https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Delhi_Gate%2C_Red_FortDelhi Gate, Red Fort - Revision history2026-10-21T13:55:54ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Delhi_Gate,_Red_Fort&diff=496058&oldid=prevAspjack: Adding the data w/ sources2026-02-06T15:00:35Z<p>Adding the data w/ sources</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}<br />
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[[File:Delhi Gate, Red Fort.jpg|thumb|Delhi Gate, the second entrance to the Red Fort]]<br />
The '''Delhi Gate''' is an entrance to the [[Red Fort]] in [[Old Delhi]] and is on the Fort's southern wall. The gate received its name from the Fort's city. The primary gate is the [[Lahori Gate (Red Fort)|Lahori Gate]], which is very similar in appearance.<br />
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The gate was constructed under [[Shah Jahan]]. It was provided with a 10.5 high metre [[barbican]] by [[Aurangzeb]], facing west.<br />
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The gateway consists of three stories and is decorated with square, rectangular, and [[Multifoil arch|cusped arched]] panels. These panels are flanked by semi-octagonal towers crowned by two open octagonal pavilions. Red sandstone adorns the gate while the pavilion roofs are in white stone. <br />
Between the two pavilions is a screen of miniature ''[[chhatri]]s'' with seven miniature marble domes. Flame-shaped battlements encompass the wall.<br />
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Near it on the right the last emperor was imprisoned after September 1857. Between the inner and outer gates stand two large stone elephants without riders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chrisputro.com/indianepal/may14.htm|title=May 14: Delhi|publisher=chrisputro.com|accessdate=7 July 2018}}</ref> They were replaced here by the gift of [[Lord Curzon]]. Beyond the southern glacis of the fort, on which a cross marks the site of the old cemetery, are the gardens and cantonment of Darya-ganj. The latter is bounded on the west by the Faiz Bazar leading to the Delhi Gate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/handbooktravelle00john#page/196|title=A handbook for travellers in India, Burma, and Ceylon .|publisher=|accessdate=12 October 2016}}</ref><br />
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== History ==<br />
The '''Delhi Gate''' was commissioned by [[List of emperors of the Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]] [[Shah Jahan]] as part of his new capital [[Shahjahanabad]] (Old Delhi) in the 17th century. The [[Red Fort|Red Fort’s]] walls were laid out on an octagonal plan, with the western [[Lahori Gate, Red Fort, Delhi|Lahori Gate]] and southern Delhi Gate as the two main gateways.<ref name="Fading">{{Cite news |date=2025-05-27 |title=The fading gates of Delhi’s walled past |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/the-fading-gates-of-delhi-s-walled-past-101748283919994.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250528140823/https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/the-fading-gates-of-delhi-s-walled-past-101748283919994.html |archive-date=2025-05-28 |access-date=2025-06-28 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us}}</ref> Shah Jahan’s chief architect, [[Ustad Ahmad Lahori]], designed the Fort’s gates in the ornate Shahjahani idiom. The Delhi Gate was built of brick faced with red sandstone, rising in three stories with an arched central passage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bourne |first=Samuel |title=The Delhi Gate of the Fort at Agra |date=1860 |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O128716/the-delhi-gate-of-the-photograph-bourne-samuel/ |access-date=2025-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The house of royalty in all its splendour |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/house-royalty-all-its-splendour-2182481 |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref><br />
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In its early use the Delhi Gate served a functional role. As the UNESCO World Heritage dossier notes, the Lahori Gate was the ceremonial entrance used by visitors and the emperor himself, whereas the Delhi Gate was "used mainly by soldiers and all other people working in the fort".<ref name="UNESCO">{{Cite web |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000163061 |title=The Red Fort Complex (India) |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=unesdoc.unesco.org}}</ref> Two large marble elephants, which were originally positioned between the outer and inner gate arche had been part of the gateway’s ensemble. According to [[Alexander Cunningham|Alexander Cunningham’s]] Archaeological Survey of India reports (1860s), these black marble elephants (each bearing a red sandstone rider carved as [[Rajput]] hero [[Jaimal Rathore|Jaimal]] and [[Pata (sword)|Patta]]) were brought from [[Agra]] and stood at Delhi Gate. They were removed during or after the rebellion and displayed elsewhere, but around 1900 [[George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|Lord Curzon]], the [[Governor-General of India|British Viceroy]], ordered the elephants reinstalled at the gate.<ref name="Buscar">{{Cite web |title=Buscar assunto |url=https://www.periodicos.capes.gov.br/index.php/acervo/buscador.html |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Portal de Periódicos da CAPES |language=pt-br}}</ref><br />
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Through the 20th century, the Delhi Gate remained government property. After [[Indian Independence Act 1947|Indian independence]] in 1947, the Red Fort became a symbol of sovereignty and the [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] now hoists the flag at the Lahori Gate every [[Independence Day (India)|Independence Day]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-07-07 |title=Red Fort of Delhi- India |url=https://srimalfernando.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/red-fort-of-delhi-india/ |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=ආචාර්ය ශ්රීමාල් ප්රනාන්දු Dr.Srimal Fernando |language=en}}</ref> In 2025 [[Hindustan Times]] reported that gates are ruining due to negligence in maintenance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bhandari |first=Varun |date=2025-05-27 |title=The fading gates of Delhi’s walled past |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/the-fading-gates-of-delhi-s-walled-past-101748283919994.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250528140823/https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/the-fading-gates-of-delhi-s-walled-past-101748283919994.html |archive-date=2025-05-28 |access-date=2025-06-28 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us}}</ref><br />
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== Architecture ==<br />
The Delhi Gate embodies the classic [[Mughal architecture|Mughal gateway form]] of the Shahjahanabad period. Its façade is built of deep red sandstone, typical of Shah Jahan’s buildings, with its two taller octagonal towers flanking a three-story central bay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archaeological Survey of India |url=https://asi.nic.in/pages/WorldHeritageRedFort |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=asi.nic.in}}</ref> Panels of carved stone and painted plaster once adorned the facade, many of them featuring floral and geometric patterns. Although many decorations have worn or been lost, the surviving workmanship reflects the fusion of [[Persianate society|Persianate motifs]] with Indian craft. In general, the Red Fort’s architecture is noted for its cusped arches, inlaid marble and pietra dura panels, and intricate jali (latticed) screens.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tola |first=Maya M. |date=2025-06-23 |title=Masterpiece Story: The Red Fort in Delhi |url=https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/the-red-fort-in-delhi/ |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=DailyArt Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><br />
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A set of two life-sized black marble elephants were originally placed between the outer and inner arches of the gateway. Each elephant bore a rider statue on its back, carved from red sandstone. The riders were not random figures but portrayed the legendary Rajput chieftains Jaimal and Patta, heroes of [[Chittorgarh]] who had resisted the Mughal emperor [[Akbar]] in the 16th century.<ref name="Buscar"/><br />
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== Conservation ==<br />
The Delhi Gate today is protected as a cultural monument. It falls under the guardianship of India’s Archaeological Survey (ASI) by virtue of being a part of the Red Fort, which is a designated National Monument and UNESCO World Heritage site.<ref name="UNESCO"/> In 2003, contractors from [[Archaeological Survey of India]] removed the gilded metal finials (pinnacles) from the Delhi Gate’s domes for cleaning. At the time, critics alleged that even some historic elements were being inappropriately altered. ASI responded that the finials were to be reinstalled after cleaning. In the same period, a 19th-century water tank behind the gate was demolished, ASI justified this by saying the tank was a later ([[British Raj|British-era]]) addition not original to Shah Jahan’s design<ref>{{Cite news |date=2003-11-24 |title=Structural setbacks for fort |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/delhi-times/structural-setbacks-for-fort/articleshow/298055.cms |access-date=2025-06-28 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
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==External links==<br />
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[[Category:Red Fort]]<br />
[[Category:Gates of Delhi]]<br />
[[Category:Mughal gates]]</div>Aspjack