Sadar Bazaar is the largest wholesale cosmetics jewellery market of household items in

Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. T ...

Delhi, India Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. Like other major markets of

, this market is very crowded and buzzes with activity. Although it is primarily a

wholesale market Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

, it also caters to occasional retail buyers. Owing to the sheer volumes that are traded here every day, a visit to the market can be termed sensory overload. In addition to being a market for traders, Sadar Bazaar is a assembly constituency, making it a hub for politics.

History

Paharganj, also referred as ''Shahganj'' or King's ganj or market place during

Mughal era The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the ...

, gets its present name 'Paharganj', literally meaning ''Hilly neighbourhood'', owing to its proximity to the

Raisina Hill Raisina Hill ( IAST: ''Rāyasīnā Pahāṛī''), often used as a metonym for the seat of the Government of India, is an area of New Delhi, housing India's most important government buildings, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official resid ...

, where the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati B ...

stand today. Till, 1857, neighbourhoods like Paharganj, Kishenganj, and Pahari Dhiraj, were separate pockets which in the following years grew and merged, for example Pahari Dhiraj merged into Sadar Bazaar. During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

had built a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

closer to the

Jhandewalan temple The Jhandewalan Temple is a Hindu temple near Karol Bagh in Delhi, India dedicated to the goddess Aadi Shakti. It is among the oldest temple in Delhi and located on Jhandewala road.

. In May 1924 on the day of Bakri Eid the Muslims of Pahari Dhiraj of Paharganj slaughtered the cow - which is revered by the

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

as sacred Kamadhenu - in the slaughterhouse closer to the Jhandewala temple. This angered the Hindu Gurjars of Sadar Bazaar, which led to the

riots A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...

among the

Gurjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tra ...

s and Muslims from 11 July to 18 July, resulting in loss of life and property. Riots were eventually stopped by the police. BIRESH CHAUDHUR
NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN DELHI 1911-1932
Page 78.

Location and transportation

Sadar Bazaar is located on the western side of Khari Baoli street. It is connected to the rest of the city via buses (closest station is Kashmere Gate ISBT),

auto-rickshaws An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

and trains (closest metro station is Tis Hazari Metro Station). The area also has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

named Delhi Sadar Bazar (Code: DSB). It is from New Delhi railway station and trains take about 9 to 15 minutes to reach there. All the trains that stop here are either

EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the ...

, MEMUs or

passenger trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

consisting of General class seating arrangements. As of 2015, the rail ticket fare for this leg is .

Commodities

Sadar Bazaar consists of numerous smaller markets, including Pratap market, Swadeshi market and Teliwara or Timber market. The market, as a whole, not only deals in household goods, but also in various other items such as toys, imitation jewellery and stationery. It has become a den of counterfeit products of many multi-national companies, FMCG products and especially cosmetic goods of deceptively similar character. Traders and shoppers have access to authentic Indian food, including delicacies deep-fried in

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from ...

(clarified butter) and mithai (traditional sweets) of various kinds. The lanes are plenty and narrow, lined with shops selling imported goods, clothing, shoes and leather items, electronic and consumer goods, and more. The market, even more so than the rest of the city, is very congested.

Concerns

Considered by some to be the biggest wholesale market in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, accounts from local traders indicate that Sadar Bazaar suffers from over-congestion of stalls, power cuts, lack of

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...

facilities, improper maintenance of roads and frequent traffic jams. Despite being chaotic, Sadar Bazaar remains a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

Swadeshi Market

Swadeshi Market in Sadar Bazaar is famous for artificial jewellery, toys, gifts item, and household plastics. Inside Sadar Bazaar, every lane is having its local association and having shops of different goods. As of 2015, Vijay Malhotra (Yogiraj) is the president of Swadeshi Market.

Administration and politics

''Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders Association'' (Regd.) is the parental organisation of all the major trade associations of Sadar Bazaar. Sadar Bazaar is part of the Sadar- Paharganj constituency, one of the twelve administrative zones of

Municipal Corporation of Delhi Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is the municipal corporation that governs most of Delhi, India. The MCD is among the largest municipal bodies in the world providing civic services to an estimated population of more than 11 million cit ...

(MCD). As of 2015, this constituency is represented by Som Dutt of the

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a List of political parties in India, political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian ...

. Prior to Dutt, this

Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislati ...

constituency was represented by Rajesh Jain of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

(INC). Previously a parliamentary constituency, it is now a part of

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk, also known as Moonlight Square is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. It is located close to the Old Delhi Railway Station. The Red Fort monument is located at the eastern end of Chandni Chowk. It was b ...

parliamentary constituency represented by Harsh Vardhan of the BJP.

References

Bazaars Bazaars in India Cities and towns in North Delhi district Neighbourhoods in Delhi North Delhi district Wholesale markets in India