Delhi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the National Capital Territory of India. For the capital city of India, see New Delhi. For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation).

Delhi / /

Delhi
Location of Delhi in India

Coordinates Country Territory Lt. Governor Chief Minister Mayor Population Density Metro HDI (2005)

283636N 771348ECoordinates: 283636N 771348E India Delhi Tejendra Khanna Sheila Dikshit (INC) Rajni Abbi (BJP)
11,007,835[1] (2nd) (2011)

Legislature (seats) Unicameral (70)

11,297 /km2 (29,259 /sq mi) 16,314,838[2][2] (2nd) (2011) 0.875[citation needed] (very high) IST (UTC+05:30)
1483 km2 (573 sq mi)

Official languages English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu Time zone Area Elevation

239 metres (784 ft)[3]

Codes

Pincode Telephone UN/LOCODE Vehicle Website

110 xxx +91-11- XXXX XXXX INDEL DL-xx

delhigovt.nic.in/index.asp

Seal of Delhi Delhi /dli/, locally pronounced Dillee (Hindi: , Punjabi: , Urdu: )or Dehli (Hindi: , Urdu: ,)officially National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India.[4][5][6][7] It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16.7 million inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census. There are nearly 22.2 million residents in the greater National Capital Region urban area (which also includes the cities Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad along with other smaller nearby towns).[8] The name Delhi is often also used to include urban areas near the NCT, as well as to refer to New Delhi, the capital of India, which lies within the metropolis. Although technically a federally administered union territory, the political administration of the NCT of Delhi today more closely resembles that of a state of India with its own legislature, high court and an executive council of ministers headed by a Chief Minister. New Delhi, jointly administered by both the federal Government of India and the local Government of Delhi, is also the capital of the NCT of Delhi. Located on the banks of the River Yamuna, Delhi has been known to be continuously inhabited since at least the 6th century BCE,[9] though human habitation is believed to have existed since the second millennium BCE.[10] Delhi is also widely believed to have been the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas during the times of the Mahabharata.[11] Delhi re-emerged as a major political, cultural and commercial city along the trade routes between northwest India and the Gangetic plain after the rise of the Delhi sultanates.[12][13] It is the site of many ancient and medieval monuments, archaeological sites and remains. In 1639, Mughal emperor Shahjahan built a new walled city in Delhi which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1649 to 1857.[14][15] After the British East India Company had gained a foothold in North East India in the late 18th century, Calcutta became the capital of British held territories under Company rule (17741857) and remained so under the British Raj (18571920). British had captured Delhi by 1857 and George V announced in 1911 that the capital of British controlled

parts of India would move back to Delhi. A new capital city, New Delhi, was built to the south of the old city during the 1920s.[16] 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, as well as numerous national museums, monuments, and art galleries. Owing to the migration of people from across the country (mostly from the Northern and Eastern states of India), Delhi has grown to be a multicultural, cosmopolitan metropolis. Its rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the relatively high average income of its population, has transformed Delhi into a major cultural, political, and commercial centre of India.[17] Delhi has plenty of parks and gardens. New Delhi, a part of Delhi is one of world's Greenest Capital cities. Delhi Ridge, the last leg of the Aravalli Range is known as Delhi's Green Lung. It runs through South Delhi and terminates in Central Delhi. This makes these two regions the greenest in the city. Owing to its greens, Delhi is home to such large number of birds that it is the world's most bird enriched Capital, only after Kenya's Nairobi[18].

Contents

1 Etymology and idioms 2 History 3 Geography o 3.1 Climate 4 Civic administration 5 Government and politics 6 Economy 7 Utility services 8 Transport o 8.1 Northern Peripheral Road 9 Demographics 10 Culture 11 Education 12 Media 13 Sports 14 Sister cities and twin regions 15 See also 16 References 17 Further reading 18 External links

[edit] Etymology and idioms

The etymology of "Delhi" is uncertain, but many possibilities exist. The very common view is that its eponym is Dhillu or Dilu, a king of the Mauryan dynasty, who built the city in 50 BC and named it after himself.[11][19][20] The Hindi/Prakrit word dhili ("loose") was used by the Tomaras to refer to the city because the Iron Pillar built by Raja Dhava had a weak foundation and was replaced.[20] The coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called dehliwal.[21] Some other historians believe that the name is derived from Dilli, a corruption of dehleez (Persian: )or dehali (Sanskrit: ) both terms meaning 'threshold' or 'gateway' and symbolic of the city as a gateway to the Gangetic Plain.[22][23] Another theory suggests that the city's original name was Dhillika.[24] As per Bhavishya Purana(Sanskrit- ), Prithviraj Chauhan, the King of Indraprastha built a new fort for convenience of all four castes, in his kingdom. He ordered to construct a gateway (Hindi- ) to that Fort and later named the fort the same (dehali). It later became Dilli(Hindi - ). This fort is believed to be constructed in Purana Qila area. Delhi is referenced in various idioms of the Northern Indo-Aryan languages. Examples include:

Abhi Dilli door hai (or, its Persian version, Hanouz Dehli dour ast (Persian: )) literally meaning Delhi is still far away, which is generically said about a task or journey still far from completion. In Persian del or dili can mean heart, while other meanings include cordial, centre, love, etc.[25][26] Dilli dilwalon ka shehr or Dilli Dilwalon ki meaning Delhi belongs to the largehearted/daring.[27] Aas-paas barse, Dilli pari tarse (Persian: ) literally meaning it pours all around, while Delhi lies parched. An allusion to the sometimes semi-arid climate of Delhi, it idiomatically refers to situations of deprivation when there is plenty all around.[26] Dilli kee Sardi. A proverb used to refer to the winters of Delhi, which amidst the concrete build-up of the metropolis and the immense greens looks breathtaking. Popularly used in Bollywood, including a song, this proverb highlights the chilly and beautiful Delhi winters where temperatures just manage to stay above the 0C mark.

The people of Delhi are referred to as Dilliwallahs or Delhiites.[28]