Delhi

Information about Delhi

Delhi officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi or NCT, is a city and a union territory of India. It is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east. The NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres (573 sq mi).

It is the capital of India. it 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 it into a major cultural, political, and commercial centre of India.

History

The area around it was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC and there is evidence of continuous inhabitation since at least the 6th century BC. The city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata.

The king Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated in 1192 by Muhammad Ghori, a Muslim invader from Afghanistan, who made a concerted effort to conquer northern India. For the next three hundred years, this region was ruled by a succession of Turkic and an Afghan, Lodhi dynasty. They built several forts and townships that are part of the seven cities of Delhi. Delhi was a major centre of Sufism during this period.

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, it fell to the forces of East India Company after a bloody fight known as the Siege of Delhi. The city came under the direct control of the British Government in 1858. It was made a district province of the Punjab. In 1911, it was announced that the capital of British held territories in India was to be transferred from Calcutta to Delhi. The name “New Delhi” was given in 1927, and the new capital was inaugurated on 13 February 1931. New Delhi, also known as Lutyens’ Delhi, was officially declared as the capital of the Union of India after the country gained independence on 15 August 1947.

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 created the Union Territory of Delhi from the its predecessor the Chief Commissioner’s Province of Delhi. The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Act gave Delhi its own legislative assembly along Civil lines, though with limited powers.

Geography

It is located at 28.61°N 77.23°E, and lies in Northern India. It borders the Indian states of Haryana on the north, west and south and Uttar Pradesh (UP) to the east. Two prominent features of the geography of it are the Yamuna flood plains and the Delhi ridge. The Yamuna river was the historical boundary between Punjab and UP, and its flood plains provide fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture but are prone to recurrent floods.

The National Capital Territory of it covers an area of 1,484 km² (573 sq mi), of which 783 km² (302 sq mi) is designated rural, and 700 km² (270 sq mi) urban therefore making it the largest city in terms of area in the country. It has a length of 51.9 km (32 mi) and a width of 48.48 km (30 mi).

It is included in India’s seismic zone-IV, indicating its vulnerability to major earthquakes.

Climate

Temperatures in this region usually range from 2 to 47 °C (35.6 to 116.6 °F), with the lowest and highest temperatures ever recorded being −2.2 and 48.4 °C (28.0 and 119.1 °F) respectively. The annual mean temperature is 25 °C (77 °F); monthly mean temperatures range from 13 to 32 °C (55 to 90 °F). The highest temperature recorded in July was 45 °C (113 °F) in 1931. The average annual rainfall is approximately 886 mm (34.9 in), most of which falls during the monsoon in July and August. The average date of the advent of monsoon winds in Delhi is 29 June.

Source: Wikipedia [Delhi]