Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

Delhi 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 ...

in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to

Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

and next to

Vasant Kunj Vasant Kunj is a posh neighbourhood located in South West Delhi district, Delhi, India. Its nearest Metro Station is Vasant Vihar metro station. The area is home to several prominent personalities, one being the former prime minister of Indi ...

History

Mehrauli is one of the seven medieval cities that make up the present state of Delhi. The

Lal Kot Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...

fort was constructed by the Tomar chief Anangpal I around 731AD and expanded by AnangPal II in the 11thcentury, who shifted his capital to Lal Kot from Kannauj.The Tomars were defeated by the

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subcla ...

s in the 12th century.

Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his ca ...

further expanded the fort and called it Qila Rai Pithora. He was defeated and killed in 1192 by Mohammed Ghori, who put his general

Qutb-ud-din Aybak Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطب‌الدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in ...

in charge and returned to Afghanistan. Subsequently in 1206, after the death of Mohammed Ghori, Qutubuddin enthroned himself as the first Sultan of Delhi. Thus Delhi became the capital of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi ( Slave dynasty), the first dynasty of Muslim sultans to rule over northern India. Mehrauli remained the capital of the Mamluk dynasty which ruled until 1290. During the

Khilji dynasty The Khalji or Khilji (Pashto: ; Persian: ) dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty which ruled the Delhi sultanate, covering large parts of the Indian subcontinent for nearly three decades between 1290 and 1320.Siri. Balban's tomb, Mehrauli

In 12th-century Jain scriptures, the location is also mentioned as ''Yogninipura'', now noticeable by the presence of the " Yogmaya Temple", near the

Qutub Minar The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO W ...

complex, believed to have been built by the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

. It was also the execution place of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur ji due to

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate o ...

Geography and climate

Mehrauli lies in the South district of Delhi at . To its north lies Malviya Nagar. Vasant Kunj lies to its West and Tughlakabad to its south. Like the rest of Delhi, Mehrauli has a semi-arid climate with high variation between summer and winter temperatures. While the summer temperatures may go up to 46 °C, the winters can seem freezing to people used to a warm climate with near 0 °C. The soil of Mehrauli consists of sandy loam to loam texture. The water level has gone down in the recent past hovering between 45 m to 50 m due to rise in population.

Architecture

Though Mehrauli is like any ordinary neighborhood today, its past is what distinguishes it in terms of architecture. Ahinsa Sthal is a Jain temple located in Mehrauli, Delhi. The main deity of the temple is Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara (human spiritual guide) of a present half cycle of time. A magnificent statue of Tirthankara Mahāvīra is installed here. Even though the capital shifted from Mehrauli after the Slave dynasty rule came to an end, many other dynasties contributed significantly to Mehrauli's architecture. The most visible piece of architecture remains the Qutub Minar which was built by Qutb al-Din Aibak with subsequent additions by

Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 30 April 1236, ) was the third of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid Empire, Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sove ...

and

Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrativ ...

. The Qutb Minar complex is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, and also the venue for the annual Qutub Festival.Mausoleum of a 13th-century Sufi saint, Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, is also situated near the Qutub Minar Complex and the venue for the annual Phoolwalon-ki-sair Festival. The dargah complex also houses graves of later Mughal emperors, Bahadur Shah I,

Shah Alam II Shah Alam II (; 25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), also known by his birth name Ali Gohar (or Ali Gauhar), was the seventeenth Mughal Emperor and the son of Alamgir II. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling Mughal empire. His po ...

, and Akbar II, in an adjacent marble enclosure. To the left of the dargah, lies Zafar Mahal, the summer palace of the last

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...

Bahadur Shah Zafar Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' Victory) was born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) and was the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor as well a ...

along with Moti Masjid, a small mosque, built for private prayer by the son of Aurangeb, Bahadur Shah I. Balban's tomb belonging to Balban, Slave dynasty ruler of

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

was constructed here in the 13th century can still be seen through in a dilapidated condition. The architecturally important structure as it is the first true arch in Indo-Islamic architecture. Another tomb, that of Balban's son, Khan Shahid, who died before he could be crowned, is also located nearby in Mehrauli Archeological Park. A ''baoli'' or stepwell known as ''

Rajon Ki Baoli The Baolis of Mehrauli are three stepwells approached through single stage or three stage steps, located in Mehrauli in Delhi, India, in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park mainlined by the Archaeological Survey of India. These are the Anangtal Baol ...

'' was constructed in 1506 during

Sikandar Lodhi Sikandar Khan Lodi (died 21 November 1517), born Nizam Khan, was a Pashtun Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate between 1489 and 1517. He became ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Khan Lodi in July 1489. The second and most s ...

's reign. It was used to store water though it is now completely dried and is now known as ''Sukhi Baoli'' (dry well). The Jamali Kamali mosque was built in 1528, in honour of the Sufi saint Shaikh Hamid bin Fazlullah, also known as Dervish Shaikh Jamali Kamboh Dihlawi or Jalal Khan. The saint's tomb built-in 1536 upon his death is adjacent to the mosque. Near Jamali Kamali lies the tomb of Quli Khan, which during the British period was converted into a country house by the Metcalfe family. Known as ‘the retreat’ or ‘ Dilkhusha’, this was built by Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe in true English style as a pleasure retreat by surrounding it with many rest houses, follies, and gardens. 'Dilkhusha' in the Urdu language means "Delight of the Heart". The ''

Adham Khan's Tomb Adham Khan's Tomb is the 16th-century tomb of Adham Khan, a general of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, Akbar's wet nurse thus also his foster brother. However, when Adham Khan murdered Akbar’s favourite ge ...

'' was constructed by Emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

in memory of his foster brother and general

Adham Khan Adham Khan (1531 – 16 May 1562) was a general of Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, and thus, was the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to Javeda Begum, the daughter of Baqi Khan Baqlani. Conquest ...

in 1566. The tomb, also known as ''Bhulbhulaiyan'', as one could get lost in the labyrinth of its passages,Qutub Complex
www.the-south-asian.com. it was later used by the British as a residence, rest house and even as a police station. Close to Adham Khan's tomb, lies that of another Mughal General, ''Muhammad Quli Khan'', later it served as the residence of Sir Thomas Metcalfe, governor-general's agent at the Mughal court. The Mehrauli Archaeological Park spread over 200 acres, adjacent to Qutb Minar site was redeveloped in 1997.

Politics

In the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election,

Parvesh Verma Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma (born 7 November 1977) is an Indian politician and a Member of parliament (MP) from West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. As a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he is serving his second term as an MP for West ...

of BJP was elected as the MLA of Mehrauli. He succeeded Yoganand Shastri, former Delhi Assembly Speaker affiliated to 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 ...

Mehrauli Assembly Constituency comprises four municipal wards, namely, ward 169 Lado Sarai (W), ward 170 Mehrauli (GEN), ward 171

(SCW) and wards 172

Kishangarh Kishangarh is a city and a Municipal Council in Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. History Kishangarh State was founded by the Jodhpur prince Kishan Singh in 1609. Prior to the rule of Kishan Singh this area was ruled by ...

(W). All four wards are represented by women councilors in the Municipal Corporation.

Schools

* St. John's School * St.Maria School * Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial School * Lareesa Public School * I.G. Delhi Public School * Saraswati Bal Vidya Mandir * Ramanujan Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya * Government Boys' Senior Secondary School-2 * Government Boys' Senior Secondary School-3 * Suryathan Play School * Prince Public School

2008 blasts

Concealed in a black polythene bag, a bomb was dropped by two unidentified persons riding a motorcycle In Sarai Electronic Market in New Delhi on 27 September 2008. A fortnight after three of the capital's top markets were targeted by terrorists, a medium-intensity blast ripped through the congested flower market in South Delhi's Mehrauli area killing at least two and injuring 22 others.

Accessibility

Indira Gandhi International Airport Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New D ...

is approximately 17 km. * 18 km approximately from New Delhi Railway Stations * Nearest metro station is

Qutab Minar Qutab (, Tat: ''gitob'') is an Azerbaijani dish made from thinly rolled dough that is cooked briefly on a convex griddle known as a saj. Composition When the weather gets warmer, the number of dishes made from wild plants increases. Qutab belo ...

Metro Station. * Adam Khan Tomb - Also known as ''Bhool Bhulaiya'' is situated next to Aggarwal Sweets and near Bus Stand. * Gandhak ki Baoli - It is an ancient step well located near Mehrauli

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

. *

- 16th century stepwell near Gandhak ki Baoli * Yogmaya Temple - Around 1 km from Qutub Minar and about 100 meters prior to Bus Stand. * Village Roads - Village roads in Mehrauli are known in the neighborhood as narrow poorly maintained roads. Non-licensed street vendors/hawkers are very common sites on these roads. * Zafar_Mahal_(Mehrauli) is situated adjacent to the shrine of Hazrat Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Qaki R.A. * Dadabari Jain Mandir is situated on Sri Dev Puri Ashram marg, Opposite Qutub Minar Metro station. * Madhi Masjid - A Remnant Of The Lodhi Era, Madhi Masjid is a 15th Century fortified mosque.

Areas in South Delhi

Greater Kailash Greater Kailash (often referred to as GK) is a residential area in South Delhi consisting of prime and luxurious real estate in several neighborhoods and multiple markets. It is divided into two zones, namely Parts 1 and 2, located around a se ...

Chanakyapuri Chanakyapuri (Sanskrit: चाणक्यपुरी; IAST: Cāṅakyapurī ) is a neighbourhood and diplomatic enclave established in the 1950s in New Delhi. It is also a sub-division of the New Delhi district and plays host to the majority ...

Lajpat Nagar Lajpat Nagar is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the South East Delhi district of Delhi. It was named in honor of Lala Lajpat Rai and is today most known for the Lajpat Nagar Central Market. This area is not to be confused with the ...

* Mehrauli * Nehru Place * Safdarjung New Delhi * South Extension * Kishangarh Village *

Shahpur Jat Shahpur Jat is an urban village in South Delhi, located near Hauz Khas and within one of the ancient capital cities of Delhi, Siri Fort. History When the Siri Fort was abandoned, Jats & Jatavs moved to the Shahpur Jat area, being attracted ...

* Khanpur *

Sanjay Van Sanjay Van is a sprawling city forest area near Vasant Kunj and Mehrauli in Delhi, India. It is spread over an area of 443 acres. It is one of the most thickly wooded areas of the city’s green lungs. Concerns The forest, which is part of th ...

Historical architecture in Mehrauli

File:Tomb of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Mehrauli.jpg, Tomb of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Mehrauli. File:Tombs_of_Shah_Alam_and_Akbar_II,_c1890s.jpg, The tombs of Mughal Emperor,

and his son Akbar II within Kaki mausoleum complex File:Madhi Masjid entrance gateway, Mehrauli.jpg, Madhi Masjid entrance gateway, Mehrauli. File:The bastion of Lal Kot fort, Mehrauli, Delhi.jpg, The bastion of

fort, Mehrauli File:Adham Khan tomb, Mehrauli, Delhi.jpg,

, Mehrauli. File:Gandhak ki Baoli, Mehrauli.jpg, ''Gandhak ki Baoli'', stepwell, Mehrauli. File:Zafar Mahal ruins.jpg, Zafar Mahal built first by Akbar Shah II in the 18th century with addition by

Bahadur Shah Zafar II Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' Victory) was born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) and was the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor as well a ...

. File:Jahaz Mahal on the bank of Hauz-i-Shamsi tank.jpg, View of Jahaz Mahal from Hauz-i-Shamsi. File:Bagichi Ki Masjid, Mehrauli.jpg, Bagichi Ki Masjid, Mehrauli Archeological Park File:Rajon ki Baoli's baoli.jpg, Rajon ki Baoli, the stepwell File:Jahaz Mahal on the bank of Hauz-i-Shamsi.jpg, Jahaz Mahal on the bank of Hauz-i-Shamsi File:Jamali Kamali tomb interior.jpg, Jamali Kamali tomb interior File:Dilkusha with Qutb Minar in the background, Mehrauli.jpg, Tomb of Mohammad Quli Khan, brother of

, a general of Mughal Emperor,

, later turned into a country house Metcalfe House or ''Dilkusha'' by Sir Thomas Metcalfe, near Qutb complex

References

External links

Collection of Photographs Capturing Mehrauli's Diversity
{{Neighborhoods of Delhi Neighbourhoods in Delhi Mamluk dynasty (Delhi) South West Delhi district District subdivisions of Delhi