59 Fun Facts About Delhi

Which river does Delhi straddle, though the city spreads mainly west of it?

The Yamuna, a Ganges tributary sacred in Hinduism, is the only major river flowing through Delhi; most of the city lies on its western bank.

Which architect designed Connaught Place, New Delhi's colonnaded commercial hub?

Robert Tor Russell, chief architect to the Government of India, designed Connaught Place's Georgian-style colonnades, completed in 1933 and named after the Duke of Connaught.

Which three Delhi monuments are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

Qutb Minar (begun 1193), Humayun's Tomb (1570s) and the Red Fort (1648) are Delhi's three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, spanning the Sultanate and Mughal centuries.

Which legendary city of the Mahabharata is traditionally placed on the site of Delhi?

Indraprastha, the Pandavas' capital in the Mahabharata, is traditionally placed at Purana Qila; excavations there found Painted Grey Ware pottery but no ancient fortifications.

How many cities are traditionally said to have stood on the site of Delhi?

Shahjahanabad, today's Old Delhi, is counted as the seventh.

Which Tomara Rajput king built Lal Kot in 1052, the first of Delhi's cities?

Anang Pal II of the Tomara dynasty built Lal Kot around 1052; the Chauhans later took it and Prithviraj Chauhan expanded it as Qila Rai Pithora.

Who founded the Delhi Sultanate in 1206?

Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Muhammad Ghori's deputy, founded the Delhi Sultanate in 1206 after Ghori died without an heir; he began the Qutb Minar and started the Mamluk (Slave) dynasty.

How tall is the Qutb Minar?

It is the world's tallest brick minaret and has 399 steps.

What struck the Qutb Minar in 1369, prompting Firuz Shah Tughlaq to rebuild its top?

Lightning struck in 1369 and destroyed the top storey; Firuz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt it as two smaller storeys faced in marble and sandstone.

Which Gupta emperor made the famously rust-resistant iron pillar now in the Qutb complex?

The pillar's Sanskrit inscription honours a king Chandra, identified with Chandragupta II (r. c.375-415); it stands 7.21 m tall, weighs over six tonnes and may have come from Udayagiri.

Who was the first woman to rule Delhi, succeeding her father Iltutmish?

Razia Sultan ruled Delhi from 1236 to 1240 after her father Iltutmish, who had consolidated the conquest of northern India and completed the Qutb Minar.

Which sultan moved his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, then had to move it back?

Muhammad bin Tughluq marched Delhi's population to Daulatabad in 1327, then brought the capital back within a few years; the sultanate reached its greatest extent under him before the Deccan broke away.

Which conqueror sacked Delhi in 1398 and massacred 100,000 captives?

Timur's army massacred some 100,000 captives before the battle and sacked Delhi in December 1398; the sultanate never fully recovered under the Sayyids who followed.

Who founded the Mughal Empire after beating the last Lodi sultan at Panipat in 1526?

Babur, a Timurid prince from the Fergana Valley descended from both Timur and Genghis Khan, defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in April 1526 and founded the Mughal Empire.

Which Hindu king was crowned in Purana Qila in 1556 after beating Akbar's forces?

Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, known as Hemu, took Delhi from Akbar's governor and was crowned at Purana Qila in October 1556; a month later the Mughals crushed him at the Second Battle of Panipat.

Who commissioned Humayun's Tomb, the first garden-tomb on the subcontinent?

She chose the Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and paid the 1.5 million rupees herself.

In which year did Shahjahanabad, now Old Delhi, become the Mughal capital?

Shah Jahan moved his capital from Agra to Delhi in 1638 and began building Shahjahanabad, whose walls and Red Fort were completed in 1648.

Which architect, also credited with the Taj Mahal, designed the Red Fort?

Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the architect also credited with the Taj Mahal, designed the Red Fort, which Shah Jahan commissioned on 12 May 1639 after moving his capital from Agra.

Above which Red Fort gate did Nehru raise the flag in August 1947?

Nehru hoisted the tricolour above the Lahori Gate, the Red Fort's main entrance facing Chandni Chowk, and prime ministers have raised it there on every Independence Day since.

Which mosque, built by Shah Jahan by 1656, is described as India's largest?

The Jama Masjid, completed in 1656 with a courtyard holding some 25,000 worshippers, served as the Mughal imperial mosque until the empire's end in 1857.

What does the name of the Old Delhi market Chandni Chowk mean?

Chandni Chowk means Moonlight Square: a canal down the middle of the street was designed to reflect the moon, and the British later filled it in.

Which daughter of Shah Jahan designed Chandni Chowk in 1650?

Jahanara Begum, Shah Jahan's eldest daughter, laid out Chandni Chowk in 1650 with 1,560 shops along a 1,520-yard street and a canal down its centre.

Which invader looted Delhi in 1739 and carried off the Peacock Throne?

Nadir Shah won the Battle of Karnal in under three hours in February 1739, then looted Delhi, carrying off the Peacock Throne, the Koh-i-Noor and the Daria-i-Noor.

Which Maratha leader raided Delhi in 1737 after winning the First Battle of Delhi?

Baji Rao I, the Maratha peshwa, routed the Mughals outside Delhi in March 1737 and plundered the suburbs; a 1752 treaty later made the Marathas protectors of the Mughal throne.

In which year did the British East India Company take Delhi from the Marathas?

Delhi fell to Lord Lake's army on 11 September 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II passed under Company protection.

From which city was the capital of British India transferred to Delhi in 1911?

The transfer from Calcutta, the Company's base since the 18th century, was announced at the Delhi Durbar of 12 December 1911; construction of the new capital began the following year.

Which king-emperor was proclaimed in person at the 1911 Durbar?

George V, the only reigning British monarch to attend a Delhi Durbar, wore the Imperial Crown of India, set with some 6,100 diamonds and weighing 34 ounces.

Which two British architects designed Rashtrapati Bhavan and much of New Delhi?

Edwin Lutyens designed Viceroy's House, now Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Herbert Baker the Secretariat blocks; built from 1912 to 1929, the palace has 340 rooms and 2.5 kilometres of corridors.

Where does the President of India's residence stand, at the head of the central vista?

Rashtrapati Bhavan stands on Raisina Hill; built as Viceroy's House, it became the Governor-General's residence at independence and the President's when India became a republic in 1950.

In what year was New Delhi formally inaugurated as the capital?

New Delhi was inaugurated on 13 February 1931 by Viceroy Lord Irwin; the name had been adopted in 1927 and the transfer from Calcutta announced in 1911.

Roughly how many Indian Army dead of 1914-21 does India Gate commemorate?

India Gate commemorates roughly 74,000 Indian Army dead of 1914-21; some 13,300 names are inscribed on Lutyens's Roman-style arch.

What was Rajpath renamed in September 2022?

Rajpath became Kartavya Path, meaning Path of Duty, on 8 September 2022; the avenue had first been called Kingsway after the king-emperor.

What was built beneath India Gate after the 1971 war?

Amar Jawan Jyoti, an eternal flame lit in 1972 for the 1971 war dead, has a reversed rifle capped by a helmet on a black marble plinth; in 2022 the flame was merged into the National War Memorial's.

How many marble-clad 'petals' form the Lotus Temple?

The Lotus Temple's 27 free-standing marble-clad petals are arranged in three rings of nine, forming nine sides with nine doors; the house of worship opened in 1986.

Which religion built the Lotus Temple?

The Lotus Temple is a Baháʼí House of Worship, designed by Iranian-born architect Fariborz Sahba and open to people of every faith.

What marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi's cremation at Raj Ghat?

Raj Ghat's memorial is a simple black marble platform with an eternal flame at one end, marking where Gandhi was cremated on 31 January 1948; other leaders' memorials were added nearby later.

Which sultan founded Tughlaqabad in 1321 as the third city of Delhi?

Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, founder of the Tughluq dynasty, built Tughlaqabad in 1321; the fort was abandoned by 1327, after his son Muhammad shifted the court.

Which Rajput ruler built Delhi's Jantar Mantar observatory, completed in 1724?

Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur completed Delhi's Jantar Mantar in 1724, the first of five observatories he built; its instruments include the Samrat and Jai Prakash Yantras.

Which sultan hauled a 3rd-century BC Ashokan pillar from Topra to his new capital in Delhi?

Firoz Shah Tughlaq had the pillar brought from Topra, north of Delhi, around 1356 to crown his new city of Firozabad, where it rises above Feroz Shah Kotla.

Whose tomb, with the Bara Gumbad and Shisha Gumbad, sits in the 90-acre park in New Delhi?

Sikandar Lodi's tomb (c.1517) stands in Lodi Gardens with the Bara Gumbad, Shisha Gumbad and Muhammad Shah Sayyid's tomb; the 90-acre park holds monuments of the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties.

When did the first section of the Delhi Metro, on the Red Line, open?

The Delhi Metro opened in December 2002 with an 8.4-kilometre Red Line stretch from Shahdara to Tis Hazari, inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the 24th.

What fuel did the Supreme Court order all Delhi public transport to use in 1998?

The Supreme Court ordered in July 1998 that Delhi's buses, taxis and autorickshaws switch to compressed natural gas; the conversion of the bus fleet was completed in 2002.

Which UN agency ranked Delhi the planet's most polluted city in 2014?

The WHO's 2014 urban air quality database put Delhi's annual PM2.5 level, 153 micrograms per cubic metre, highest of 1,600 cities; stubble burning, Diwali fireworks and cold weather make winter air hazardous.

What was Delhi's main air hub called before it was renamed for Indira Gandhi in 1986?

Palam Airport, which began as an RAF station in the Second World War, became Indira Gandhi International Airport in 1986; its Terminal 3 opened in 2010.

What is Delhi's main cricket ground, the Arun Jaitley Stadium, commonly known as?

The Arun Jaitley Stadium, renamed in 2019, is widely called the Kotla after Feroz Shah Kotla, the 14th-century fort beside it; established in 1883, it is India's second-oldest international ground.

Which mountain range's northern extension forms the Delhi Ridge, the city's 'green lungs'?

The Delhi Ridge is the northern tail of the Aravalli Range, one of the world's oldest mountain systems; it shields the city from Rajasthan's hot winds and reaches 318 metres.

Which two Urdu poets are most closely associated with Delhi?

Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Ghalib both lived and wrote in Delhi, Ghalib in Ballimaran until his death in 1869; the city's Khariboli dialect fed the growth of both Urdu and Modern Standard Hindi.

Which Chandni Chowk lane has been famous for its food stalls since the 1870s?

Gali Paranthe Wali, 'the lane of paratha makers', has served stuffed fried flatbreads since the 1870s; a few of its original family shops survive.

Which two Sufi figures are most associated with medieval Delhi's mysticism and music?

Nizamuddin Auliya, the Chishti saint buried in Delhi in 1325, and his disciple Amir Khusrau, credited with shaping Qawwali, made the city a centre of Sufi music and devotion.

Roughly what share of Delhi's Muslim residents left during Partition in 1947?

Delhi's Muslim share of the population fell from about a third in 1941 to under a tenth by 1951, as roughly two-thirds of the community, some 300,000 people, left for Pakistan.

Delhi is bordered on three sides by which Indian state?

Haryana surrounds Delhi to the north, west and south; Uttar Pradesh lies to the east, beyond the Yamuna, which historically marked the boundary.

In which year did Delhi host the first-ever Asian Games?

The first Asian Games opened in Delhi on 4 March 1951, with 489 athletes from 11 national Olympic committees at National Stadium; the city hosted them again in 1982.

Which venue, built for the 1982 Asian Games, hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony?

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, built for the 1982 Asian Games, staged the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening for about 60,000 spectators with over 8,000 performers, at an estimated cost of ₹3.5 billion.

Which IPL franchise plays its home games at the Arun Jaitley Stadium?

Delhi Capitals, renamed from Delhi Daredevils in 2018, play at the Kotla, a ground that produced internationals such as Bishan Singh Bedi, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli.

Which airport, opened in 1929, was Delhi's only airfield and the second in all of India?

Safdarjung Airport opened in 1929 as Willingdon Airfield, India's second after Bombay's Juhu; the Delhi Flying Club flew de Havilland Moths named Delhi and Roshanara from it, and flying stopped in 2002 over post-9/11 security fears.

Which Mughal emperor was tried at the Red Fort and exiled to Rangoon after 1857?

Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, was tried in the Red Fort's Diwan-i-Khas in 1858 and exiled to Rangoon, where he died in 1862.

Roughly how many Hindu and Sikh refugees moved to Delhi during Partition, mostly from West Punjab?

About 500,000 Hindu and Sikh refugees, mostly from West Punjab, settled in Delhi after 1947, swelling the population and founding colonies such as Lajpat Nagar and Rajinder Nagar.

Which constitutional amendment, passed in 1991, made Delhi the National Capital Territory?

The Constitution (69th Amendment) Act 1991, in force from February 1992, created the National Capital Territory of Delhi and gave it a legislative assembly with limited powers; Delhi had been a union territory since 1956.

Besides Hindi, which two languages are additional official languages of Delhi?

Delhi's Official Languages Act 2003 made Urdu and Punjabi second official languages alongside Hindi; the 2011 census found Hindi spoken by about 81% of residents, Punjabi by 7% and Urdu by 6%.