Brief History of Delhi

                  Delhi, the capital of India has a strong historical background. It was ruled by some of the most powerful emperors in Indian history. The history of the city is as old as the epic Mahabharata. The town was known as Indraprastha, which was built by Pandavas over five thousand years ago as their capital.

                 The city of Delhi actually consists of two components: Old Delhi, in the north, the historic city; and New Delhi, in the south. Shah Jahan, Akbar’s grandson, instructed his engineers, architects, and astrologers to choose a location somewhere between Agra and Lahore. Shah Jahan started the construction of the new capital, focusing on his fort, Urdu-i-Mualla, today called Lal Qila, or the Red Fort. The structure was completed in eight years, and on April 19, 1648, Shah Jahan entered his fort, his new capital, Shajahanabad. Shahjahanabad today is Old Delhi.

              During the early 1900s, a proposal was made to the British administration to shift the capital of the British Indian Empire, from Calcutta to Delhi. The Government of British India felt that it would be easy to administer India from Delhi in the centre of northern India so, they shifted from Culcutta to Delhi which is now known as the New Delhi. Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, leading British architects of 20th-century were the first to visit Delhi in 1912. Large parts of New Delhi were planned by them. 

                Delhi has also been known as as Dahalia, Dehlalai, Yognipura, Hazrat Delhi, Dahlu and Dahloo. After the partition the population of Delhi increased largely. People were living in camps, schools, military camps and gardens. Large number of people lost their lives, houses and property. The muslims of Delhi had to migrate as their homes were looted by sikhs and Hindus. They started working as vendors, hawkers and carpenters who were once lawyers and doctors.