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{{short description|Memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}

[[File:Gandhi Memorial.jpg|thumb|right|Raj Ghat, Delhi]]
[[File:Inscribing at Raj Ghat.jpg|thumb|right|An Inscription at Raj Ghat]]

'''Raj Ghat''' is a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in [[Delhi]], [[India]]. Originally it was the name of a historic [[ghat]] of [[Old Delhi]] ([[Shahjahanabad]]). Close to it, and east of [[Daryaganj]] was ''Raj Ghat Gate'' of the walled city, opening at ''Raj Ghat'' to the west bank of the [[Yamuna River]].<ref>[[#Fa|Fanshawe, p. 67]]</ref><ref>[[:File:1863 Dispatch Atlas Map of Delhi, India - Geographicus - Delhi-dispatch-1867.jpg|1863 Atlas Map of Delhi]]</ref> Later the memorial area was also called ''Raj Ghat''. It is a black marble platform that marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi's cremation, ''[[Antyeshti]]'' (last rites) on 31 January 1948, a day after his [[assassination of Mahatma Gandhi|assassination]]. It is left open to the sky while an [[eternal flame]] burns at one end. Located on Delhi's [[Ring Road, Delhi|Ring Road]], officially known as Mahatma Gandhi Road, a stone footpath flanked by lawns leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial. The materials used in the memorial, especially in the recesses, raise a few questions about the nature of Gandhian architecture in India. There is a difference between the architecture of Rajghat and a Gandhian low-cost housing architecture. Unlike the hard material faces of some portions of Rajghat, a Gandhian low-cost housing architecture has a decidedly perishable character. In this sense the event of the construction of the Raghat Memorial belongs within a more hard-modernist Gandhian architectural history in India, at a distinct remove from a Gandhian low-cost architectural history of perishable materials.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maddipati |first1=Venugopal |title=Gandhi and Architecture: A Time for Low-Cost Housing: The Philosophy of Finitude |url=https://www.academia.edu/42743173 |access-date=22 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Other memorials in the Raj Ghat area==
Raj Ghat loosely translates to ''Royal Steps'' (with "royal" alluding to the importance of the place and "steps" referencing the bank of [[Yamuna|Yamuna River]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maddipati |first1=Venugopal |title=When Landscape Became King: A Short Note on the Ascendancy of the Immediate Present as the Sovereign of Rajghat |journal=LA Journal of Landscape Architecture, India. |url=https://www.academia.edu/36919706 |access-date=27 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Several other ''[[Samadhi (shrine)|samadhis]]'' or cremation spots of other famous leaders can be found in the vicinity of Raj Ghat. The landscaping and planting of these memorials was performed by Alick Percy-Lancaster, the last Englishman to hold the post of Superintendent of Horticultural Operations, Government of India.

[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'s samadhi is to the north of the Raj Ghat and is known as the ''Shantivan'' meaning the "garden of peace". Adjacent to Nehru's memorial is ''Ekta Sthal'', the site where [[Zail Singh]], [[List of Presidents of India|7th]] [[President of India]], was cremated with full state honours in 2005.

The Raj Ghat area has a park adorned with trees planted by visiting dignitaries and heads of state.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of memorials in the Raj Ghat area
! Name
! Title
! Year of death
! Memorial name
! Meaning
! style="white-space:nowrap;"| Area<br /><small>(acres)</small><ref name="Rediff">{{cite news|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/report/no-space-for-samadhis-vvips-to-share-memorial-place-in-delhi/20130516.htm|title=No space for 'samadhis', VVIPs to share memorial place in Delhi|date=16 May 2013|work=Rediff.com|access-date=30 November 2013}}</ref>
! Feature
|-
| [[Mahatma Gandhi]]
| [[Freedom fighter]] and one of the founding fathers of Nation
| 1948
| ''Raj Ghat''
| Royal Platform
| 5.1
| Blue marble platform
|-
| [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| [[1st Prime Minister of India]]
| 1964
| ''Shantivan''
| Garden of Peace
| 52.6
| A large plinth covered with a lawn
|-
| [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]
| 2nd [[Prime Minister of India]]
| 1966
| ''Vijay Ghat''
| Victory Platform
| 40
| The victory alluded to in the name of the memorial is India's performance under his leadership in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]].
|-
| [[Indira Gandhi]]
| 3rd [[Prime Minister of India]]
| 1984
| ''Shakti Sthal''
| Place of Strength
| 45
| A huge greyish-red monolithic stone
|-
|-
|[[Jagjivan Ram]]
| style="white-space:nowrap;"|[[Deputy Prime Minister of India]]
| 1986
| ''Samta Sthal''
| Place of Equality
| 12.5
| —
|-
| [[Charan Singh]]
| 5th [[Prime Minister of India]]
| 1987
| ''Kisan Ghat''
| Farmer's Platform
| 19
| —
|-
| [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
| 6th [[Prime Minister of India]]
| 1991
| ''Veer Bhumi''
| Land of Brave
| 15
|A large lotus in full bloom carved out of stone surrounded by 46 small lotuses to signify the years he lived; rocks from all the [[States and territories of India|states of India]] are spread around.<ref name="tribune">{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040819/delhi.htm|title='Rajiv' to bloom at Veer Bhumi|date=18 August 2004|publisher=The Tribune Trust|access-date=21 December 2008}}</ref>
|-
| [[Zail Singh]]
| [[President of India]]
| 1994
| ''Ekta Sthal''
| Place of Unity
| 22.56
| —
|-
| style="white-space:nowrap;"|[[Shankar Dayal Sharma]]<ref name="tribune2">{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99dec29/nation.htm|title=Tearful farewell to S.D. Sharma|date=28 December 1999|work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]|publisher=The Tribune Trust|access-date=21 December 2008}}</ref>
| President of India
| 1999
| ''Karma Bhumi''
| Land of Duty
|
| Located near Vijay Ghat.
|-
| [[Devi Lal]]
| Deputy Prime Minister of India
| 2001
| style="white-space:nowrap;"|''Sangharsh Sthal''
| Place of Struggle
|
| Located near Kisan Ghat.
|-
| [[K. R. Narayanan]]
| President of India And Vice President of India
|2005
|'' Uday Bhumi''
|Located in Delhi Christian Community Cemetery New Delhi
|
|
|-
| [[Chandra Shekhar]]
| 8th [[Prime Minister of India]]
| 2007
| ''Jannayak Sthal''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Former-PM-Chandrashekhars-samadhi-to-be-called-Jannayak-Sthal/articleshow/47022230.cms|title=Former PM Chandrashekhar's samadhi to be called Jannayak Sthal|date=23 April 2015|work=The Times of India|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>
| style="white-space:nowrap;"|Place of People's Leader
|
| —
|-
| [[Inder Kumar Gujral]]
| 12th [[Prime Minister of India]]
| 2012
| ''Smriti Sthal''
| Place of Remembrance
|
| —
|-
| [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]
| 10th [[Prime Minister of India]]
| 2018
| ''Sadaiv Atal''
| Firm Forever
|1.5
|Located near Vijay Ghat and Raj Ghat, New Delhi
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" caption="Pictures of memorials near Raj Ghat">
File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying homage at the Samadhi of Indira Gandhi at Shakti Sthal on the occasion of 61st Independence Day in Delhi on August 15, 2007.jpg|[[Manmohan Singh]] at Shakti Sthal, 15 August 2007
File:Sanjay Gandhi Memorial.jpg|Sanjay Gandhi Memorial, Delhi
File:Rajiv Gandhi Memorial, Delhi.jpg|Veer Bhumi
File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh performing the parikrama at the Samadhi of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at Shantivan on the occasion of 62nd Independence Day in Delhi on August 15, 2008.jpg|Manmohan Singh at Shantivan, 15 August 2008
File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying floral tributes at the Samadhi of Babu Jagjivan Ram on the occasion of his 101st birth anniversary at Samta Sthal, in Delhi on April 05, 2008.jpg|Manmohan Singh at Samta Sthal, 5 April 2008
File:The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil paying tributes at Vijay Ghat the Samadhi of Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, in Delhi on July 26, 2007.jpg|[[Pratibha Patil]] at Vijay Ghat, 26 July 2007
File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying floral tribute to the former Prime Minister, Late Ch. Charan Singh on his 104th birth anniversary at Kisan Ghat in Delhi on December 23, 2006.jpg|Manmohan Singh at Kisan Ghat, 23 December 2006
File:Prime Minister Modi at Sadaiv Atal.jpg|[[Narendra Modi]] at Sadaiv Atal, 16 August 2020
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |title=Delhi, past and present|author= H.C. Fanshawe|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year= 1998|isbn=81-206-1318-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ4HFt5S8CcC&q=Daryaganj&pg=PA67|ref=Fa}}

==Further reading==
* Venugopal Maddipati (2020). Gandhi and Architecture: A Time for Low-Cost Housing. {{ISBN|9780367199456}}

==External links==
{{coord|28.640550|N|77.249433|E|region:IN-DL_type:landmark_scale:50|display=title}}
{{commons category|Rajghat}}
* [http://www.delhitourism.gov.in/delhitourism/tourist_place/memorial_delhi.jsp India official tourism website]

{{Delhi}}
{{Gandhi}}

[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Delhi]]
[[Category:Memorials to Mahatma Gandhi]]
[[Category:Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi]]

Raj Ghat and associated memorials - Revision history

->APPU at 05:17, 4 January 2022

imported>GaiusAugustine: /* Gallery */