Gates of Delhi
[2][3][4][5][6][7] In the first city of Delhi, 13 gates were built in the 11th-century citadel of Lal Kot, with the extended Qila Rai Pithora, which was ruled by the Slave Dynasty from 1192 with the establishment of the Qutb complex.The ruins of Hauz Rani and Barka are seen around the remains between giant gaps in the long stretches of the Lal Kot wall, surrounded by a wide moat on the outside.Hence, it has also been conjectured that it could have been built by Thomas Metcalfe as one of his follies, close to his original 'Dilkusha' mansion (now seen in ruins) to enhance the elegance of his retreat.This gate is seen at the southern end of the Qutb complex of the enlarged Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, built entirely on the principles of Islamic architecture.The gate made of rectangular bands of red sandstone and white marble has inscriptions of verses from Koran and Hadis in elaborate carvings on its windows.[2][4][11] Historian Fanshawe writing euphorically on the beauty of the gate extolled:[12][13] "The Alai Darwaza is not only the most beautiful structure at the Kutub, but is one of the most striking specimens of external polychromatic decoration not merely in India, but in the whole world, while the carving of interior may challenge comparison with any work of the kind.The effect of exterior suffers, from a distant point of view, from the absence of a parapet above the walls; this was unfortunately removed by Captain Smith, as it was greatly ruined.[14][15] The city, when built with an oval plan, was best described as presenting an embodiment of richness with palaces and other structures and had seven gates for entry and exit.[16] Tughlaqabad, the third city of medieval Delhi, built by Ghazi Malik is well known as Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq who established the Tughlaq Dynasty in 1321 after ousting the Khaljis, was enclosed within a fort of massive proportions completed in a short span of four years.But the fort was abandoned soon after Ghiyasuddin's death for two reasons namely, water shortage and the foolhardy decision of his successor Sultan, the Muhammad bin Tughlaq who forcibly shifted his capital to the new city of Daulatabad in the Deccan and returned to found the fourth city of Jahanpanah.[14][19] Firuz Shah Tughlaq built a new capital city on the banks of the Yamuna River in 1351 and called it Firozabad.The structures within the enclosure walls of the fort were barracks, armories, servant's rooms, halls for audience, an imposing mosque as well as public and private baths and a stepped well or baoli.[14][20] Three main gates on the north, south and west are part of the fortifications of the Purana Qila, the sixth city of Delhi, built by Sher Shah Suri (1538–45).Arcades were built from this gate into the city, which were provided with series of dwellings with frontage of a verandah, which may have been used for commercial establishments.The gates were designed and built for the people to have access and the royal procession to enter or exit when going out in diverse directions.Subsequently, area surrounding the Kashmiri Gate became the commercial hub of Delhi, when the Civil Lines were developed by the British.Nearby outside a ditch, once lied remains of the underground apartments of Safdarjung, which at one point were one of the important sights of Delhi.[28] At present, the old walls of the fort have been demolished and replaced by commercial buildings and residential complexes, but the gate on the west exists.[4][9][29] Though not within the walls of the Shahajahan's fort, it is located on the Mathura road opposite to the Ferozshah Kotla near Maulana Azad Medical College.At this gate, on 21 September 1857, during the Indian Rebellion, three sons of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, were executed by the British Officer, Captain William Hodson.The fort was used during the Uprising in 1857 and also as a prison, which housed Zebunnisa, daughter of Aurangzeb; the British imprisoned the freedom fighters of Indian National Army.The past tradition was to fill this bowl with oil and light it as a lamp on anniversaries but is no more practiced, instead, an eternal flame burns below the arch.Seen behind the India Gate is an impressive Chhatri, which displayed the statue of King George V, designed by British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger till 1968.[36] On 21 January 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a statue of Subhas Chandra Bose would be installed in the canopy at India Gate.On 8 September 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly made statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose near the India Gate.The Shrine of the Sufi is deep inside Mohalla Qabristan and can be approached either through Mohammad Deen Ilaichi Marg or through the road leading to Chitli Qabar from Turkman Gate.
Alai DarwazaQutb complexKashmiri GatePurana QilaDelhi GateLahori GateRed FortIndia Gatecity gatesQila Rai PithoraMehrauliSiri FortTughlaqabadJahanpanahFirozabadShahjahanabadNew DelhiBritish ruleEuropeancastlesMughalBritishQutub MinarLal KotSlave DynastyINTACHheritagemonumentsArchaeological Survey of IndiaHindi languagearchaeologicalThomas MetcalfeIbn BattutaChinawareMongolsAlauddin KhaljiQuwwat-ul-Islam mosquesandstonemarblehorse shoearchesAla-ud-Din KhaljiDelhi SultanateGhiyath al-Din TughluqTughlaq DynastyPathanMuhammad bin TughlaqDaulatabadDeccanMuhammad bin TughluqAdilabadFiruz Shah TughlaqYamuna RiverFeroz Shah KotlaAshokanAmbalaSher Shah SuriDinpanahHumayunchhatrisoriel windowsbastionsceilingquartziteArcadesverandahOld DelhiShah JahanTurkman GateKashmiri Gate, DelhiInter State Bus TerminalsDelhi UniversityKashmirNorth IndiaSt. James ChurchCivil LinesDelhi Gate (Delhi)walled city of (Old) DelhiDaryaganjSepoy MutinyIndian independenceRajasthanMadrasa Ghaziuddin Khanthe firstNizam of HyderabadAnglo Arabic Senior Secondary SchoolSafdarjungJawahar Lal NehruRamlila groundsRazia SultanTurkman gate demolition and riotingChandni ChowkMumtaz MahalLahoreRing RoadYamunaBazaarSanskritBrahmaSalimgarh FortKhooni DarwazaFerozshah KotlaMaulana Azad Medical CollegeIndian RebellionMughal EmperorBahadur Shah ZafarWilliam HodsonZebunnisaIndian National ArmyWorld War IThird Anglo-Afghan WarRashtrapati BhavanJaipur ColumnBritish IndiaCalcuttaEdwin LutyensBharatpurKing George VCharles Sargeant JaggerCoronation Park, DelhiM.K. GandhiIndira GandhiMahatma’s birthdayNarendra ModiSubhas Chandra Boseholographic