Dictionary
a city in north central India
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Wikipedia
India UT capital infobox
native_name=Delhi
!image_map=IndiaDelhi.png
latd = 28.6670longd=77.217
ut_name=National capital territory
district=-
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name=Asha Ram Verma
altitude=300
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 13,363,741
population_density = 9564
area_magnitude=1 E9
area_total=1397.3
area_telephone=011
postal_code= 110 xxx
vehicle_code_range= DL-0?
footnotes =
This article deals with the city of Delhi. For the capital of India see New Delhi.''Delhi (Hindi: !दिल्&# 2354;ी? Urdu: دہلی or دلّی) is a metropolis in India. The city is one of the three conterminous census towns that make up the National Capital Territory of DelhiNational Capital Territory (NCT), the other two being New Delhi and Delhi Cantonment. The name ''Delhi'' is used to refer to the National Capital Territory, which is a special union territory jointly administered by the Government of IndiaCentral government, NCT's elected government and three municipal corporations. The city is also the capital of the NCT.Delhi's metropolitan area, known as the National Capital Region (India)National Capital Region (NCR) encompasses the entire NCT as well as the neighbouring satellite towns of Faridabad and Gurgaon in Haryana, and Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.Delhi has the most vibrant history of any of the more prominent cities or towns of India. It has been the "capital of seven empires" in History of IndiaIndian history and as per the Archaeological Survey of India, has over 60,000 recognized monuments built over several millennia. The first city of Delhi is believed to be founded by the Pandavas of the Mahabharata around 3000 BC. It was called Indraprastha. Archaeological evidence suggests that Indraprastha once stood where Purana Quila is today. A village called Indarpat existed in Delhi until the beginning of the 19th century.The name Delhi may originate from the Persian word ''Dahleez'' (دہلیز) (English: threshold, or frontier) or from the name of a Mauryan king, Raja Dhillu. The people of Delhi are known as ''Delhi-ites''. The latter is a historical and cultural term describing people of the old city and the associated diaspora. There are, for example, communities (often living in neighbourhoods dominated and named after them) of ''Dilliwaalay'' (Urdu: دلی والے) in major Pakistani cities who still identify their clan with neighbourhoods in the Old City of Delhi. The Persian languagePersianized surname Dahelvi is also related to residents of Delhi.Economically, Delhi is one of the most affluent urban centres in India and is at the heart of India's largest consumer belt. As an indicator, Delhi has more cars plying its roads than India's other four 'metros', Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai and Bombay combined and is widely considered to have the best transport and utilities infrastructure in the country. It has in recent years emerged as an ''entrepôt'' for multi-nationals and is the primary destination for FDI in India, particularly with the emergence of its suburbs Noida and Gurgaon as commercial and industrial centres in their own right. The nation's automobile, media and consumer goods industries have facilities in and around Delhi. There is also a strong showing by key knowledge-based industries in Delhi, particularly in the life sciences, telecom and the information technology arena. A preferred destination due to the quantity and high calibre of English speakers, Delhi and its suburbs account for over 30% of India's Information technologyIT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports--the second largest in the country (Bangalore accounts for 35%).Delhi is a very cosmopolitan city due to the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural presence of the vast Indian bureaucracy and political system, and now expanding economic base. Hindus form the religious majority, but large, vibrant communities of Sikhs, Muslims, Jains and Christians bring diversity. Punjab regionPunjabis and Jats are large ethnic communities, but a collage of peoples from almost every Indian state inhabits the city. Large numbers of Kashmiris also inhabit the city and its outskirt areas. From an international perspective, there are more than 160 embassyembassies present and an ever increasing expatriate population. Delhi derives its historic importance from its position in Northern India, occupying a location between the Aravalli Hills to the southwest and the Yamuna river on whose western banks it stands. This enabled it to dominate the old trade routes from northwest India to the plains of the Ganges. As a result, it has always been an important cultural and intellectual centre.With a steadily increasing quality of life, a booming economy and consumer market and by virtue of the fact that it is the nation's capital, cultural and intellectual life in Delhi are burgeoning as well. Delhi also has a high standard in education. It is the home of many major educational institutions in India—namely the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Delhi also boasts of a great number of quality schools. Delhi is also home to a number of think tanks, museums, art galleries, parks and theatres.Strictly defining Delhi's borders, it occupies an area of some 1,483 square kilometres (572 square miles) with a population of approximately 14 million (though with its suburbs it crosses well over 23 million). The principal spoken language is Hindi-Urdu (sometimes called Hindustani). The principal written language is Hindi. Other common languages spoken are English LanguageEnglish and Punjabi languagePunjabi.
Local politics - ]]Delhi has always been a stronghold of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party). The trend started to change in the 1990s when the BJPBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Madan Lal Khurana came into power. Since Sheila Dikshit led CongressIndian National Congress (Congress Party) to power in December 1998, she has remained in power.
History - Delhi has seen the rise and fall of many empires which have left behind a plethora of monuments that attest to the grandeur and glory of bygone ages. Traditionally, Delhi is said to be the site of the magnificent and opulent Indraprastha, capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. A village called Indarpat existed in Delhi until the beginning of the 19th century. The ancient historic village was obliterated to make place for construction of New Delhi by the British.
Ancient history - Excavations have unearthed sherds of the grey painted ware (c. 1000 BC) that some archaeologists associate with the age of the Mahabharata, but no coherent settlement traces have been found. Some locate Indraprastha in the Purana-Qila area.The earliest architectural relics age back to the Mauryan Period (c. 300 BC); since then, the site has seen continuous settlement. In 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan King Ashoka (273 BC273-236 BC) was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Two sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were later brought to the city by Firuz Shah Tughluq. The famous Qutb complex#Iron pillarIron pillar near the Qutub Minar was commissioned by the emperor Kumara Gupta I of the Gupta dynasty (320-540) and transplanted to Delhi at some time in the 10th century. Eight major cities have been situated in the Delhi area. The first four cities were in the southern part of present-day Delhi.The more recent city is believed to be made up of seven successive cities, the remains of some of which can still be seen on the ground. They are# Qila Rai Pithora built by Prithvi Raj Chauhan, near the oldest Rajput settlement in Lal-Kot;# Siri, built by Alauddin Khilji in 1303;# Tughluqabad, built by Ghiyazudin Tughluq (1321-1325);# Jahanpanah, built by Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-1351);# Kotla Firoz Shah, built by Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388);# Purana Qila built by Sher Shah Suri and Dinpanah built by Humayun, both in the same area near the speculated site of the legendary Indraprastha (1538-1545); and# Shahjahanabad, built by Shah Jahan from 1638 to 1649, containing the Agra FortLal Qila and the Chandni Chowk.
8th century to 16th century - The Tomara Rajput dynasty founded Lal Kot, which lies near the Qutub Minar, in 736. In the Prithvirajaraso, the Rajput Anangpal is named as the founder of Delhi. The Chauhan Rajput kings of Ajmer conquered Lal Kot from the Tomaras in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora. The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by the AfghanistanAfghan army of Muhammad Ghori. After 1206, Delhi became the capital of the Delhi Sultanate. the first rulers were known as the Slave Dynasty as many of the rulers of this dynasty were former slaves. This includes the first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak who was a former slave who rose through the ranks to become a general followed by governor and then Sultan of Delhi. Qutb-ud-din started the construction the Qutub Minar, instantly recognisable as a symbol of Delhi, to commemorate his victory but died before its completion. He also constructed the Quwwat-ul-Islam (might of Islam), which is the earliest extant mosque in India, in the Qutb complex. He was said to have pillaged exquisitely carved pillars from 27 temples for this mosque many of which can still be seen. After the end of the Slave dynasty, a succession of Turkic and Central Asian dynasties, the Khilji dynasty, the Tughluq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty and the Lodhi dynasty held power in the late medieval period and built a sequence of forts and townships that are part of the fabled seven cities of Delhi. In 1526, following the First Battle of Panipat emperor Babur defeated the last Lodhi sultan and founded the Mughal dynasty which ruled from Delhi, Agra and Lahore.
16th century to Present - In the mid-sixteenth century there was an interruption in the Mughal rule of India as Sher Shah Suri defeated Babur's son Humayun and forced him to flee to Afghanistan and Persian EmpirePersia. Sher Shah Suri built the sixth city as well as the old fort known as Purana Qila. After his early death, Humayun was able to recover the empire with Persian help as Suri's son was not as able as his father. The third and the greatest Mughal emperor, Akbar, moved the capital of his empire to Agra resulting in a decline in the fortunes of Delhi. In the mid-seventeenth century, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658) built the city that sometimes bears his name (Shahjahanabad), the seventh city of Delhi that is more commonly known as the old city or old Delhi. This city contains a number of significant architectural features, including the Red Fort (Lal Qila) and the Jama Masjid. The old city served as the capital of the later Mughal empire from 1638 onwards, when Shah Jahan transferred the capital back from Agra. Aurangzeb (1658-1707) crowned himself as the emperor in Delhi in 1658 at the Shalinar garden ('Aizzabad-Bagh); a second coronation took place in 1659.Delhi passed to United KingdomBritish control in 1857 after the First War of Indian Independence; the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, was pensioned to Rangoon, and the remaining Mughal Territories were annexed as a province of British India. Delhi ceased to be India's capital with the British preferring their city of Calcutta. In 1911 the Capital of British India was again moved to Delhi from Calcutta. Parts of the Old City were pulled down to create New Delhi, a monumental new quarter of the city designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens to house the government buildings. A brief but fascinating account of the Indian contractors behind this construction can be found in Khushwant Singh's autobiography Truth, Love and a Little Malice.The Partition of India brought hundreds of thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees from West Punjab, and large numbers of Muslims left the city for Pakistan. In 1984, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi led to a violent backlash against the Sikh community by Congress Party activists and Hindus mobs, killing over 5,000 people in an orgy of bloodshed. Since then, Hindu and Sikh relations have improved considerably and the city also is home to a vibrant Muslim community.On October 29, 2005, Dehli was subjected to 29 October 2005 Delhi bombingsterrorist attacks, with three bombs shaking crowded market places and a bus. 70 people were killed as a result.
Climate - Delhi has a semi-arid climate with high variation between summer and winter temperatures. The summers are long, starting in early April and lasting till October with the rainy season in between. Extreme temperatures have ranged from a minimum of −2 to a maximum of 47 °C mherrera.org. These are historical records and typically winter nights almost never go below +2 °C or summer afternoons above 45 °C.The average annual rainfall is approximately 670 mm or 27 inches, most of which falls in the months of July and August during the Monsoon. Traditionally, the Monsoon is supposed to touch Delhi on June 29 every year.
Economy/Entertainment - Delhi is one of the largest markets in the country because the per capita income in Delhi is much higher than in other cities. Many multinational companies have set up their headquarters in Delhi and adjoining cities—from Pepsico and The Gap (clothing retailer)Gap, Inc. to the zipper giant, YKK. On Christmas Day, 2002, the New Delhi Metro opened, running in the urban area.Keeping pace with globalization, there are many discotheques and dance clubs — most of them located in five-star hotels. Some of these are C.J.'s (Le Meridien), Annabelle's (The Hilton), Dubliner (Maurya Sheraton), Oasis (Hyatt Regency), Djinn's (Hyatt Regency) and My Kind of Place (Taj Palace). Other places include Shalom (Greater Kailash), Voda (Saket), Buzz (Saket), T'zers (Saket), Punjabi by Nature (Vasant Vihar) and Fabric (on the Gurgaon-Mehrauli road).There are also a lot of modern restaurants in the city. One can find a wide array of cuisines, including Greek (It's Greek To Me in Safdarjung), Chinese, Thai, Italian (Olive Bar and Kitchen in Mehrauli), Mexican and American Food.International restaurant chains and fast food chains have set up franchises in Delhi with success, including Pizza Hut, Subway (restaurant)Subway, McDonald's, Baskin-Robbins and others. It is notable that in each case, the franchises modified their respective menus with respect to Indian culture and religion, clearly indicating vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods, often by a relatively common colour code (red for non-vegetarian foods, green for vegetarian foods) and preparing the vegetarian foods in compliance with Hindu customs and practices.Delhi has been chosen as the site for the Commonwealth Games (2010). This has led to a spate of development work, like construction of flyovers, metro etc.
Transportation - Delhi by its variety, congestion, and large expanse is a transportation challenge. Delhi, however, has an advantage in terms of good infrastructure in the form of wide roads and decent railway and air connectivity.
Roadways - Delhi roads are connected by Delhi Transport CorporationGovernment-Owned Delhi Transport Corporation buses, and private buses, including chartered buses, White-line buses and Yellow-line buses. Road connectivity is mostly reliant on private vehicles. Delhi has the highest ratio of vehicles per capita in India.
Buses - Delhi has one of India's largest bus connectivity rates. The State-Owned Delhi Transport Corporation and private operators with a permit from State Transport Authority ply buses across the city.The fares in buses are based on the colour of the stripe on the bus. Regular DTC buses which are yellow in colour and have bus numbers in white plates. These buses have fares of denomination 2,5,7 and 10 rupees. Similar private buses are either yellow or blue in colour.Green-line buses have similar buses with yellow number plates and have GL printed ahead of the number. These buses charge a flat rate of 10 rupees.The DTC also professes to operate the "world's largest fleet of environmentally friendly CNG buses". While not particularly high-tech, the DTC's natural gas-burning buses nevertheless pollute much less than the poorly designed and even more poorly maintained diesel-burning buses operated by most other state RTCs (Road Transit Commissions) in India. The buses are also much easier on the lungs of other road users as there is no cloud of carbon particles in the face of the unfortunate motorcyclist who sidles up next to a bus at an intersection. Directly, and indirectly, the gas-burning buses have also reduced, to some degree, the downward trend in Delhi's air quality and related illnesses.
Auto-Rickshaws - The auto rickshaw (sometimes shortened to ''Auto'') forms a very important economic means of private transportation.Hiring an Auto in Delhi is very tricky as not many auto-drivers accept the standard meter charges. The typical method is to negotiate and haggle for an agreeable rate. It is also typical for the rate to be almost doubled after 11 p.m. at night.With the introduction of electronic meters, the tamperability of meters has been reduced, and a stronger jurisdiction for a sanctioning body has forced more autorickshaws to comply with the meter-based charging scheme.
Railway connectivity - Delhi was designed with a great deal of railway connectivity. There are many railway stations located with a great deal of connectivity with major parts of the city and the suburbs. The major stations connected through the trains are Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi Railway StationNew Delhi, Okhla, Pragati Maidan, Purani Dilli, Shahdara, Shakur Basti and Tilak Bridge. One of the major local trains is the one that operates between Palwal station and Shakur Basti station.
Metro - A metro (local train service) built and managed by the DMRC(Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) is also under operation.
Airports - For international connections, the city is served by Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI). The airport is situated in the southwestern corner of the City.Palam Airport is located near the IGI Airport and serves national connections to major cities within India.
Educational institutions - Delhi, being the capital of the country, attracts students from all over India. It has a number of government and private colleges offering quality education in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, arts, law and management. Some prominent educational institutes are:
Societies - Apeejay Education Society
Universities - All India Institute of Medical SciencesDelhi University*St. Stephen's CollegeDelhi College of EngineeringGuru Gobind Singh University (also known as Indraprastha University)Indian Institute of Technology, DelhiIndira Gandhi National Open UniversityInstitute of Chartered Accountants of IndiaJamia Millia IslamiaJawaharlal Nehru UniversityNetaji Subhas Institute of TechnologyThe Indian Institute of Planning and ManagementSchool of Planning and Architecture
Schools - The Air Force School (Suboroto Park)Air Force Bal Bharti SchoolAmerican Embassy SchoolApeejay Public School Army Public SchoolAdarsh Shiksha Niketan SchoolBal Bharati Public SchoolBluebells SchoolBritish SchoolConvent of Jesus and MaryDAV Public SchoolDelhi Public SchoolDon Bosco SchoolDoon Public SchoolDTEA Senior Secondary School(s)Faith AcademyGerman SchoolGuru Harkishan Public SchoolKendriya VidyalayaKulachi Hansraj Model SchoolLady Irwin Senior Secondary SchoolManav Sthali SchoolModern School, BarakhambaModern SchoolMount Saint Mary's SchoolMount Carmel SchoolThe Mother's International SchoolSt. Columba's SchoolSt. Xavier's School Sardar Patel VidyalayaSpringdales SchoolVasant Valley SchoolRamjas R.K.Puram
Suburbs/Satelite cities around Delhi - Gurgaon Noida Faridabad Ghaziabad
Famous sites in Delhi - Birla Temple akshardham.com - Akshardham Temple Chattarpur Temple Hanuman Temple Chandni Chowk Connaught Place Deer Park (Delhi)Deer Park Delhi FortRed Fort, or the Lal Qila Garden of Five Senses Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Pragati Maidan Sis Ganj Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Gurdwara Humayun's Tomb India Gate International Dolls Museum Jama Masjid, DelhiJama Masjid Jantar Mantar, Delhi Jantar Mantar Kalindi Kunj Ashoka's pillar Appu Ghar Tibet House ISKCON Temple Lodhi Gardens Bahá'í House of WorshipLotus Temple also known as Bahá'í House of Worship Mughal Gardens National Museum Nehru Planetarium Delhi Purana Qila or the Old Fort Qutb complex Rashtrapati Bhawan India Habitat Centre Safdarjang's Tomb Sansad Bhawan or Parliament House Tughlaqabad Fort Pitampura TV Tower
Famous people from Delhi - Amir Khusro Mirza Ghalib Mukesh M.F.Hussain Nizamuddin Auliya Pervez Musharraf was born in Delhi Ravi Shankar lives in Delhi Koushik Kumar Khushwant Singh Shah Rukh Khan Gyanendra Kumar Sharma Shila Dikshit
Newspapers - Asian AgeBusiness LineBusiness StandardThe Economic TimesFinancial ExpressThe HinduThe Hindustan TimesIndian ExpressNavbharat TimesPioneerSandhya TimesThe StatesmanThe Times of India
Markets in Delhi - Chandni Chowk Chhawla Dilli Haat Connaught Place Greater Kailash Janpath JanakPuri Jwala Hedi Karol Bagh Kamla Nagar Khan Market Lajpat Nagar Central Market Najafgarh Nehru Place Palika Bazaar Rajouri Garden Sadar Bazaar Saket Sarojini Nagar South Extension Tilak Nagar Vasant Kunj Vasant Vihar Azadpur Mandi and Okhla Mandi - Wholesale vegetable markets Mehrauli - Wholesale food-grain market
External links - commonsDelhi wikitravel mcdonline.gov.in - Municipal Corporation of Delhidelhigovt.nic.in - Government of Delhistreetphotos.net - Photographs from around old Delhidelhimetrorail.com - Delhi Metro Mapwhereincity.com - www.whereincity.comglogblog.com - Delhi Local Information Directorydelhi.myaarzoo.com - Delhi Classified Directorydelhi-india.net - New Delhi City PediaMetropolitan Cities of India India state and UT capitals Category:Delhi Category:Indian Union Territory capitalsbg:Делхиde:Delhi !(Stadt)es:Delhihi:दिल् लीhe:דלהיja:デ&# 12522;ーnl:Delhi? !(stad)pl:Delhipt:Delisa:द ;िल्ल& #2368;sv:Delhita:தில் ிur:دلی
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KhushDC is a social, support and political group that provides a safe and supportive environment, promotes awareness and acceptance, and fosters positive cultural and sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and additional gender or sexual minority South Asians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
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Website of Kolkata based Indian creative / fine art photographer Leena Kejriwal.
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IIT Delhi
Established in 1963, is one of the six institutes of Technology in India created as the centres of excellence for higher training, research and development in science, engineering and technology.
http://www.iitd.ernet.in/
University of Delhi
Offers courses in arts, management, social sciences, fine arts, commerce, sciences and law. Information on faculties, colleges, admissions and results.
http://www.du.ac.in/
SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
Two-year public college offers course work for vocational skills or transfer to a four-year college. Enrollment, faculty, and course information, plus description of the campus golf course.
http://www.delhi.edu/
Government of Delhi
Official site for the Delhi government.
http://delhigovt.nic.in
Lonely Planet
Offers travel advice, detailed maps, travel news, popular message boards and health information. Also lists information and updates regarding their guidebooks.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/
Mahaganar Telephone Nigam Ltd.
Basic telephone, mobile telephone and Internet service provider and more for Delhi, Mumbai, New Mumbai and Thane.
http://delhi.mtnl.net.in/
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