New Delhi: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

New Delhi is the capital of the Republic of India, and is part of the metropolis of Delhi.

The name originates from the Persian word 'Dilli', which was the original name of the city.The city was planned and built as a capital city, and was so named when the then British rulers moved the capital of British India to it in 1911 from Calcutta. It was built to the south of the then-existing urban area (including Shahjahanabad, and sometimes today known as 'old Delhi' or the 'old city'), on a site among the ruins of ancient Delhis.

The plan of the city was developed by architect Edwin Lutyens. Most of the institutions of the central government of India are still located in this area, in grand buildings designed by Lutyens or Herbert Baker.

The visiting French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, looking around at the half-built capital rising around him, is reported to have said, "this will be the greatest ruin of them all."

See Tourist Attractions in Delhi, Hotels in Delhi, Markets in Delhi, National capital territory.

Geography and Location

Aerial map