campus and

Ber Sarai Ber Sarai is a small neighbourhood located between Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and IIT Delhi in the South West district of Delhi, India. Overview The neighborhood comprises two distinct sections: Ber Sarai Village and Ber Sarai Delhi De ...

on south-eastern front. The outer ring road forms the north to the east boundary of this and also making it accessible. This is near flyover. The notification for the urbanisation of Munirka was issued in March 1954, making it one of the earliest villages to be urbanised. The nearest metro station is Munirka.

Migrants and population

Munirka has always been home to a large number of migrants. It has a very high population density for a small area. This derives from Munirka's proximity to

Rama Krishna Puram Ramakrishna Puram popularly known as R.K. Puram, is a residential colony in Delhi. Named after the saint Sri Ramakrishna, it houses many high-profile corporate houses. History Rama Krishna Puram area was built in the second phase of the exte ...

Vasant Vihar Vasant Vihar is a diplomatic and residential sub-division of the South West Delhi in National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. It is located near the diplomatic area of Chanakyapuri, and houses over 50 diplomatic missions of foreign countries, ...

Indian Institute of Technology The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are central government owned public technical institutes located across India. They are under the ownership of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. They are governed by the Institu ...

and its location on the Outer Ring Road, which makes easy transport to and from many business centres of Delhi. One can find people from every single province in India here, and eateries and restaurants catering to their palette as well. There is a Korean church, a Sikh gurdwara, and a mosque other than the Baba Ganganath temple, which houses the patron deity of the village.

Architecture

It is a very old village—complete with a smattering of Lodi-era monuments—now absorbed by the relentless expansion of Delhi, which has both changed and threatened the very culture of the pre-urban communities of the Delhi region -

Bramhin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

and

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

. There is a

baoli Stepwells (also known as vavs or baori) are wells or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from 7th to 19th century. So ...

(step well), a Lodi structure and a small Saiyid (a small mazaar-like shrine) of Sufi Saint called Ajirpur preserved by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

in the park across the Outer Ring Road in RK Puram Sector-5. Elder residents of Munirka can still be found to offer a ''jot'' (incense on a stick; Hindi ''jyot''), testifying to the syncretic cultural history of the region. This part of the village has given to the DDA sports complex, Vasant Kunj, Jawahar Lal University and the DTC Bus Depot. Further to the west Basant Lok and Vasant Vihar have been built on agrarian land which was acquired by the Delhi government from Munirka and Basant villages. To the north R.K. Puram has also been built on such land. One can see the ''Qutub Minar'' from parts of Munirka. It is also on the path of planes landing at the Delhi International Airport.

Historical sites

File:Boali Munirka.JPG, Boali Munirka, built in

Lodhi dynasty The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when h ...

period, 1451 - 1526 A.D.

Notable people

* Khajan Singh, Indian swimmer *

Rajat Tokas Rajat Tokas is an Indian television actor. He appeared in television series like '' Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan'', '' Dharam Veer'', '' Tere Liye'', '' Jodha Akbar'', '' Naagin'' season 1 & 3 and '' Chandra Nandini''. Career Toka ...

, Indian television actor * Narinder Tokas, President , Delhi University Students Union (DUSU)

References

{{Reflist Neighbourhoods in Delhi Villages in South West Delhi district