History
Delhi bears the stamp of a rich historical background. It is home to many ancient empires like the Mauryan Empire and renowned dynasties like the Tomara dynasty, Slave dynasty, Tughluq dynasty, Khilji dynasty etc. It is believed that Delhi is the land of Indrapastha, the capital seat of the Pandavas in Mahabharata. Delhi was also an important place for Sufism. After India's independence, Delhi was declared the capital of India.
Geographical Area and Location
Delhi at present covers an area of more than 1484 sq.km. It is situated in North India at 28.61°N 77.23°E. It is bordered in the East by Uttar Pradesh, in the West, South and North by Haryana.
Demographics
According to the census of 2001, the population of Delhi is 13,850,507 and the number of females per 1000 males is 821. The literacy rate of Delhi is 81.82%. As per the area, Delhi is the largest metropolis and according to the population, it holds the second position in the list of largest metropolises.
Government & Administration
Delhi is officially known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). It has always been an important cultural, commercial and political hub of the country. Presently Delhi has 9 districts. Delhi is divided into the New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB). The capital has four important satellite cities namely, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad.
Delhi has 7 Lok Sabha constituencies and 70 assembly constituencies. The Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Parliament of India, The Supreme Court of India are all situated in Delhi.
Education
Over the past few years, Delhi has developed tremendously in the field of education. New colleges and institutes have emerged with top quality education. It is home to more than 160 colleges of all kinds, and some of India's leading universities like the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Jamia Milia University, to name a few. Besides these there are also a large number of private, Government, primary and higher secondary schools imparting education to more than 20 lakh students.
Culture
Delhi has a rich cultural background. It consists of large number of significant monuments, heritage buildings and other famous architectural buildings like the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, India Gate, Qutub Minar, Jantar Mantar, Laxminarayan Temple, Akshardham to name some. These are also the major tourist spots in Delhi that you can visit and enjoy.
All the major events like the Republic Day, Independence Day etc and festivals of all religion are celebrated in Delhi with great zeal and excitement. In Delhi, one can enjoy all types of Indian and international cuisines and delicacies besides the typical mouth watering local fast food collection like Dahi Papri and Chaat. Delhi offers a wide variety to shop till you drop. From jewelry, to saris to all sorts of electrical gadgets to all other different variety of products, Delhi has it all.
Upcoming Events in Delhi, 2010
Delhi, the capital of India, is always full of life and zeal with wide range of shows and events every year. With large number of theatres, stadiums, playgrounds, shopping malls, concert halls, multiplexes to boast off, every year Delhi has a varied range of events lined up and the year 2010 is not lagging behind.
The most important and major event of Delhi and so of India is the prestigious upcoming 2010 Commonwealth Games. It will take place in Delhi from 3rd October to 14th October 2010. The Queen's Baton Relay will reach India on October 3rd, 2010.The Commonwealth Games will take place in India for the first time and second time in Asia. The opening ceremony will be held in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi which bears a capacity of 75,000 spectators. The total amount of budget to be incurred to host the Games is supposed to be more than US$ 1.6 billion, thereby making it the most costly Commonwealth Games of all times. The different venues selected for this purpose are Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Arena, Dhyan Chand national Stadium, Delhi University Sports Complex, RK Khanna Tennis Complex, to list a few. 26 new and upgraded stadiums will also be used for this purpose. One of the unique aspects of the Commonwealth Games 2010, in Delhi is the "Green Games" following which the organizers along with the United Nations Environment Programme have signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" (MoU) to conduct a "Sustainable games" thereby taking care of the environment while preparing for the Games.
Some of the other major events to showcase in Delhi, this year are as follows:
- Various exhibitions like Art Work by Gauri Gill, Times International Childrens Exhibition, Jewellery Wonder, Sugar Asia , Media Expo - Delhi, Commonwealth Games 2010 - Delhi
- International Trade fair like the Medifest India, 2010 Workshops and seminars like Hardware India 2010, Zak Glasstech International, Infra Educa - New Delhi, Metro Rail Asia, Pen World Delhi, Hospital Build India Exhibition & Congress.
- If you are a music lover then Delhi offers you good variety of music concerts and festivals like Rock Festivals, Jazz festivals, Sufi, Western Classical, Indian Classical, DJ nights, etc
- Music without Dance is incomplete. If you are passionate about dance then you can enjoy the various dance concerts that will take place in Delhi this year like Kathak, Sufi Dance, Salsa, Bharatnatyam etc.
- When we speak of entertainment, options in Delhi are huge. Various film festivals like the Osian's Film Festival, Wildlife Film Festival, Mexican Film Festivals, and Spanish Film Festivals etc take place every year in Delhi.
- Theatre festivals like Puppet Theatre Festival, Bharat Rang Mahotsav by NSD are also organized in Delhi from time to time.
- Every year popular fashion shows like the Lakme Fashion Week also take place.
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