New Delhi is a municipality and district in Delhi which serves as the capital and seat of government of India. In addition, it also serves as the seat of Government of Delhi.

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Delhi is a city that bridges two different worlds. Old Delhi, once the capital of Islamic India, is a labyrinth of narrow lanes lined with crumbling houses and formidable mosques. In contrast, the imperial city of New Delhi created by the British Raj is composed of spacious, tree-lined avenues and imposing government buildings.

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Calcutta was the capital of India during the British Raj until 1911. However, Delhi had served as the political and financial centre of several empires of ancient India and the Delhi Sultanate, most notably of the Mughal Empire from 1649 to 1857. During the early 1900's, a proposal was made to the British administration to move the capital of the British Indian Empire (as it was officially called) from Calcutta to Delhi. Unlike Calcutta, which was located on the eastern coast of India, Delhi was at the centre of northern India and the Government of British India felt that it would be logistically easier to administer India from the latter rather than the former.

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The land for building the new city of Delhi was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act 1894.

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The foundation stone of New Delhi was laid by King George V and Queen Mary on 15 December 1911, during their imperial visit. Large parts of New Delhi were planned by Edwin Lutyens , who first visited Delhi in 1912, and Herbert Baker, both leading 20th century British architects.

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Construction really began after World War I and was completed by 1931. The city that was later dubbed "Lutyens' Delhi" was inaugurated in ceremonies beginning on 10 February 1931 by Lord Irwin, the Viceroy. Lutyens designed the central administrative area of the city as a testament to Britain's imperial aspirations.
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With a total area of 16.5 sq mi, New Delhi forms a small part of the Delhi metropolitan area. Since the city is located on the Indo-Gangetic Plain, there is little difference in elevation across the city. New Delhi and surrounding areas were once a part of the Aravalli Range; all that is left of those mountains is the Delhi Ridge, which is also called the Lungs of Delhi. While New Delhi lies on the floodplains of the Yamuna River, it is essentially a landlocked city. East of the river is the urban area of Shahdara. New Delhi is in a seismic zone, making it vulnerable to earthquakes.

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New Delhi has broad, symmetrically aligned streets that provide vistas of historic monuments. Between the main government buildings a broad boulevard leads east to west from India Gate, a massive war memorial arch (built 1921), through a great court to the resplendent sandstone and marble Government House, Rashtrapati Bhavan (formerly the Viceroy's Palace; now the residence of India's president). In the southern section of the city is the prayer ground where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. In the west are Balmiki and Lakshminarayan temples, which Gandhi frequented; the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple is in East Delhi across the Yamuna. The city has many sports stadiums and medical institutes.

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In recent years metropolitan New Delhi, including Old Delhi, has experienced overcrowding and severe air pollution.

The Delhi Durbar of 1911, with King George V

and Queen Mary seated upon the platform

New Delhi is an area within the City of Delhi

Rashtrapati Bhavan, the home of the President of India.

Swaminarayan Akshardham in Delhi is the largest Hindu

temple complexes in Delhi.

Source: Wickipedia/encyclopedia.com/delhitourism.gov.in

Images: Believed to be in the Public Domain or used with permission