New
Delhi , city capital of India and of Delhi
state, N central India, on the right bank
of the Yamuna River. Predominantly an administrative
center, it was constructed between 1912
and 1929 to replace Calcutta as capital
of British India; New Delhi was officially
inaugurated in 1931. The city is also a
transportation hub and trade center with
manufactures in electronics, automobile
parts, engineering products, and electrical
appliances. Designed by architects Sir Edwin
Lutyens and Herbert Baker, 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 a massive war memorial
arch (built 1921) through a great court
to the resplendent sandstone and marble
government house (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
(1948). In the west are Balmiki and Lakshminarayan
temples, which Gandhi frequented. The city
has many sports stadiums and medical institutes. |