Founding
walled city of Delhi, India
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Shahjahanabad, colloquially known as Old Delhi (Hindustani: Purāni Dillī), is a place in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a Walled City and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, upon Shah Jahan's decision to shift the imperial Mughal capital from Agra. The construction of the fortified city was completed in 1648, and it remained the capital of Mughal India until its fall in 1857, when the British Empire (whose Indian capital was at Calcutta) took over as paramount power in the Indian subcontinent. After the inauguration of New Delhi as the capital of India, the locality started to be colloquially known as Old Delhi in order to distinguish it from the capital city, or the rest of the NCT Region or National Capital Region.
Old Delhi, or Shahjahanabad, rose as the capital of the Mughals for most of the empire's history, right from the rise and decline and demise of the empire. The major landmark monuments built during the Mughal era are the Red Fort, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Jama Masjid, and the Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir. After the start of British colonialism, the St. James' Church and the Lawrence Institute of Educational and Cultural Affairs, later known as Delhi Town Hall were built in the 19th century. Today it serves as the symbolic heart of metropolitan Delhi and is renowned for its bustling bazaars, restaurants, street food, shopping locations, and its Mughal Indo-Persian and mixed native architecture with some touch of British influence. Only a few havelis are left and maintained.
Upon the 2012 trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Shahjahanabad was administered by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation,; however, in May 2022, Shahjahanabad was placed in the ambit of the reunified Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC) is the primary state agency responsible for the rejuvenation, conservation, development, and redevelopment of Shahjahanabad.
The site of Shahjahanabad is north of earlier settlements of Delhi. Its southern part overlaps with some of the area that was previously settled by the Tughlaqs in the 14th century when it was the seat of the Delhi Sultanate. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty. The five dynasties were the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khalji dynasty (1290–1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1414), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–51) and Lodi dynasty (1451–1526). For a period from 1538/1540 until 1555, the Mughals lost control over their empire under Humayun, and the Sur dynasty ruled swathes of India until the Mughals retook control of India, lastly defeating them and finally establishing firm control and stability over their empire.
Delhi remained an important place for the Mughals, who built palaces and forts. Most importantly, Shah Jahan ordered his famous chief architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori to build the walled city between 1638 and 1649, containing the Lal Qila and the Chandni Chowk. Delhi was one of the original twelve subahs (imperial Mughal provinces), renamed Shahjahanabad in 1648, bordering Awadh, Agra, Ajmer, Multan and Lahore subahs. Daryaganj had the original cantonment of Delhi, after 1803, where a native regiment of Delhi garrison was stationed, which was later shifted to the Ridge area. East of Daryaganj was Raj Ghat gate of the walled city, opening at Raj Ghat on the Yamuna River. The inaugural wholesale market of Old Delhi opened as the hardware market in Chawri Bazaar in 1840, the succeeding wholesale market was that of dry fruits, spices and herbs at Khari Baoli, opening in 1850. The Phool Mandi (Flower Market) of Daryaganj was established in 1869, and, to this day, despite serving a small geographical area, it is of great importance due to a dense population.
After the fall of the Mughal Empire post 1857 revolt, the British Raj shifted the capital of British controlled territories in India to a less volatile city, Calcutta in Bengal, where it remained until 1911. After the announcement of the change, the British developed Lutyens' Delhi (in modern New Delhi) just south-west of Shahjahanabad. At this point, the older city started being called Old Delhi, as New Delhi became the seat of a national government. It was formally inaugurated as such in 1931.
In 1876, Carr Stephen described the city as follows:
Of the two streets described by Bernier, the longer extended from the Lahore Gate of the city to the Lahore Gate of the citadel, and the other from the Delhi Gate of the city to the Lahore Gate of the fort. Both these streets were divided into several sections, each of which was known by a different name. The section between the Lahore Gate of the fort and the entrance of the street called the Dariba, known as the Khání Darwázah, was called the Urdi or the Military Bazaar; owing, very probably, to the circumstance of a portion of the local garrison having been once quartered about the place. Between the Khúní Darwázah and the present Kotwálí, or the Head Police Station of the city, the street has the name of Phúl ká Mandí or the flower market. The houses in front of the Kotwálí were built, at a short distance from the line of the rest of the houses in the street, to form a square. Between the Kotwálí and the gate known as the Taráiah, was the Jowhri or the Jewellers' Bazaar; between the Taráiah and the neighborhood known as Asharfí ká Katrá, was, par excellence, the Chándní Chauk. There was a tank in the center of the Chauk the site of which is now occupied by the Municipal Clock Tower, and beyond this to the Fatehpúrí Masjid was the Fatehpúrí Bazaar. The houses around Chándní Chauk were of the same height, and were ornamented with arched doors and painted verandahs. To the north and south of the square there were two gate-ways, the former leading to the Sarái of Jahánárá Begam, and the latter to one of the most thickly populated quarters of the city. Round the tank the ground was covered with vegetable, fruit and sweetmeat stalls. In the course of time the whole of this long street came to be known as the Chandni Chauk. This grand street was laid out by Jahánárá Begam, daughter of Sháh Jahán, in the year 1600 A. D., and several ears later she built a garden and sarái on it. From the Lahore Gate of the fort to the end of the Chandni Chauk the street was about 40 yards [37 m] wide and 1,520 yards [1,390 m] long. Through the centre of this street ran the canal of 'Alí Mardán, shaded on both sides by trees. On the eastern end of the Chándni Chauk stands the Lahore Gate of the Fort, and on the opposite end the handsome mosque of Fatehpúrí Begam.
The clock tower no longer exists, although the location is still called Ghantaghar. The sarai of Jahanara Begum has been replaced by the city town hall. The kotwal is now adjacent to Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib.
The Old Delhi Railway Station, was designed in the architectural style of the nearby Red Fort, which was constructed during the administration of the British colonial government and opened in 1903.
The British also built the State Bank of India branch building in Chandni Chowk as well as the St. James' Church, the St. Stephen's Church and Old St. Stephen's College now one of the important offices of the Election Commission of India of Delhi near Kashmere Gate, leaving an influence of European architecture and Indo-Saracenic architecture as well in the historical place.
The population of Old Delhi remains a mix of many different ethnic groups. Hindi–Urdu (Hindustani) is the most spoken language.
It is approximately shaped like a quarter cìrcle, with the Red Fort as the focal point. The old city was surrounded by a wall enclosing about 1,500 acres (6.1 km2), with 14 gates:
The surrounding walls, 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and 26 feet (7.9 m) tall, originally of mud, were replaced by red stone in 1657. In the Mughal period, the gates were kept locked at night. The walls have now mostly disappeared; only some of the gates are still present. The township of old Delhi is still identifiable in a satellite image because of the density of houses.
The Khooni Darwaza, south of Delhi Gate and just outside the walled city, was originally constructed by Sher Shah Suri.
The Bahadur Shahi Gate was the last gate built by the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, which connects the Salimgarh Fort to the Red Fort.
The streets in Old Delhi are known for being narrow and winding and being labyrinthine within the walled city with many alleys, as well as for being vibrant and bustling and mainly crowded.
The streets retain the essence of the Mughal-era layout, serving as a functional network for moving from one place to another as well as for bustling markets and iconic landmarks, creating a unique living experience in the city. Historic shops, traditional mansions (havelis) and religious sites are built directly along and into these lanes, making the streets themselves a form of premises that houses and shapes community life.
The main street, now termed Chandni Chowk which meant Moonlight square, runs from the Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid. The street square today which includes the market which was historically divided by canals, engineered to reflect moonlight hence the name Moonlight square. These canals have since been removed, leaving behind a transformed urban landscape. The Chandni Chowk was a significant route for Mughal imperial processions, hosting the grand displays of emperors and their entourages, highlighting its importance in the empire's cultural and rich architectural heritage.
North of the street, there is the mansion of Begum Samru, now called Bhagirath Palace. South of the street is Dariba Kalan, a dense residential area, beyond which connects the Chandni Chowk area with the Jama Masjid. Daryaganj is a section that used to border the river at Rajghat and Zeenat-ul-Masjid.
The Urdu language emerged from the Urdu Bazaar, the open grounds between the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid adjacent to the Chandni Chowk, which was called Urdu Bazaar, i.e., the encampment market in Old Delhi. The Din Dunia magazine and various other Urdu publications are the reason for this language staying alive.
Its main arteries are
Old Delhi is approximately bounded by these modern roads:
The engraving accompanying Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem, "The City of Delhi", appears to show the Jama Masjid with an elephant on the open ground before it. She associates the city's past glories with tales of enchantment, namely James Ridley's The Tales of the Genii (Sir Charles Mansell). In Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832, page 44.
Many of the historical attractions are in the Chandni Chowk area and the Red Fort. In addition, Old Delhi also has:
Some of the historical mansions (or Haveli's) include:
Text from the Wikipedia article “Shahjahanabad”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.