RED FORT27 FREEDOM

RED FORT27The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila is a historic fort in Delhi, India, that historically served as the main residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, when he decided to shift his capital from Agra to Delhi. Originally red and white, its design is credited to architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori, who also constructed the Taj Mahal. The fort represents a high point in the Mughal architecture under Shah Jahan and combines Persian palace architecture with indigenous Indian traditions.

The fort was plundered of its artwork and jewels during Nadir Shah‘s invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1739. Most of the fort’s marble structures were subsequently demolished by the British following the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The fort’s defensive walls were largely undamaged, and the fortress was subsequently used as a garrison.

On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, raised the Indian flag above the Lahori Gate. Every year on India’s Independence Day (15 August), the prime minister hoists the Indian tricolour flag at the fort’s main gate and delivers a nationally broadcast speech from its ramparts through the Public Address System of Indian Army Corps of Signals.

The Red Fort was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 as part of the Red Fort Complex.

ETYMOLGYRED FORT27

The name Red Fort is a translation of the Hindustani Lāl Qila (Hindi: लाल क़िला, Urdu: لال قلعہ), deriving from its red sandstone walls. Lal was derived from Hindi meaning “Red” and Qalàh derived from Arabic word meaning “Fortress”. As the residence of the imperial family, the fort was originally known as the “Blessed Fort” (Qila-i-Mubārak). Agra Fort is also known as Lāl Qila.

HISTORY

Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift his capital from Agra to Delhi. Originally red and white, Shah Jahan’s favourite colours, its design is credited to architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori, who also constructed the Taj Mahal.The fort lies along the Yamuna River, which fed the moats surrounding most of the walls. Construction began in the sacred Islamic month of Muharram, on 13 May 1638. Supervised by Shah Jahan, it was completed on 6 April 1648. Unlike other Mughal forts, the Red Fort’s boundary walls are asymmetrical to contain the older Salimgarh Fort. The fortress-palace was a focal point of the city of Shahjahanabad, which is present-day Old Delhi. Shah Jahan’s successor, Aurangzeb, added the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) to the emperor’s private quarters, constructing barbicans in front of the two main gates to make the entrance to the palace more circuitous

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ARCHEOLOGIST FIND

Archaeological excavations at the Red Fort have unearthed several Ochre Coloured Pottery culture artifacts dating from 2600 BCE to 1200 BCE.

Modern era

Image shows the inner walls and celling of the Diwan-e-Khas — Inner walls and ceiling of the Diwan-e-Khas

The Red Fort, the largest monument in Delhi, is one of its most popular tourist destinations and attracts thousands of visitors every year. It is a monument of national significance; every year on India’s Independence Day (15 August), the prime minister of India hoists the country’s flag at the Red Fort and delivers a nationally broadcast speech from its ramparts. The fort also appears on the back of the ₹500 note of the Mahatma Gandhi New Series of the Indian rupee.

The major architectural features are in mixed condition; the extensive water features are dry. Some buildings are in fairly good condition, with their decorative elements undisturbed; in others, the marble inlaid flowers have been removed by looters. The tea house, although not in its historical state, is a working restaurant. The mosque and hammam or public baths are closed to the public, although visitors can peer through their glass windows or marble latticework. Walkways are crumbling, and public toilets are available at the entrance and inside the park. The Lahori Gate entrance leads to a mall with jewellery and craft stores. There is also a museum of “blood paintings”, depicting young 20th-century Indian martyrs and their stories, an archaeological museum and an Indian war-memorial museum

MAJOR STRUCTURE

The most important surviving structures are the walls and ramparts, the main gates, the audience halls and the imperial apartments on the eastern riverbank.

Lahori Gate

Lahori Gate, Delhi

The Lahori Gate is the main gate to the Red Fort, named for its orientation towards the city of Lahore. During Aurangzeb’s reign, the beauty of the gate was altered by the addition of a barbican, which Shah Jahan described as “a veil drawn across the face of a beautiful woman Every Indian Independence Day since 1947, the national flag is unfurled and the prime minister makes a speech from its ramparts.

Delhi Gate

Delhi Gate (Red Fort)

The Delhi Gate is the southern public entrance and is similar in layout and appearance to the Lahori Gate. Two life-size stone elephants on either side of the gate face each other.

Chhatta Chowk

Adjacent to the Lahori Gate is the Chhatta Chowk (or Meena Bazaar), where silk, jewellery and other items for the imperial household were sold during the Mughal period. This market was earlier known as Bazaar-i-Musaqqaf or Chatta-bazaar (both meaning “roofed market”). Lahori Gate, the entrance portal of the Red Fort, leads into an open outer court, where it crosses the large north–south street which originally divided the fort’s military functions (to the west) from the palaces (to the east). The southern end of the street is the Delhi Gate