South Delhi is an administrative district of the

National Capital Territory of 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

with its headquarters in Saket. Administratively, the district is divided into three subdivisions, Saket,

Hauz Khas Hauz Khas is a neighborhood in South Delhi, its heart being the historic Hauz Khas Complex. Well known in medieval times, the Hauz Khas village has amazing buildings built around the reservoir. There are remnants of Islamic architecture rough ...

, and

Mehrauli Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, a district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurgaon and next to Vasant Kunj. History Mehrauli is one of the seven mediev ...

. It is bounded by the

Yamuna River The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...

to the east, the districts of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

to the north, Faridabad District of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

state to the southeast,

Gurgaon District Gurgaon district, officially known as Gurugram district, is one of the 22 districts of Haryana in northern India. The city of Gurgaon is the administrative headquarters of the district. The population is 1,514,432. It is one of the southern distr ...

of Haryana to the southwest, and

South West Delhi South West Delhi is one of the eleven administrative districts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. Kapashera serves as the administrative headquarters of South West Delhi. South West Delhi is bounded by the districts of West ...

to the west. South Delhi has a population of 2,731,929 (2011 census), and an area of , with a population density of 9,034 persons per km² (23,397 persons per mi²). The South Delhi neighborhood of Hauz Khas is witnessing the growth of trendy shops and lodgings. It is now becoming the center for domestic and international tourists and backpackers. The area also is home to historical monuments and has easy access to the

Delhi Metro The Delhi Metro is a mass rapid transit (MRT) system serving Delhi and its satellite cities of Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Bahadurgarh and Ballabhgarh, in the National Capital Region of India. The network consists of 10 colou ...

, making it a preferred location for many visitors to India and domestic middle-class visitors from other Indian states. The area attracts young tourists with numerous hip

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or share ...

s and

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-c ...

s. The division shown on the map bears only administrative significance, as to the common citizen, broadly speaking

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 ...

is vaguely ring-like, having five regions, namely North, West, South, East and Central. The usage of the term South Delhi in day-to-day life expands from

IGI 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 Del ...

in the New Delhi district to the river

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

in the South East, a region protruding into administrative

district.

History

South Delhi is a vast area in the city of Delhi and contains many significant locations. Of the eleven 'historical cities' of Delhi, three, viz. Qila Rai Pithora (1st),

(2nd) and

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer qu ...

(including

) (3rd) fall in the South Delhi district. Jahaz Mahal, Zafar Mahal,

Hauz Khas Complex Hauz Khas Complex in Hauz Khas, South Delhi houses a water tank, an Islamic seminary, a mosque, a tomb and pavilions built around an urbanized village with medieval history traced to the 13th century of Delhi Sultanate reign. It was part of Sir ...

, Bijay Mandal,

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 ...

, Mehrauli Archaeological Park, and the Safdarjung's Tomb comprise some of South Delhi's most scenic heritage sites.

Geography

The administrative district had 20% Green Cover, as of 2009. It has several spacious green parks, wildlife sanctuary, biodiversity parks, and green belts. Deer Park and Rose Garden in

, Asola Wildlife Sanctuary close to Delhi's southern border on the Aravallis foothills are few examples. It has a good mix of concrete and greens.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census South Delhi has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 2,731,929, roughly equal to the nation of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

or the US state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. This gives it a ranking of 144th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 20.59%.

Economy

Many renowned markets of Delhi such as Sarojini Nagar Market, Green Park Market etc. and malls such as DLF, MGF Metropolitan, Select Citywalk, Malviya Nagar, etc. are located in South Delhi.

Administrative divisions

Transport

Roadways

Metro rail

Two lines of Delhi metro namely Yellow and magenta lines pass through the district

Railways

The nearest railway station is

Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station (station code: NZM) is a railway station in South Delhi, India. It is under the administrative control of the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. It is one of the five main s ...

Airways

The nearest airport is

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 ...

located towards west of district

Culture

South district is considered to be the most affluent of all residential districts of Delhi, other than the districts falling under Lutyen's Delhi, viz.

and

Central Delhi Central Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. It is bounded by the Yamuna River on the east and by the districts of North Delhi to the north, West Delhi and South West Delhi to the west, New ...

. With upscale areas like Saket, Sainik Farm, Malviya Nagar,

, Green Park, Rama Krishna Puram, Gulmohar Park, Gulmohar enclave, Vasant Vihar and

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 ...

, it has one of the highest land prices in Delhi. Urban villages in South Delhi, like Hauz Khas Village, and

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 ...

have become hub for designer boutiques, restaurants and art galleries and design studios.

Notable personalities

Education

The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,

All India Institute of Medical Sciences The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare , Government of India. These institutes h ...

and

National Institute of Fashion Technology National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is an autonomous institute that offers courses in fashion, designing, technology, and management. Its head office is located in New Delhi, India. History NIFT was established in 1986 under the ...

, three of the country's premier institutes in the field of technology, medicine and fashion respectively lie in the

locality of South Delhi. The

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is a leading business school of India. Established in 1963, it works as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. It also functions as a civil services tr ...

of Delhi is located in the Qutub Institutional Area of South Delhi. Sangam Vihar is also located in South Delhi, which has the highest population in the State. The top Central University

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla i ...

is situated at Jamia Nagar area of South Delhi.

Importance

This district has thriving medieval era colonies or sarais, which now are severely congested and under neglect. These include Chirag Delhi, Kalu Sarai, Jia Sarai, Ber Sarai, Lado Sarai, Katwaria Sarai, Yusuf Sarai, Hauz Khas Village, Munirka,

Kotla Mubarakpur Kotla Mubarakpur Complex, a medieval famous urban village, is a market place with residential colony in South central part of New Delhi. Kotla Mubarakpur classified by the Delhi Development Authority (D.D.A.) as an Urban Village which is dominat ...

Begumpur Jahanpanah was the fourth medieval city of Delhi established in 1326–1327 by Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325–51), of the Delhi Sultanate. To address the constant threat of the Mongols, Tughlaq built the fortified city of Jahanpanah (meanin ...

, Saidulajaib, Mohammadpur, Khirki Village, Adhchini, Chhattarpur Village, Aayaa Nagar, Maandi Village, and Dera Village. Many important city roads such as Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road,

Aurobindo Marg Sri Aurobindo Marg or Aurobindo Marg, is an important South Delhi north-south arterial road connecting historic Safdarjung's Tomb to Qutab Minar. The road is named for Sri Aurobindo Ghosh; the Delhi campus of Sri Aurobindo Ashram is located on ...

, August Kranti Marg, Press Enclave Road, etc. fall in this district, while arterial roads like Inner Ring Road and Outer Ring Road pass through it.

References

External links

South Delhi District official website
{{Delhi Districts of Delhi South Delhi district