Delhi is the capital city of India. This beautiful and historical city is situated on river Yamuna’s western bank in Northern India. The history of the city of Delhi can be traced back to the time of the Mahabharata. The city bears a glorious history of India of about 5,000 years. The name of Delhi has been etched in the pages of Indian history and it is associated with many rulers of the country. This is one of the Indian metropolitan cities where one will find evidences of both past and present times.

Delhi has witnessed many rise and fall of powers on the Delhi masnad. Shahjahan, the Mughal emperor set up this city, presently known as Old Delhi, to be the capital of then Mughal Empire (1649 to 1857). In 1857, Delhi witnessed the War of Independence, the first of its kind in India.

During 19th century, it is under the British that Calcutta was identified as the new capital city of India. In 1911, George V ordered the change of capital. Following his order, the Indian capital was re-shifted to Delhi from Calcutta in 1920. The new capital came to be identified as the New Delhi.

During the fight for independence from the British hegemony, Delhi played a crucial role. The Azad Hind Fauz during the freedom struggle in India had aimed to establish Swaraj after capturing the city of Delhi. Their famous slogan of ‘‘Dilli Chalo’’ is still popular among the Indian national leaders.

The name of the Delhi city is believed to have derived from the word Dhillu after an ancient ruler. Others are of the opinion that the name came from the word Dilli that is again a derivative of dehali meaning threshold in Hindi language. Today’s Delhi is a busy metropolitan city of India with strongly developed urbanization. It is also a union territory of India, which is federally administered.