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Raj Ghat is a memorial dedicated to
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Originally it was the name of a historic
ghat Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...
of
Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. T ...
(
Shahjahanabad Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. T ...
). Close to it, and east of Daryaganj was ''Raj Ghat Gate'' of the walled city, opening at ''Raj Ghat'' to the west bank of the
Yamuna River The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...
. Later the memorial area was also called ''Raj Ghat''. It is a black marble platform that marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi's cremation, ''
Antyeshti Antyesti (IAST: Antyeṣṭi, sa, अन्त्येष्टि) literally means "last sacrifice", and refers to the funeral rites for the dead in Hinduism, which usually involves cremation of the body. This rite of passage is the last sams ...
'' (last rites) on 31 January 1948, a day after his
assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
. It is left open to the sky while an
eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...
burns at one end. Located on Delhi's
Ring Road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
, officially known as Mahatma Gandhi Road, a stone footpath flanked by lawns leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial. The materials used in the memorial, especially in the recesses, raise a few questions about the nature of Gandhian architecture in India. There is a difference between the architecture of Rajghat and a Gandhian low-cost housing architecture. Unlike the hard material faces of some portions of Rajghat, a Gandhian low-cost housing architecture has a decidedly perishable character. In this sense the event of the construction of the Rajghat Memorial belongs within a more hard-modernist Gandhian architectural history in India, distinctly removed from a Gandhian low-cost architectural history of perishable materials.


Other memorials in the Raj Ghat area

Raj Ghat loosely translates to ''Royal Steps'' (with "royal" alluding to the importance of the place and "steps" referencing the bank of the
Yamuna River The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...
). Several other ''
samadhis ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...
'' or cremation spots of other famous leaders can be found in the vicinity of Raj Ghat. The landscaping and planting of these memorials was performed by Alick Percy-Lancaster, the last Englishman to hold the post of Superintendent of Horticultural Operations, Government of India.
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
's samadhi is to the north of the Raj Ghat and is known as the ''Shantivan'' meaning the "garden of peace". Adjacent to Nehru's memorial is ''Ekta Sthal'', the site where
Zail Singh Giani Zail Singh (, born Jarnail Singh; 5 May 1916 – 25 December 1994) was an Indian politician from Punjab who served as the seventh president of India from 1982 to 1987. He was the first Sikh and the first person from a backward caste to be ...
,
7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
, was cremated with full state honours in 2005. The Raj Ghat area has a park adorned with trees planted by visiting dignitaries and heads of state.


Gallery

File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying homage at the Samadhi of Indira Gandhi at Shakti Sthal on the occasion of 61st Independence Day in Delhi on August 15, 2007.jpg,
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
at Shakti Sthal, 15 August 2007 File:Sanjay Gandhi Memorial.jpg, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial, Delhi File:Rajiv Gandhi Memorial, Delhi.jpg, Veer Bhumi File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh performing the parikrama at the Samadhi of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at Shantivan on the occasion of 62nd Independence Day in Delhi on August 15, 2008.jpg, Manmohan Singh at Shantivan, 15 August 2008 File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying floral tributes at the Samadhi of Babu Jagjivan Ram on the occasion of his 101st birth anniversary at Samta Sthal, in Delhi on April 05, 2008.jpg, Manmohan Singh at Samta Sthal, 5 April 2008 File:The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil paying tributes at Vijay Ghat the Samadhi of Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, in Delhi on July 26, 2007.jpg,
Pratibha Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...
at Vijay Ghat, 26 July 2007 File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying floral tribute to the former Prime Minister, Late Ch. Charan Singh on his 104th birth anniversary at Kisan Ghat in Delhi on December 23, 2006.jpg, Manmohan Singh at Kisan Ghat, 23 December 2006 File:Prime Minister Modi at Sadaiv Atal.jpg,
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
at Sadaiv Atal, 16 August 2020


References


Sources

*


Further reading

* Venugopal Maddipati (2020). Gandhi and Architecture: A Time for Low-Cost Housing.


External links


India official tourism website
{{Gandhi Eternal flames Monuments and memorials in Delhi Memorials to Mahatma Gandhi Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi