Delhi and Its Fort Palace : A Historical Preview

This book is all about Delhi and the Red Fort as the title suggests.

Perhaps no other city in the world can boast its legacy as old as of Mahabharat times.

From Rajputs, Delhi passed into the hands of rulers and invaders from Afghanistan and Trans-Oxania region.

In Mughal Hindustan from the times of Shahjahan, Delhi became the power seat and his son Aurangzeb, the Alamgir, maintained Laskar-e-Azim, the largest army at that time in the world.

The Mughal Emperors who came after Aurangzeb were weak, namby-pamby characters and given more to the life of pleasure.

The formidable Mughal Empire started crumbling. The Nadir Shahs, Abdalis, Marathas, Jats and the Ruhelas expedited the ruin.

The British East India Company not only completed the task but also became the new Rule, replacing the Great Mughals.

The British could not ignore the mood of the people for long and had to leave the country.

Finally, India became a free nation when the first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru unfurled the tri-color flag from the ramparts of Red Fort.

The narration ends at this note. This book unfolds the tales of fourteen cities starting from Indraprastha to New Delhi of today. The buildings, gardens, bazaars, galis and kutches of old city of Delhi speak about the bygone days of Shahjahanabad.

The grandeur of the Red Fort or Qila-e-Muella that included the Places of the Mughals and the Halls of Diwan-e-Aam and Diwan-e-Khas where Shahjahan used to hold his court surpassed those of the kingdoms of Balkh, Bukhara and Samarkand.

The book carries 62 carefully chosen illustrations that add fragrance of the by-gone days.