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Delhi
दिल्ली
Delhi is the
second largest metropolis in India, with a population of roughly 17
million . It is a federally-administered union territory officially
known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Located on
the banks of the Yamuna River in northern India, it is one of the
oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.
Delhi has been the capital of several ancient Indian empires and a
major city along the old trade routes between northwest India and
the Indo-Gangetic Plains. It is the site of many monuments,
archaeological sites and remains. Although the site has been
continuously inhabited since ancient times, the precise location of
the city has changed with each conquest, so that there have been not
one but several sites, all within the boundaries of the modern
territory of Delhi, that have been known as Delhi. During the
medieval period, each fresh conquest resulted in the existing city
being destroyed and depopulated and a new city or fortress being
built by the conqueror. Ruins of the older settlements, such as
Tughlakabad, Siri, and Hauz Khas, survive. The final medieval
version of the city, Shahjahanabad, was built by Mughal emperor [[Shahjahan]
to serve as the capital of the Mughal Empire, which it did from 1649
to 1857, when the British exiled the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur
Shah Zafar, to Burma in the wake of the Revolt of 1857. This city,
which still survives, is known coloquially as "Old Delhi", although
old-time residents of Delhi often refer to it simply as 'Shahr', or
'the city', reflecting a time when both the economic and cultural
life of the city was centred on its older quarters.
After the British Raj took control of India during the 19th century,
Calcutta (now Kolkata) became the capital until George V announced
in 1911 that it was to move back to Delhi. A new capital city, New
Delhi, was built during the 1920s to the south of the city of
Shahjahanabad. When India gained independence from British rule in
1947, New Delhi was declared its capital and seat of government. As
such, New Delhi houses important offices of the federal government,
including the Parliament of India.
Owing to the migration of people from across the country, Delhi has
grown to be a cosmopolitan city. Its rapid development and
urbanisation, coupled with the relatively high average income of its
population, has transformed the city. Today, Delhi is a major
cultural, political, and commercial center of India.
States of India:
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