Capital city of the Federal Republic of India, situated on the banks of the Yamuna River, on the borders between the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The city is in the strategic region linking the Indus and Ganges valleys, bounded on the south by the Aravalli Range and on the north by the Himalayas. It is just south of the town of Panipat, where many renowned battles have been fought between invading powers from the North-west Frontier and the civilization of the Ganges plains.

The city has two distinct parts: Old Delhi and New Delhi. Old Delhi is a Muslim city centered around the Red Fort built by Emperor Shah Jahan between 1636 and 1658.…

Capital city of the Federal Republic of India, situated on the banks of the Yamuna River, on the borders between the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The city is in the strategic region linking the Indus and Ganges valleys, bounded on the south by the Aravalli Range and on the north by the Himalayas. It is just south of the town of Panipat, where many renowned battles have been fought between invading powers from the North-west Frontier and the civilization of the Ganges plains.

The city has two distinct parts: Old Delhi and New Delhi. Old Delhi is a Muslim city centered around the Red Fort built by Emperor Shah Jahan between 1636 and 1658. The streets of Old Delhi are narrow and bustling: the beauty and serenity lies inside the courts of the main buildings. New Delhi was proclaimed the capital of India by the British in 1911, but the newly built city was not officially inaugurated until 1931. It was designed by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944), and is tree-lined and spacious.

New Delhi is built around Raj Path Avenue, 5km (3 miles) long and 0.8km (0.5 miles) wide, known previously as Kingsway, which leads to the huge Viceroy’s palace, now the residence of the presidents of India (Rashtrapati Bhavan). To one side is the Parliament, the Lok Sabha. Government buildings flank all sides of the Raj Path. Just to the north is Connaught Place, an elegant ring of colonnaded shops and offices, now being replaced by sky-scrapers. In the southern part of New Delhi are Palam Airport, new universities and the arenas built in 1982 for the Asian Games.

Places of interest include the Red Fort, Jami Masjid mosque, the Rashtrapati Bhavan (outside only), and Raj Path Avenue, the Qutb Minar, a 22m (73 ft) high to be the highest free-standing stone tower in the world, Tughlaqabad (a ruined fortified city), and the astronomical observatory of Jai Singh, the Maharaja of Jaipur.

Delhi’s industries—many of them located in satellite townships in the outlying areas—include chemicals, textiles, rubber goods and various handcrafts.