THE 2011 centenary of the New Delhi (pronounced New Dellhaiy) is a point at which the earlier incarnations of this city can be remembered and a sense of heritage conjured up. Like Lord Vishnu of the Hindu Trinity, Dillee – the city beloved of poets like Amir Khusro of the Sultanat and Mir Taqi ‘Mir’ and Mirza Ghalib of the later Mughal period – has experienced many incarnations. Unlike Lord Vishnu’s incarnations, which occurred in earlier and better ages, all the incarnations of Delhi took place in the worst era of the Hindu cycle – the Kali Yuga – and suffer from the evils of the age.

The earliest, Indraprastha, is part of legend and myth and no vestiges of it have been found despite assiduous digs in areas associated with Indraprastha such as the 16th century Puraana Qilaa of Sher Shah and Humayun. According to legend it was built in a clearing created by burning down the forest called Khandavaprastha and feeding all its inhabitants – vegetable, animal, bird and reptile – to the fire god, Agni. Only the town planner and architect of the Daanavas (anti Gods), Mayaa, was spared and he repayed his debt by designing a wonderous city in which polished stone floors looked like water-filled tanks and columns encrusted with jewels made it appear like a heaven upon earth. When the Pandavas won the great Mahabharata battle they moved to Hastinapur, abandoning Indraprastha and it soon returned to bramble and thorn.

The earliest habitation on the ground is the La’al Koat in the Mehrauli-Qutub area. This 11th century site hosts the fort built by the Chauhan Emperor Prithvi Raj (Rai Pithaura) to mark the defensive outpost guarding the frontier of his empire with Ajmer as the capital.

Dillee became a capital city in the reign of Sultan Shamsuddeen Iltutmish. His predecessor, Qutbuddeen Aiybek had Lahore as his capital. When Aiybek fell off his horse and died during a game of chaugan (polo) his son Aram Shah was elevated to the throne by the Lahore nobles. The Delhi nobles did not accept Aram Shah and opted for Iltutmish, son-in-law of Aiybek and governor of Budayun. The battle that followed saw Iltutmish victorious and he chose Dillee as capital.

Although Dillee was an important city for the next century – from Iltutmish’s reign to that of Alauddin Khilji – it lacked the monumental or Imperial touch. During this period the Mongols were overrunning Central and West Asia. They became Muslim long after destroying many countries. The sack of Baghdad in 1256 formed the climax as it saw the Khalifa or head of the world of Islam defeated and killed. Of this sack, it is said that the river in Baghdad ran black from the ink of the holy Qurans dumped in it and red from the blood of the Muslims slaughtered.

Dillee became a refuge and a shelter for Muslim refugees who had fled Central and West Asia to escape from the Mongols.

Amir Khusro called Delhi, ‘Qubbat-ul-Islam’, the sheltering and protective dome over Islam. All the skill and talent which had been spread over the Central and West Asian world became available in one city, Dillee.

The only thing lacking was gold or wealth. This came from Deogir when Alauddin Khilji won the fort from its Yadava rulers and collected the accumulated treasures of twenty four generations.

Alauddin tricked the reigning Sultan, Jalaluddin Firoz (his uncle and father-in-law), to visit Kara near Pratapgarh in East U.P. where he was governor, and had him assassinated in an undefended boat in mid-river.

The gold from Deogir (renamed Dawlatabad or ‘the city of wealth’) was used to buy support for the usurper. At each dawn, when the new sultan with his army and entourage marched to the next stage on the way to Delhi, some twenty kilos of gold shaped into star form was fired from a manjaanik – or enormous catapult designed to hurl rocks at fort walls – to broadcast wealth on soldiers and peasants alike.

 

At Dillee the army raised by Jalaluddin’s son came out to face Alauddin. They had already been subverted and melted away. Alauddin Khilji moved to the palace and sat on the throne. The enormous wealth looted from Deogir enabled Alauddin Khilji to think big. The congregational (Ja’ama) mosque of Mehrauli was enlarged to four times its original size. The false arches in its screen were abandoned and the true arch made its first appearance in the gateway (Alai Darwaazaa) built as entrance to the new enlarged complex.

The worst crisis of the reign was in 1303 when Alauddin had to give up a campaign in the East and return to Delhi to face a Mongol invasion. As his cavalry had not caught up with the main army, Alauddin was besieged in the area which is now Shahpur Jat. Emissaries sent out to governors for help were intercepted by the Mongols. The situation became very grim. Suddenly and for no obvious reason, the Mongols lost their cool and melted away. This great change in fortune was attributed to the prayers of the Sufi saint Nizamuddeen Awliya.

Alauddin’s eldest son built an imposing room with a high ceiling as a dwelling for the saint to live in and be a tomb thereafter. Nizamuddeen refused to give up his humble abode and side rooms were built to make the new structure into a the Jamaat-khaanaa mosque.

Alauddin now raised a city fortified with massive stone walls to face the Mongol menace. He posted his best generals on the North West frontier and equipped them to defeat Mongol attacks. He instructed his generals to send Mongol prisoners of war to Delhi where he had them beheaded at the site of the new city.

 

The foundations of Seeree were moistened with the blood of Mongols captured in battle and their heads formed the base of the fortification walls. The new city of Seeree was built within a mighty fortification which was solid on the outside face and had openings for light and air on the inside wall. Cavalry could travel four abreast on the roof. The enclosed space could hold food and armaments to withstand a long siege. Alauddin also created a huge reservoir called Hauz-i-Alai in the rockiest part of Delhi, giving the city a second source of water. Alauddin has the distinction of defeating the Mongols in many battles. He is reputed to have recruited an army of half a million.

The next dynasty, the House of Tughluq, gave Delhi Tughluqaabaad, Aadilaabaad and Jahaanpanaah. Timur’s 1398 A.D. invasion saw the destruction of Delhi on a scale which was to be repeated only in 1857 and the next hundred years saw it limp back to normalcy. The Lodhi Afghans became rulers in the early 16th century and shifted the capital to Agra.

 

Babur, a descendent of Timur on the father’s side and Chengeyz on the mother’s, could not hold Samarqand and had to be satisfied with Kabul. He claimed India in the name of his ancestor Timur and led four expeditions into the country. In 1525 he received invitations to invade India from Rana Sanga of Mewar and a dissatisfied Afghan noble, Dawlut Khan Lodhi. He sallied forth with his 12000 troops and cannon and took position at Panipat. In his memoirs he records his apprehensions as he did not find either the Rana or the Lodhi come to his side. He fought and won single-handed and killed not only the Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi but also his vassal Bikramajit of Gwalior and some forty thousand men.

Both the Rana and the disaffected Afghan nobles were disappointed when Babur continued to stay in India instead of cornering the loot and returning to Kabul. Babur died in 1539 and his son and successor Humayun started building another Delhi near the river Jamuna when Afghan resurgence drove him out of India as a refugee to Iran. He returned after fifteen years and died in the fort started by him and completed by Sher Shah Suri.

Humayun’s son Akbar left Delhi after an assassination attempt and created capitals in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. He fostered his favourite grandson, Khurram ‘the joyous one’ and looked after his upbringing until his death in 1605 when Khurram was 12 years old. Akbar’s eldest and only surviving son, Salim succeeded him and reigned up to 1627. Khurram had won the title Shah Jahan after a series of victories in battle which added to the territory and glory of his father. Shah Jahan succeeded him in 1628 and ruled until 1658 and soon his revenues were yielding twice the amount realized by Akbar.

The reign of the richest ruler the world has known saw him declare that Agra would henceforth be called Akbarabaad in honour of his grandfather and the new city of Delhi, Shahjahaanaabaad, was to be in his own name. It was to be a mirror image of Heaven and therefore well-watered and full of gardens, pavilions, mosques and palaces. The princes, princesses, imperial servitors and nobles were invited to build in the new city.

 

Dara Shukoh created a garden palace on the river bank between the fort and Kashmiri Gate. Jahanara Begum’s garden and pavilion complex was in the heart of the city as it provided shelter for all who came from Central and West Asia for jobs to India. It was called Sahibaabaad as she was known as Begum Saheb. Two nursemaids of Shah Jahan, when he was known as Khurram, built mosque complexes complete with seminaries. They were called Fatehpuri and Akbarabaadi in honour of the builders. The women of Agra (Akbarabaad) and Fatehpur Sikri, reputed to be great milkers, were in demand as wet nurses until the abolition of princely states and zamindari in 1947.

For the Mughal in his prime, the only kingdoms of consequence were Iran and Turkey. Iran’s capital, Isfahan was proudly referred to by its inhabitants as ‘half the world’ in the saying ‘Isfahan nisf-Jahaan’. Shahjahaanaabaad soon became just Jahaanaabaad, thus enabling its residents to claim that it was a whole world in itself.

Gold and silver, diamonds from Golconda, pearls from the Gulf of Mannnar, rubies from Badakhshan and emeralds from Brazil found the best buyers in Shahjahaanabaad and it saw the creation of solid gold thrones complete with footstools and cushions ornamented with jewels. The most famous was called the Peacock throne. It weighed just over a tonne and a quarter and was adorned with jewels estimated to cost rupees fifty lakhs in 1635.

Shah Jahan created a magnificent palace in pristine white marble and decorated with flowering plants rendered in semi-precious stones. To house this great jewel, fountains played outside and a canal ran under the floor to keep the place cool. On the wall there was a whole tree made out of precious stones and in gold was inscribed the verse, ‘If there is paradise anywhere on the face of the earth it is here, it is here, it is here!’ It was called Shah Mahal or Diwan-i-Khas.

 

Such eminence and wealth aroused envy and greed. From 1739 to 1857, Delhi was the target of invaders who wanted only to loot and despoil it. Local militants like Sikhs and Marathas had their fill and foreigners such as Pathans, Iranians, and Europeans muscled in. The richest haul was that of Tahmasp Quli Khan (Nadir Shah) who took away many solid gold thrones complete with footstools, including the Peacock throne. They were all subsequently broken up except for the throne sent to the Sultan of Turkey as the guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The Afghans under Ahmad Shah Abdali created such havoc that poets like Mirza Rafi ‘Sauda’ and Mir Taqi ‘Mir’ migrated to Lucknow. Urdu continued to flourish under the name ‘Reiykhtaa’ and ‘Dakhkhinee’ and the 19th century saw a flowering in the poetry of ‘Zauq’ and ‘Ghalib’.

 

In 1856, British greed led to the annexation of Awadh despite the great loyalty shown by its ruler to all the treaties he and his predecessors had signed with the British. This, and the attempts of missionaries to convert Hindus and Muslims to Christianity, caused much trepidation amongst the troops of the East India Company. These soldiers had won all battles for their masters including those against the redoubtable Sikhs of the Punjab. The last straw was provided by the greased cartridge which had to be inserted in the new Enfield rifle after biting off its covering. The only source for grease was animal fat of cows and pigs. The mouthing of this fat was sacrilege for Hindus and abomination for Muslims. The Bengal Army of the East India Company, manned 31 per cent by Brahmins and 34 per cent by Rajputs, remonstrated and when protests were met by brutal repression, revolted by killing all White officers and setting their bungalows on fire.

The 19th of May 1857 saw Meerut in flames. The sepoys marched the whole night to the slogan ‘Deen’ or faith and arrived at the Red Fort Delhi where they mobbed the eighty two years old titular emperor, Bahadur Shah ‘Zafar’ and asked him to be their leader. When he protested, claiming he had neither army nor treasure to help them, they asked only that he put his hand on their heads as a token of his blessing.

Regiment after regiment revolted and tried to make a beeline for Delhi. The Punjab regiments from Miyan Meer cantonment in Lahore were pursued and slaughtered at Ajnala. The Indians were brave and faced death with equanimity. They had no generals with experience of leading a campaign. Soon fortunes were reversed and Delhi was besieged with a fresh army equipped with artillery which could break down stone walls. Delhi fell on 20 September 1857 and a general massacre ensued. Delhi had become a symbol of the Indian desire for freedom and its fall saw the vengeful British massacre its populace. Leaders were picked out and taken to the river bank and shot. Over twenty princes of the House of Timur were hanged in the city centre Kotwali. Three were shot despite having surrendered and a promise of safety by Hodson after the Emperor’s capture on 20 September 1857.

We then saw the bizarre spectacle of the Emperor of India being tried for ‘treason’ against the East India Company – a commercial enterprise operating in India under a permit granted by the Emperor’s great grandfather! The eighty two years old Emperor was found guilty and exiled to Burma where he died in 1862.

 

Great vengeance was wreaked not only on the inhabitants of Delhi but also its buildings. Around 85 per cent of the palaces and pavilions of the 100 acre Red Fort were razed to the ground. All the golden domes, including those on kiosks adorning palaces were ravaged. The baazaars called Khanum and Khas abutting the city centre square (Sa’adulla Khan’s Chowk) were flattened along with old residential areas like Bulaaqi Begum kaa Muhalla). The Akbarabadi Mosque complex was a victim of this vandalism. Today there is a flat ground between the Ja’ama Masjid and the Red Fort. This is the area where premier nobles had their palatial residences complete with water features and libraries. Even in 1857 there was enough wealth in Delhi to have Sikhs accompanying the victorious British send mule and donkey loads of gold to the Punjab. The British haul was enormous. Delhi was depopulated and it took two decades for its numbers to return to the 1856 level.

 

Calcutta became the capital of British India. The East India Company gave way to the Crown and the governor general became Viceroy. As the demand for Indian participation in power grew the British tried to divert attention by various means. The boldest move was to partition Bengal into Muslim and Hindu dominated areas. This act was seen as treachery and a movement started to undo the evil. Soon it became violent and attempts to put it down by force led to greater violence. Bengalis learnt to make bombs and use small arms from Irish freedom fighters. A time came when young White assistant managers of firms in Clive Street, Calcutta started keeping loaded revolvers in the top drawers of their office desks.

After the death of Edward VII, his son George V ascended the throne as King Emperor and a great durbar was held in Delhi where he was offered promises of loyalty by the princes of India. At this function, the then Viceroy wrote a speech for him in which he announced the abrogation of the 1905 partition of Bengal and the transfer of the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi.

New Delhi, a monument to the cowardice of the alien British and the misunderstandings they harboured about India, is currently celebrating its centenary. Dilleewaalaas were not thrilled by the news. C.F. Andrews has recorded the great suffering experienced by Munshi Zakaullah at the sight of White men walking in the Red Fort palaces wearing shoes in areas where the emperors and princes walked barefoot.

The 1912 transfer, from Calcutta to Delhi, of the capital of the British Empire in India was a hasty and ill-advised move. The Indian reaction was not welcoming, but the lobbying of a home-made picric acid bomb at the canopied elephant being ridden by the Viceroy and his lady. The attendant holding the umbrella of state on the couple – chosen for his height and bearing – was killed and the Viceroy severely injured.

The first site chosen for the new capital was North of Shahjahan’s city. The foundation stone was moved overnight in a bullock cart when this site was abandoned and moved South to Raisina Hill. The architect and town planner chosen, Edwin Lutyens, had no formal education or training in design and construction of buildings or cities. He, however, had the right contacts as he was married to the daughter of an earlier Viceroy.

The British are remarkably poor in talent. They have not enriched the art and culture scene of Europe and the world with painters, musicians, architects or sculptors. The greatest British achievements are on a domestic and not a monumental scale. The Cathedral of Saint Paul designed by Christopher Wren is not as attractive as the much smaller Church of St. Stephen designed and built in the city by the same architect.

 

New Delhi is a pretentious town with not a single noble building of calibre like the 17th century Ja’ama Masjid of Shahjahaanaabaad or the 12th century Qutub Minaar complex at Mehrauli. It has no soul. The only sign of life and warmth is in Basti Nizamuddin or the Lodhi tombs complex. New Delhi’s North Block has the inscription: Freedom does not descend upon a people. It is a blessing which has to be earned for it to be enjoyed.’ The contrast with the Diwan-i-Khas inscription is obvious: ‘If there is a paradise anywhere on the face of this earth, it is here, it is here, it is here!’.