Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of

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 ...

containing

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, the capital of India. Straddling the

Yamuna 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 B ...

river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders with the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

in the east and with the state of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

in the remaining directions. The NCT covers an area of . According to the 2011 census, Delhi's city proper population was over 11 million, while the NCT's population was about 16.8 million. Delhi's urban agglomeration, which includes the satellite cities of

Ghaziabad Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Mun ...

Faridabad Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ri ...

, Gurgaon and

Noida Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...

in an area known as the

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

(NCR), has an estimated population of over 28 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in India and the second-largest in the world (after

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

). The topography of the medieval fort

Purana Qila Purana Qila () is one of the oldest forts in Delhi, India. Built by the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and Surid Sultan Sher Shah Suri, it is thought by many to be located on the site of the ancient city of Indraprastha. The fort formed the in ...

on the banks of the river Yamuna matches the literary description of the citadel

Indraprastha Indraprastha (lit. "Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra") is mentioned in ancient Indian literature as a city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas mentioned in ''Mahabharata'' . Under the Pali form of its nam ...

in the Sanskrit epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

''; however, excavations in the area have revealed no signs of an ancient built environment. From the early 13th century until the mid-19th century, Delhi was the capital of two major empires, the Delhi sultanate and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, which covered large parts of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

. All three

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

s in the city, the

Qutub Minar The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO W ...

Humayun's Tomb Humayun's tomb ( Persian: ''Maqbara-i Humayun'') is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi, India. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum under her patronage in 1558, and designed by Mir ...

, and the

Red Fort The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift ...

, belong to this period. Delhi was the early centre of Sufism and

Qawwali Qawwali (Punjabi language, Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nastaʿlīq, Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali language, Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali alphabet, Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Isl ...

music. The names of

Nizamuddin Auliya Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Mahbub-e-Ilahi () was an Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, and is one of the most famous Sufis from the India ...

and

Amir Khusrau Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian sub ...

are prominently associated with it. The

Khariboli Kauravi ( hi, कौरवी, ur, ), also known as Khaṛībolī is a set of Western Hindi varieties of Shauraseni Prakrit mainly spoken in Northwestern Uttar Pradesh. Standard Hindi and Urdu are based on Khariboli, specifically on its De ...

dialect of Delhi was part of a linguistic development that gave rise to the literature of the

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Modern Standard Hindi. Major Urdu poets from Delhi include Mir Taqi Mir and

Mirza Ghalib ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Kala Mahal, Agra, Maratha Confederacy , death_date = , death_place = Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, British India , occupation = Poet , language ...

. Delhi was a major centre of the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

. In 1911,

, a southern region within Delhi, became the capital of the

British Indian Empire The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himse ...

. During the Partition of India in 1947, Delhi was transformed from a Mughal city to a Punjabi one, losing two-thirds of its Muslim residents, in part due to the pressure brought to bear by arriving Hindu refugees from western Punjab. After independence in 1947, New Delhi continued as the capital of the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

, and after 1950 of the Republic of India. Delhi ranks fifth among the Indian states and union territories in

human development index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...

. Delhi has the second-highest GDP per capita in India (after

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

). Although a union territory, the political administration of the NCT of Delhi today more closely resembles that of a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of India, with its own legislature, high court and an executive council of ministers headed by a

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

. New Delhi is jointly administered by the federal

government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and the local

government of Delhi The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...

, and serves as the capital of the nation as well as the NCT of Delhi. Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region, which is an "interstate regional planning" area created in 1985. Delhi hosted the inaugural

1951 Asian Games The 1951 Asian Games ( hi, 1951 एशियाई खेल; Marathi: १९५१ आशियाई खेळ), officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Ga ...

, the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games ( hi, 1982 एशियाई खेल) were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of t ...

, the 1983

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...

summit, the 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup, the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

, and the 2012 BRICS summit and was one of the major host cities of the

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and for the first time in Bangladesh. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, ...

Toponym

There are a number of myths and legends associated with the origin of the name ''Delhi''. One of them is derived from ''Dhillu'' or ''Dilu'', a king who built a city at this location in 50 BCE and named it after himself. Another legend holds that the name of the city is based on the

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

word (''loose'') and that it was used by the

Tomaras The Tomara dynasty (also called Tomar in modern vernaculars because of Schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages, schwa deletion) dynasty ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana in India during 8th-12th century. Their rule over this region ...

to refer to the city because the

iron pillar of Delhi The iron pillar of Delhi is a structure high with a diameter that was constructed by Chandragupta II (reigned c. 375–415 AD), and now stands in the Qutb complex at Mehrauli in Delhi, India.Finbarr Barry Flood, 2003"Pillar, palimpsets, and pr ...

had a weak foundation and had to be moved. According to Panjab Notes and Queries, the name of the city at the time of King Prithviraj was , and that and are probably derived from the old Hindi word meaning "eminence". The former director of the Archaeological Survey of India, Alexander Cunningham, mentioned that later became . Some suggest the coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called ''dehliwal''. According to the

Bhavishya Purana The 'Bhavishya Purana' (') is one of the eighteen major works in the Purana genre of Hinduism, written in Sanskrit. The title ''Bhavishya'' means "future" and implies it is a work that contains prophecies regarding the future. The ''Bhavishya ...

, King Prithiviraja of

built a new fort in the modern-day

area for the convenience of all four castes in his kingdom. He ordered the construction of a gateway to the fort and later named the fort ''dehali''.Delhi City

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

, 1909, v. 11, p. 236. Some historians believe that ''Dhilli'' or ''Dhillika'' is the original name for the city while others believe the name could be a corruption of the Hindustani words ''dehleez'' or ''dehali''—both terms meaning "threshold" or "gateway"—and symbolic of the city as a gateway to the

Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...

. The people of Delhi are referred to as ''Delhiites'' or ''Dilliwalas''. The city is referenced in various idioms of the Northern

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily ...

. Examples include: * ''Abhī Dillī dūr hai'' (अभी दिल्ली दूर है / ابھی دلی دور ہے) or its

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

version, ''Hanuz Dehli dur ast'' (), literally meaning "Delhi is still far away", which is generically said about a task or journey still far from completion. * (आस-पास बरसे, दिल्ली पानी तरसे \ آس پاس برسے، دلی پانی ترسے), literally meaning "It pours all around, while Delhi lies parched". An allusion to the sometimes semi-arid climate of Delhi, it idiomatically refers to situations of deprivation when one is surrounded by plenty. The form ''Delhi'', used in

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern I ...

and strangely with an ''h'' following an ''l'', originated under colonial rule and is a corrupt spelling based on the Urdu name of the city (, ''Dehli'').

History

Ancient and Early Medieval Periods

Traditionally seven cities have been associated with the region of Delhi. The earliest,

, is part of a literary description in the Sanskrit epic ''

'' (composed c. 400 BCE to 200 CE but describing an earlier time) which situates a city on a knoll on the banks of the river Yamuna. According to art historian Catherine B. Asher, the topographical description of the ''Mahabharata'' matches the area of

, a 14th-century CE fort of the Delhi sultanate, but the analogy does not go much further. Whereas the ''Mahabharata'' speaks of a beautifully decorated city with surrounding fortification, the excavations have yielded "uneven findings of painted grey pottery characteristic of the eleventh century BCE; no signs of a built environment, much fewer fortifications, have been revealed." The earliest architectural relics date back to the

Maurya The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

period (c. 300 BCE); in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

(273–235 BCE) was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of several major cities can be found in Delhi. The first of these was in the southern part of present-day Delhi. King Anangpal Tomar, Anang Pal of the Tomara dynasty built Qila Rai Pithora, Lal Kot and several temples in 1052 CE. Vigraharaja IV, Vigraharaj Chauhan conquered Lal Kot in the mid-12th century and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora.

Late Medieval Period

Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated in 1192 by Muhammad of Ghor, Muhammad Ghori in the second battle of Tarain. Qutb al-Din Aibak, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, was given the responsibility of governing the conquered territories of India until Ghori returned to his capital, Ghor Province, Ghor. When Ghori died without an heir in 1206 CE, Qutb-ud-din assumed control of Ghori's Indian possessions, and laid the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk dynasty. He began construction of the Qutb Minar and Qutb complex, Quwwat-al-Islam (Might of Islam) mosque, the earliest extant mosque in India. It was his successor, Iltutmish (1211–1236), who consolidated the Turkic conquest of northern India. At , the Qutb Minar, a List of World Heritage Sites in India, UNESCO World Heritage Site in Delhi, was completed during the reign of Sultan Illtutmish in the 13th century. Although its style has some similarities with the Jarkurgan minaret, it is more closely related to the Ghaznavid and Ghurid minarets of Central Asia Razia Sultana, Razia, daughter of Iltutmish, became the Sultana of Delhi upon the former's death. For the next three hundred years, Delhi was ruled by a succession of Turkic peoples, Turkic and an Afghans, Afghan, Lodi dynasty. They built several forts and townships that are part of the History of Delhi, seven cities of Delhi. Delhi was a major centre of Sufism during this period. The Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk Sultanate (Delhi) was overthrown in 1290 by Jalal-ud-din Khalji, Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji (1290–1320). Under the second Khalji ruler, Alauddin Khalji, Ala-ud-din Khalji, the Delhi sultanate extended its control south of the Narmada River in the Deccan. The Delhi sultanate reached its greatest extent during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325–1351). In an attempt to bring the whole of the Deccan under control, he moved his capital to Daulatabad, Maharashtra in central India. However, by moving away from Delhi he lost control of the north and was forced to return to Delhi to restore order. The southern provinces then broke away. In the years following the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388), the Delhi Sultanate rapidly began to lose its hold over its northern provinces. Delhi was captured and sacked by Timur in 1398, who massacred 100,000 captive civilian. Delhi's decline continued under the Sayyid dynasty (1414–1451), until the sultanate was reduced to Delhi and its hinterland. Under the Afghan Lodi dynasty (1451–1526), the Delhi sultanate recovered control of Punjab and the Gangetic plain to once again achieve domination over Northern India. However, the recovery was short-lived and the sultanate was destroyed in 1526 by Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire, Mughal dynasty.

Early Modern Period

In 1526, Babur a descendant of Descent from Genghis Khan, Genghis Khan and Timur, from the Fergana Valley in modern-day Uzbekistan invaded India, defeated the last Lodhi sultan in the First Battle of Panipat and founded the

that ruled from Delhi and Agra. The Mughal dynasty ruled Delhi for more than three centuries, with a sixteen-year hiatus during the reigns of Sher Shah Suri and Hemu from 1540 to 1556. Shah Jahan built the seventh city of Delhi that bears his name ''Shahjahanabad'', which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1638 and is today known as the ''Old City'' or ''Old Delhi''. After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire's influence declined rapidly as the Hindu Maratha Empire from Deccan Plateau rose to prominence. In 1737, Maratha forces led by Baji Rao I sacked Delhi following their victory against the Mughals in the Battle of Delhi (1737), First Battle of Delhi. In 1739, the Mughal Empire lost the huge Battle of Karnal in less than three hours against the numerically outnumbered but militarily superior Persian army led by Nader Shah of Afsharid dynasty, Persia. After his Nader Shah's invasion of India, invasion, he sack of Delhi, completely sacked and looted Delhi, carrying away immense wealth including the Peacock Throne, the Daria-i-Noor, and Koh-i-Noor. The Mughals, severely further weakened, could never overcome this crushing defeat and humiliation which also left the way open for more invaders to come, including eventually the British Raj, British. Nader Shah, Nader eventually agreed to leave the city and India after forcing the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah I to beg him for mercy and granting him the keys of the city and the royal treasury. A treaty signed in 1752 made Marathas the protectors of the Mughal throne in Delhi. The city was sacked again in 1757 by the forces of Ahmad Shah Durrani, although it was not annexed by the Durrani Empire, Afghan Empire and being its vassal state under the Mughal emperor. Then the Marathas battled and Battle of Delhi (1757), won control of Delhi from the Mughals. By the end of the century, Delhi had also come under control of the Bharatpur State and the Sikh Empire.

Colonial Period

NewDelhiInaugurationSecondDayCancellation27Feb1931

In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Battle of Delhi, 1803, Battle of Delhi. During the

, Delhi fell to the forces of East India Company after a bloody fight known as the Siege of Delhi. The city came under the direct control of the British Government in 1858. It was made a district province of the Punjab (British India), Punjab. In 1911, it was announced that the capital of British-held territories in India was to be transferred from Calcutta to Delhi. The name "New Delhi" was given in 1927, and the new capital was inaugurated on 13 February 1931.

was officially declared as the capital of the Dominion of India, Union of India after the country gained History of the Republic of India, independence on 15 August 1947. It has expanded since; the small part of it that was constructed during the British period has come to be informally known as ''Lutyens' Delhi''.

Partition and post-independence

During the partition of India, around five lakh Hindu and Sikh refugees, mainly from Punjab, Pakistan, West Punjab fled to Delhi, while around three lakh Muslim residents of the city migrated to Pakistan. Ethnic Punjabis are believed to account for at least 40% of Delhi's total population and are predominantly

-speaking Punjabi Hindus. Migration to Delhi from the rest of India continues (), contributing more to the rise of Delhi's population than the birth rate, which is declining. The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 created the Union Territory of Delhi from its predecessor, the ''Chief Commissioner's Province of Delhi''. The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Act gave Delhi its legislative assembly along Civil lines, though with limited powers. Delhi was the primary site in the nationwide 1984 anti-Sikh riots, anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984, which resulted in the death of around 2,800 people in the city according to government figures, though independent estimates of the number of people killed tend to be higher. The riots were set off by the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of Indira Gandhi—the Prime Minister of India at the time—by her Sikh bodyguards. In 2001, the Parliament of India building in New Delhi was 2001 Indian Parliament attack, attacked by armed Islamic militants, killing six security personnel. India suspected Pakistan-based Jihadist militant groups were behind the attack, which caused a major 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff, diplomatic crisis between the two countries. There were further terrorist attacks in Delhi in 2005 Delhi bombings, 2005 and 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings, 2008, resulting in a total of 92 deaths. The 2020 Delhi riots, Delhi's worst communal violence in decades, was caused mainly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslims, and the rest Hindus.

Geography

Delhi is located in North India, Northern India, at . The city is bordered on its northern, western, and southern sides by the States and union territories of India, state of

and to the east by that of

(UP). Two prominent features of the geography of Delhi are the Yamuna flood plains and the Delhi ridge. The Yamuna River was the historical boundary between Punjab and UP, and its flood plains provide fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture but are prone to recurrent floods. The Yamuna, a sacred river in Hinduism, is the only major river flowing through Delhi. The Hindon River separates Ghaziabad from the eastern part of Delhi. The Delhi ridge originates from the Aravalli Range in the south and encircles the west, northeast, and northwest parts of the city. It reaches a height of and is a dominant feature of the region. In addition to the wetlands formed by the Yamuna river, Delhi continues to retain over 500 ponds (wetlands < 5 ha), that in turn support considerable number of bird species. Delhi's ponds, despite experiencing ecological deterioration due to garbage dumping and concretization, supports the largest number of bird species known to be using ponds anywhere in the world. Existing policy in Delhi prevents the conversion of wetlands and, quite inadvertently, has led to the city's ponds becoming invaluable refugia for birds. The National Capital Territory of Delhi covers an area of , of which is designated rural, and urban therefore making it the largest city in terms of area in the country. It has a length of and a width of . Delhi is included in India's Earthquake zones of India, seismic zone-IV, indicating its vulnerability to major earthquakes.

Climate

Delhi features a dry-winter humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification, Köppen ''Cwa'') bordering a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification, Köppen ''BSh''). The warm season lasts from 21 March to 15 June with an average daily high temperature above . The hottest day of the year is 22 May, with an average high of and low of . The cold season lasts from 26 November to 9 February with an average daily high temperature below . The coldest day of the year is 4 January, with an average low of and high of . In early March, the wind direction changes from north-westerly to south-westerly. From April to October the weather is hot. The monsoon arrives at the end of June, along with an increase in humidity. The brief, mild winter starts in late November, peaks in January and heavy fog often occurs. Temperatures in Delhi usually range from , with the lowest and highest temperatures ever recorded being , respectively. However, was recorded at Mungeshpur on 15 May 2022 whereas one of the main weathering station, that is, Airport station recorded all time high of on 26 May 1998. The lowest ever temperature ever recorded is at airport on 11 January 1967. The highest temperature ever recorded in Safdarjung is on 29 May 1944 & lowest recorded is on 16 January 1935. On January 8 2006 Delhi recorded minimum temperature of , the coldest in 70 years. On December 30 2019 Delhi recorded lowest maximum temp ever at at Safdarjung & at Mungeshpur. On January 1 2021 Delhi recorded temperature of , the coldest in 15 years. The annual mean temperature is ; monthly mean temperatures range from . The highest temperature recorded in July in Safdarjung & Palam were in 1 July 1931 & in 5 July 1987 respectively. The average annual rainfall is approximately , most of which falls during the monsoon in July and August. The average date of the advent of monsoon winds in Delhi is 27 June.

Air pollution

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Delhi was the most polluted city in the world in 2014. In 2016 WHO downgraded Delhi to eleventh-worst in the urban air quality database. According to one estimate, air pollution causes the death of about 10,500 people in Delhi every year. Air quality index of Delhi is generally moderate (101–200) level between January to September, and then it drastically deteriorates to Very Poor (301–400), Severe (401–500) or Hazardous (500+) levels in three months between October to December, due to various factors including stubble burning, fire crackers burning during Diwali and cold weather. During 2013–14, peak levels of fine particulate matter (PM) in Delhi increased by about 44%, primarily due to high vehicular and industrial emissions, construction work and crop burning in adjoining states. It has the highest level of the airborne particulate matter, PM2.5 considered most harmful to health, with 153 micrograms. Rising air pollution level has significantly increased lung-related ailments (especially asthma and lung cancer) among Delhi's children and women. The dense smog and haze in Delhi during winter results in major air and rail traffic disruptions every year. According to Indian meteorologists, the average maximum temperature in Delhi during winters has declined notably since 1998 due to rising air pollution. India's Ministry of Earth Sciences published a research paper in October 2018 attributing almost 41% of PM2.5 air pollution in Delhi to vehicular emissions, 21.5% to dust/fire and 18% to industries. The director of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) alleged that the Automotive industry in India, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is lobbying "against the report" because it is "inconvenient" to the automobile industry. Environmentalists have also criticised the Delhi government for not doing enough to curb air pollution and to inform people about air quality issues. In 2014, an environmental panel appealed to India's Supreme Court to impose a 30% cess on diesel cars, but till date no action has been taken to penalise the automobile industry. Most of Delhi's residents are unaware of alarming levels of air pollution in the city and the health risks associated with it. In 2020, annual average PM2.5 in the Delhi, stood at 107.6 µg/m³, which is almost 21.5 times the World Health Organization PM2.5 Guideline (5 µg/m³: set in September, 2021). These pollution levels are estimated to reduce the Life expectancy, Life Expectancy of an average person living in Delhi by almost 10.1 years. However, , awareness, particularly among the foreign diplomatic community and high-income Indians, was noticeably increasing. Since the mid-1990s, Delhi has undertaken some measures to curb air pollution—Delhi has the third-highest quantity of trees among Indian cities and the Delhi Transport Corporation operates the world's largest fleet of environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. In 1996, the CSE started a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court of India that ordered the conversion of Delhi's fleet of buses and taxis to run on CNG and banned the use of leaded petrol in 1998. In 2003, Delhi won the United States Department of Energy's first 'Clean Cities International Partner of the Year' award for its "bold efforts to curb air pollution and support alternative fuel initiatives". The Delhi Metro has also been credited for significantly reducing air pollutants in the city. However, according to several authors, most of these gains have been lost, especially due to stubble burning, a rise in the market share of diesel exhaust, diesel cars and a considerable decline in bus ridership. According to CSE and System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), burning of agricultural waste in nearby Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh regions results in severe intensification of smog over Delhi.

Civic administration

Currently, the National Capital Territory of Delhi is made up of one division, List of districts of Delhi, 11 districts, 33 subdivisions, 59 census towns, and 300 villages. The National Capital Territory of Delhi is divided into three municipalities, Delhi Municipality, New Delhi and Delhi Cantonment, each with their own governance apparatus. The Municipality of Delhi is administered by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) which occupies an area of 1397.3 km² and is sub-divided into 12 zones, that is, Centre, South, West, Najafgarh, Rohini, Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, SP-City, Keshavpuram, Narela, Shahdara North and Shahdara South. Municipal services in

, which occupies an area of 42.7 km², are provided by the New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment is administered by a Cantonment board. Between 2011 and 22 May 2022 Delhi Municipality was divided into three municipal corporations: # South Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi had jurisdiction over South and West Delhi areas including Mahipalpur, Rajouri Garden, Badarpur, Jaitpur, Janakpuri, Hari Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Dwarka, Jungpura, Greater Kailash, R K Puram, Malviya Nagar, Kalkaji, Ambedkar Nagar and Pul pehladpur. # North Delhi Municipal Corporation, North Delhi had jurisdiction over areas such as Badli, Rithala, Bawana, Kirari, Mangolpuri, Tri Nagar, Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, Karol Bagh, Moti Nagar # East Delhi Municipal Corporation, East Delhi had jurisdiction over areas such as Patparganj, Kondli, Laxmi Nagar, Seemapuri, Gonda, Karawal Nagar, Babarpur and Shahadra. Delhi is home to the Delhi High Court, High Court of Delhi. The High Court of Delhi is the highest in the Delhi before Supreme Court. The High Court of Delhi just like the apex court and other High Courts in India is the Court of record. Delhi is also home to various District Court according to jurisdictions. Delhi have Currently seven District Courts namely Tis Hazari Court Complex, Karkardooma Court Complex, Patiala House Court Complex, Rohini Court Complex, Dwarka Courts Complex, Saket Court Complex, and Rouse Avenue Court Apart from the District Courts Delhi also have Consumer Courts, CBI Courts, Labour Courts, Revenue Courts, Army tribunals, electricity tribunals, Railway Tribunals, and other various tribunals situated according to appropriate jurisdictions. For policing purposes Delhi is divided into fifteen Districts of Delhi Police, police districts which are further subdivided into 95 local police station zones. Delhi currently has 180 police stations.

Government and politics

As a first-level administrative division, the National Capital Territory of Delhi has its own Legislative Assembly of Delhi, Legislative Assembly, List of lieutenant governors of Delhi, Lieutenant Governor, the council of ministers, and

. Members of the legislative assembly are directly elected from territorial constituencies in the NCT. The legislative assembly was abolished in 1956, after which direct federal control was implemented until it was re-established in 1993. The Municipal corporation handles civic administration for the city as part of the Panchayati Raj Act. The Government of India and the Government of Delhi, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi jointly administer New Delhi, where both bodies are located. The Parliament of India, the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace), Cabinet Secretariat of India, Cabinet Secretariat, and the Supreme Court of India are located in the municipal district of New Delhi. There are 70 assembly constituencies and seven Lok Sabha (Indian parliament's lower house) constituencies in Delhi. The Indian National Congress (Congress) formed all the governments in Delhi until the 1990s, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Madan Lal Khurana, came to power. In 1998, the Congress returned to power under the leadership of Sheila Dikshit, who was subsequently re-elected for 3 consecutive terms. But in 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, 2013, the Congress was ousted from power by the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Arvind Kejriwal forming the government with outside support from the Congress. However, that government was short-lived, collapsing only after 49 days. Delhi was then under President's rule until February 2015. On 10 February 2015, the Aam Aadmi Party returned to power after a landslide victory, winning 67 out of the 70 seats in the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

Economy

Delhi is the largest commercial center in northern India. recent estimates of the economy of the Delhi urban area have been around $370 billion (Purchasing power parity, PPP Gross metropolitan product, metro GDP) ranking it either the List of cities by GDP, most or second-most productive metro area of India. * * * The nominal List of Indian states and union territories by GDP, GSDP of the NCT of Delhi for 2016–17 was estimated at , 13% higher than in 2015–16. As per the Economic survey of Delhi (2005–2006), the tertiary sector of industry, tertiary sector contributes 70.95% of Delhi's gross SDP followed by secondary sector of industry, secondary and primary sector of industry, primary sectors with 25.20% and 3.85% contributions, respectively. Delhi's workforce constitutes 32.82% of the population, and increased by 52.52% between 1991 and 2001. Delhi's unemployment rate decreased from 12.57% in 1999–2000 to 4.63% in 2003. In December 2004, 636,000 people were registered with various employment exchange programmes in Delhi. In 2001 the total workforce in national and state governments and the quasi-government sector was 620,000, and the private sector employed 219,000. Key service industries are information technology, telecommunications, hotels, banking, media and tourism. Construction, power, health and community services and real estate are also important to the city's economy. Delhi has one of India's largest and fastest growing retail industries. Manufacturing also grew considerably as consumer goods companies established manufacturing units and headquarters in the city. Delhi's large consumer market and the availability of skilled labour has also attracted foreign investment. In 2001, the manufacturing sector employed 1,440,000 workers and the city had 129,000 industrial units.

Utility services

Delhi's municipal water supply is managed by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). , it supplied 650 million gallons per day (MGD), whereas the estimated consumption requirement is 963 MGD. The shortfall is met by private and public tube wells and hand pumps. At 240 MGD, the Bhakra storage is DJB's largest water source, followed by the Yamuna and Ganges rivers. Delhi's groundwater level is falling and its population density is increasing, so residents often encounter acute water shortage. Research on Delhi suggests that up to half of the city's water use is unofficial groundwater.
In Delhi, daily domestic solid waste production is 8000 tonnes which is dumped at three landfill locations by MCD. The daily domestic waste water production is 470 MGD and industrial waste water is 70 MGD. A large portion of the sewage flows untreated into the Yamuna river. The city's electricity consumption is about 1,265 kWh per capita but the actual demand is higher. In Delhi power distribution is managed by Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, TPDDL and BSES Yamuna Power Limited, BSES Yamuna & BSES Rajdhani since 2002. The Delhi Fire Service runs 43 fire stations that attend about 15,000 fire and rescue calls per year. The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, BSNL and private enterprises such as Bharti Airtel, Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Vi, Jio, and provide telephone and cell phone services to the city. Cellular coverage is available in GSM, CDMA, 3G, 4G and LTE Advanced, 4G+.

Transport

Air

Indira Gandhi International Airport, situated to the south-west of Delhi, is the main gateway for the city's domestic and international civilian air traffic. In 2015–16, the airport handled more than 48 million passengers, making it the busiest airport in India and South Asia. Terminal 3, which cost to construct between 2007 and 2010, handles an additional 37 million passengers annually. In 2010, IGIA was conferred the 4th best airport award in the world in the 15–25 million category, by Airports Council International. The airport was rated as the ''Best airport in the world'' in the 25–40 million passengers category in 2015, by Airports Council International. Delhi Airport was awarded ''The Best Airport in Central Asia'' and ''Best Airport Staff in Central Asia'' at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2015. Hindon Airport, Hindon Domestic Airport in Ghaziabad was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the second airport for the Delhi-NCR Region on 8 March 2019. A second international airport open for commercial flights has been suggested either by expansion of Meerut Airport or construction of a new airport in Greater Noida. The Taj International Airport project in Jewar has been approved by the

government. The ''Delhi Flying Club'', established in 1928 with two de Havilland Moth aircraft named ''Delhi'' and ''Roshanara'', was based at Safdarjung Airport which started operations in 1929, when it was the Delhi's only airport and the second in India. The airport functioned until 2001; however, in January 2002 the government closed the airport for flying activities because of security concerns following 9/11, the New York attacks in September 2001. Since then, the club only carries out aircraft maintenance courses and is used for helicopter rides to Indira Gandhi International Airport for VIP including the president and the prime minister.

Road

Delhi has the highest road density of 2103 km/100 km² in

. It is connected to other parts of India by five National highways of India, National Highways: National Highway 1 (India, old numbering), NH 1, National Highway 2 (India, old numbering), NH 2, National Highway 8 (India, old numbering), NH 8, National Highway 10 (India, old numbering), NH 10 and National Highway 24 (India), NH 24. The Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Kolkata prongs of the Golden Quadrilateral start from the city. The city's road network is maintained by MCD, NDMC, Delhi Cantonment Board, Public Works Department (PWD) and Delhi Development Authority. Buses are the most popular means of road transport catering to about 60% of Delhi's total demand. Delhi has one of India's largest bus transport systems. In 1998, the Supreme Court of India ruled that all public transport vehicles in Delhi must be fuelled by compressed natural gas (CNG) to tackle increasing vehicular pollution. The state-owned Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is a major bus service provider which operates the world's largest fleet of CNG-fuelled buses. In addition, cluster scheme buses are operated by Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) with the participation of private concessionaires and DTC. In December 2017, the DTC and cluster buses carried over 4.19 million passengers per day. Maharana Pratap Inter State Bus Terminus, Kashmiri Gate ISBT, Swami Vivekanand Inter State Bus Terminus, Anand Vihar ISBT and Sarai Kale Khan Inter-State Bus Terminus, Sarai Kale Khan ISBT are the main bus terminals for outstation buses plying to neighbouring states. Delhi's rapid rate of economic development and population growth has resulted in an increasing demand for transport, creating excessive pressure on the city's transport infrastructure. To meet the transport demand, the State and Union government constructed a mass rapid transit system, including the Delhi Metro. Delhi Bus Rapid Transit System runs between Ambedkar Nagar and Delhi Gate, Delhi, Delhi Gate. Personal vehicles especially cars also form a major chunk of vehicles plying on Delhi roads. , private vehicles account for 30% of the total demand for transport. Delhi has the highest number of registered cars compared to any other metropolitan city in India. Taxis, auto rickshaws, and cycle rickshaws also ply on Delhi roads in large numbers. , the number of vehicles in the metropolitan region, Delhi NCR, was 11.2 million (11.2 million). In 2008, there were 85 cars in Delhi for every 1,000 of its residents. In 2017, the number of vehicles in Delhi city alone crossed the ten million mark with the transport department of Government of Delhi, Delhi Government putting the total number of registered vehicles at 10,567,712 until 25 May of the year.

Railway

Delhi is a major junction in the Indian railway network and is the headquarters of the Northern Railway (India), Northern Railway. The main railway stations are New Delhi railway station, New Delhi, Delhi Junction Railway Station, Old Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar Railway Terminal, Anand Vihar, Delhi Sarai Rohilla railway station, Delhi Sarai Rohilla and Delhi Cantonment railway station, Delhi Cantt. The Delhi Metro, a mass rapid transit system built and operated by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), serves many parts of Delhi and the neighbouring cities

, Gurgaon and

. , the metro consists of List of Delhi Metro lines, ten operational lines with a total length of and List of Delhi metro stations, 254 stations, and several other lines are under construction. The Phase-I was built at a cost of US$2.3 billion and the Phase-II was expected to cost an additional . Phase-II has a total length of 128 km and was completed by 2010. Delhi Metro completed 10 years of operation on 25 December 2012. It carries millions of passengers every day. In addition to the Delhi Metro, a suburban railway, the Delhi Suburban Railway exists.

Metro

The Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi,

, Gurgaon and

in the National Capital Region of India. Delhi Metro is the world's tenth-largest metro system in terms of length. Delhi Metro was India's second modern public transportation system. The network consists of #Network, 10 colour-coded lines serving List of Delhi Metro stations, 255 stations with a total length of . The system has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using both Broad-gauge railway, broad-gauge and Standard-gauge railway, standard-gauge. All stations have escalators, lifts, and tactile tiles to guide the visually impaired from station entrances to trains. There are 18 designated parking sites at Metro stations to further encourage the use of the system. In March 2010, DMRC partnered with Google India (through Google Transit) to provide train schedule and route information to mobile devices with Google Maps. It has a combination of elevated, at-grade, and underground lines, and uses both broad gauge and standard gauge rolling stock. Four types of rolling stock are used: Mitsubishi–ROTEM Broad gauge, Bombardier MOVIA, Mitsubishi–ROTEM Standard gauge, and CAF Beasain Standard gauge. The Phase-I of Delhi Metro was built for US$2.3 billion and the Phase-II was expected to cost an additional . Phase-II has a total length of 128 km and was completed by 2010. Delhi Metro completed 10 years of operation on 25 December 2012. It carries millions of passengers every day. Delhi Metro is being built and operated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), a state-owned company with equal equity participation from the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. However, the organization is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. Besides the construction and operation of the Delhi Metro, DMRC is also involved in the planning and implementation of metro rail, monorail, and high-speed rail projects in India and providing consultancy services to other metro projects in the country as well as abroad. The Delhi Metro project was spearheaded by Padma Vibhushan E. Sreedharan, the managing director of DMRC and popularly known as the "Metro Man" of India. He famously resigned from DMRC taking moral responsibility for a metro bridge collapse, which took five lives. Sreedharan was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French Government for his contribution to Delhi Metro.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, the population of the NCT of Delhi is 16,753,235. The corresponding population density was 11,297 persons per km² with a sex ratio of 866 women per 1000 men, and a literacy rate of 86.34%. In 2004, the birth rate, death rate and infant mortality rate per 1000 population were 20.03, 5.59 and 13.08, respectively. In 2001, the population of Delhi increased by 285,000 as a result of migration and by 215,000 as a result of natural population growth, which made Delhi one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Dwarka, Delhi, Dwarka Sub City, Asia's largest planned residential area, is located within the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Urban sprawl, Urban expansion has resulted in Delhi's urban area now being considered as extending beyond the NCT boundaries to incorporate the towns and cities of neighbouring states including

and Gurgaon in

, and

and

, the total population of which is estimated by the United Nations to be over 28 million. According to the UN this makes Delhi urban area the world's List of urban areas by population, second-largest urban area after Tokyo, although Demographia declares the Jakarta urban area to be the second-largest. The 2011 census provided two figures for urban area population: 16,314,838 within the NCT boundary, and 21,753,486 for the ''Extended Urban Area''. The 2021 regional plan released by the Government of India renamed the ''Extended Urban Area'' from ''Delhi Metropolitan Area (DMA)'' as defined by the 2001 plan, to ''National Capital Region (India)#Central National Capital Region, Central National Capital Region (CNCR)''. Around 49% of the population of Delhi lives in slums and unauthorized colonies without any civic amenities. The majority of these slums have inadequate provisions to the basic facilities and according to a DUSIB report, almost 22% of the people do open defecation. Major social groups of Delhi include Brahmins, Gujjars, Jat people, Jats, Vaishyas, Khatri, Khatris, Rajputs, Ahirs, Punjabis, Purvanchalis, Bengalis, Uttarakhandis, Muslims, Sikhs, etc. File:Birla Mandir Delhi.jpg, alt=The Birla temple in Delhi with its towers., Birla Mandir, Delhi, a Hindu temple, was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1933 File:Jama Masjid - In the Noon.jpg, The Jama Masjid, Delhi, Jama Masjid was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656 File:Interior-view-Gurudwara-Sis-Ganj-Sahib-Night-View.jpg, The prayer hall of Sikh Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi which dates to 1783 Hinduism is Delhi's predominant religious faith, with 81.68% of Delhi's population, followed by Islam (12.86%), Sikhism (3.40%), Jainism (0.99%), Christianity (0.87%), and Buddhism (0.11%). Other minority religions include Zoroastrianism, Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼísm and Judaism. According to the 50th report of the commissioner for linguistic minorities in India, which was submitted in 2014,

is Delhi's most spoken language, with 80.94% speakers, followed by Punjabi language, Punjabi (7.14%), Urdu (6.31%) and Bengali language, Bengali (1.50%). 4.11% of Delhites speak other languages. Hindi is also the official language of Delhi while Urdu and Punjabi have been declared as additional official languages. According to the Directorate of Education and Government of Delhi, GNCTD the following languages are taught in schools in Delhi under the three-language formula: * First Language #

# Urdu # English language, English * Second Language # English language, English * Third language # Urdu # Punjabi language, Punjabi # Bengali language, Bengali # Sindhi language, Sindhi # Tamil Nadu, Tamil # Telugu language, Telugu # Malayalam # Kannada # Gujarati language, Gujarati # Marathi language, Marathi # Sanskrit #

# Arabic

Culture

Delhi's culture has been influenced by its lengthy history and historic association as the capital of India. Although a strong Punjabis, Punjabi Influence can be seen in Punjabi language, language, Punjabi clothing, Dress and Punjabi cuisine, Cuisine brought by the large number of refugees who came following the Partition of India, partition in 1947 the recent migration from other parts of India has made it a melting pot. This is exemplified by many significant monuments in the city. The Archaeological Survey of India recognises 1,200 heritage buildings and 175 monuments as national heritage sites. In the Old City, the Mughals and the Turkic rulers constructed several architecturally significant buildings, such as the Jama Masjid, Delhi, Jama Masjid—India's largest mosque built in 1656 and the

. Three World Heritage Sites—the Red Fort, Qutab Minar, Qutub Minar and

—are located in Delhi. Other monuments include the India Gate, the Yantra Mandir (Delhi), Jantar Mantar—an 18th-century astronomical observatory—and the

—a 16th-century fortress. The Laxminarayan Temple, Akshardham (Delhi), Akshardham temple, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the Baháʼí Faith's Lotus Temple and the ISKCON Temple Delhi, ISKCON temple are examples of modern architecture. Raj Ghat and associated memorials houses memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and other notable personalities. New Delhi houses several government buildings and official residences reminiscent of British colonial architecture, including the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Secretariat Building, New Delhi, the Secretariat, Rajpath, the Parliament of India and Vijay Chowk. Tomb of Safdar Jang, Safdarjung's Tomb is an example of the Mughal gardens style. Some regal ''havelis'' (palatial residences) are in the Old City. Lotus Temple is a Baháʼí House of Worship completed in 1986. Notable for its flowerlike shape, it serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent and has become a prominent attraction in the city. The National Museum, New Delhi, National Museum and National Gallery of Modern Art are some of the largest museums in the country. Other museums in Delhi include the National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi, National Museum of Natural History, National Rail Museum, New Delhi, National Rail Museum and National Philatelic Museum, New Delhi, National Philatelic Museum. Chandni Chowk, a 17th-century market, is one of the most popular shopping areas in Delhi for jewellery and ''Zari'' saris. Delhi's arts and crafts include, ''Zardozi''—an embroidery done with gold thread—and ''Meenakari''—the art of enamelling.

Festivals

Delhi's association and geographic proximity to the capital, New Delhi, has amplified the importance of national events and holidays like Republic Day (India), Republic Day, Independence Day (India), Independence Day (15 August) and ''Gandhi Jayanti''. On Independence Day, the Prime Minister addresses the nation from the Red Fort. The Delhi Republic Day parade, Republic Day Parade is a large cultural and military parade showcasing India's cultural diversity and military strength. Over the centuries, Delhi has become known for its composite culture, and a festival that symbolises this is the ''Phool Walon Ki Sair'', which takes place in September. Flowers and ''pankhe''—fans embroidered with flowers—are offered to the shrine of the 13th-century Sufi saint Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki and the Yogmaya Temple, both situated in Mehrauli. Religious festivals include ''Diwali'' (the festival of lights), ''Mahavir Jayanti'', Guru Nanak's Birthday, ''Raksha Bandhan'', ''Durga Puja'', ''Holi'', ''Lohri'', ''Chauth'', ''Krishna Janmastami'', ''Maha Shivratri'', Eid ul-Fitr, ''Day of Ashura, Moharram'' and ''Buddha Jayanti''. The Qutub Festival is a cultural event during which performances of musicians and dancers from all over India are showcased at night, with the Qutub Minar as a backdrop. Other events such as Kite Flying Festival, International Mango Festival, Delhi, International Mango Festival and ''Vasant Panchami'' (the Spring Festival) are held every year in Delhi. The Auto Expo, Asia's largest auto show, is held in Delhi biennially. The New Delhi World Book Fair, held biennially at the Pragati Maidan, is the second-largest exhibition of books in the world. Delhi is often regarded as the "Book Capital" of India because of high readership. India International Trade Fair (IITF), organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation, ITPO is the biggest cultural and shopping fair of Delhi which takes place in November each year and is visited by more than 1.5 million people.

Cuisine

As India's national capital and centuries old Mughal empire, Mughal capital, Delhi influenced the food habits of its residents and is where Mughlai cuisine originated. Along with Indian cuisine, a variety of international cuisines are popular among the residents. The dearth of food habits among the city's residents created a unique style of cooking which became popular throughout the world, with dishes such as ''Kebab'', ''biryani'', ''tandoori''. The city's classic dishes include butter chicken, ''dal makhani'', ''shahi paneer'', ''aloo chaat'', ''chaat'', ''dahi bhalla'', ''kachori'', ''Panipuri, gol gappe'', ''samosa'', ''chole bhature'', ''chole kulche'', ''gulab jamun'', ''jalebi'' and ''lassi''. The fast living habits of Delhi's people has motivated the growth of street food outlets. A trend of dining at local ''dhabas'' is popular among the residents. High-profile restaurants have gained popularity in recent years, among the popular restaurants are the Karim Hotel, the Punjab Grill and Bukhara. The ''Gali Paranthe Wali'' (the street of fried bread) is a street in Chandni Chowk particularly for food eateries since the 1870s. Almost the entire street is occupied by fast food stalls or hawker (trade), street vendors. It has nearly become a tradition that almost every prime minister of India has visited the street to eat ''paratha'' at least once. Other Indian cuisines are also available in this area even though the street specialises in north Indian food.

Education

Private schools in Delhi—which use either English or Hindi as the language of instruction—are affiliated to one of three administering bodies, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) or the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). In 2004–05, approximately 1,529,000 students were enrolled in primary schools, 822,000 in middle schools and 669,000 in secondary schools across Delhi. Female students represented 49% of the total enrolment. The same year, the Delhi government spent between 1.58% and 1.95% of its gross state domestic product on education. School#India, Schools and higher educational institutions in Delhi are administered either by the Delhi Directorate of Education, Directorate of Education, the NCT government or private organisations. In 2006, Delhi had 165 colleges, five medical colleges and eight engineering colleges, seven major universities and nine Deemed University, deemed universities. The premier management colleges of Delhi such as Faculty of Management Studies (Delhi) and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade rank the best in India. All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi is a premier medical school for treatment and research. National Law University, Delhi is a prominent law school and is affiliated with the Bar Council of India. The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi situated in Hauz Khas is a premier engineering college of India and ranks as one of the top institutes in South Asia. Delhi Technological University (formerly Delhi College of Engineering), Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (formerly Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology), Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Netaji Subhas University of Technology (formerly Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology), Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and National Law University, Delhi are the only state universities. University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia are the Central University (India), central universities, and Indira Gandhi National Open University is for distance education. , about 16% of all Delhi residents possessed at least a college graduate degree.

Media

As the capital of India, Delhi is the focus of political reportage, including regular television broadcasts of Parliament sessions. Many national media agencies, including the state-owned Press Trust of India, Media Trust of India and Doordarshan, are based in the city. Television programming includes two free terrestrial television channels offered by Doordarshan, and several Hindi, English, and regional-language cable television, cable channels offered by multi system operators. Direct broadcast satellite, Satellite television has yet to gain a large number of subscribers in the city. Print journalism remains a popular news medium in Delhi. The city's Hindi newspapers include ''Navbharat Times'', ''Hindustan Dainik'', ''Punjab Kesari'', ''Pavitra Bharat'', ''Dainik Jagran'', ''Dainik Bhaskar'', ''Amar Ujala'' and ''Dainik Desbandhu''. Amongst the English language newspapers, the ''Hindustan Times'', with a daily circulation of over a million copies, is the single largest daily. Other major English newspapers include ''The Times of India'', ''The Hindu'', ''The Indian Express'', ''Business Standard'', ''The Pioneer (daily), The Pioneer'', ''The Statesman (India), The Statesman'', and ''The Asian Age''. Regional language newspapers include the Malayalam language, Malayalam daily ''Malayala Manorama'' and the Tamil language, Tamil dailies ''Dinamalar'' and ''Dinakaran''. Radio is a less popular mass medium in Delhi, although Frequency modulation, FM radio has gained popularity since the inauguration of several new stations in 2006. A number of state-owned and private radio stations broadcast from Delhi.

Sports

Delhi hosted the first Asian Games in 1951 from 4 to 11 March. A total of 489 athletes representing 11 Asian National Olympic Committees participated in 57 events from eight Asian Games sports, sports and discipline. The Games was the successor of the Far Eastern Games and the revival of the Western Asiatic Games. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Games Federation was formally established in Delhi, with Delhi unanimously announced as the first host city of the Asian Games. Dhyan Chand National Stadium, National Stadium was the venue for all events. Over 40,000 spectators watched the opening ceremony of the Games in National Stadium. Delhi hosted the ninth Asian Games for the second time in 1982 from 19 November to 4 December. This was the second time the city has hosted the Asian Games and was also the first Asian Games to be held under the aegis of the Olympic Council of Asia. A total of 3,411 athletes from 33 National Olympic Committees participated in these games, competing in 196 events in 21 sports and 23 disciplines. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Delhi), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which has a capacity of 60,000 people, was built purposely for the event and hosted its opening ceremony. Delhi hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Nineteenth Commonwealth Games in 2010, which ran from 3 to 14 October and was the largest sporting event held in India. The opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event, in New Delhi at 7:00 pm Indian Standard Time on 3 October 2010. The ceremony featured over 8,000 performers and lasted for two and a half hours. It is estimated that were spent to produce the ceremony. Events took place at 12 competition venues. 20 training venues were used in the Games, including seven venues within Delhi University. The rugby stadium in Delhi University North Campus hosted rugby games for Commonwealth Games. Cricket and Association football, football are the most popular sports in Delhi. There are several cricket grounds, or ''wikt:meidan, maidans'', located across the city. The Arun Jaitley Stadium (known commonly as the ''Kotla'') is one of the oldest cricket grounds in India and is a venue for international cricket matches. It is the home ground of the Delhi cricket team, which represents the city in the Ranji Trophy, the premier Indian domestic first-class cricket championship. The Delhi cricket team has produced several world-class international cricketers such as Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Madan Lal, Chetan Chauhan, Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Manoj Prabhakar and Bishan Singh Bedi to name a few. The Railways cricket team, Railways and Services cricket team, Services cricket teams in the Ranji Trophy also play their home matches in Delhi, in the Karnail Singh Stadium and the Harbax Singh Stadium, respectively. The city is also home to the Indian Premier League team Delhi Capitals, who play their home matches at the Kotla. Ambedkar Stadium, a football stadium in Delhi which holds 21,000 people, was the venue for the Indian football team's World Cup qualifier against UAE on 28 July 2012. Delhi hosted the Nehru Cup in 2007 Nehru Cup, 2007 and 2009 Nehru Cup, 2009, in both of which India defeated Syria 1–0. In the Elite Football League of India, Delhi's first professional American football franchise, the Delhi Defenders played its first season in Pune. Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, a suburb of Delhi, formerly hosted the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix.

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Official Tourism Site of Delhi, India

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