Red Fort
Red Fort, Old Delhi India
The Red Fort and the city of Shahjahanabad was constructed by the Emperor
Shah Jahan in 1639 A.D.
The Red Fort was originally referred to as "Qila-i-Mubarak" (the
blessed fort), because it was the residence of the royal family. The
layout of the Red Fort was organised to retain and integrate this site
with the Salimgarh Fort. The fortress palace is an important focal point
of the medieval city of Shahjahanabad. The planning and aesthetics of
the Red Fort represent the zenith of Mughal creativity which prevailed
during the reign of Emperor Shahjahan. This Fort has had many developments
added on after its construction by Emperor Shahjahan. The significant
phases of development were under Aurangzeb and later Mughal rulers. Important
physical changes were carried out in the overall settings of the site
after the First War of Independence during British Rule in 1857. After
Independence, the site experienced a few changes in terms of addition/alteration
to the structures. During the British period the Fort was mainly used
as a cantonment and even after Independence, a significant part of the
Fort remained under the control of the Army until the year 2003.
The Red Fort was the palace for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's new capital,
Shahjahanabad, the seventh Muslim city in the Delhi site. He moved his
capital from Agra in a move designed to bring prestige to his reign,
and to provide ample opportunity to apply his ambitious building schemes
and interests.
The fort lies along the Yamuna River, which fed the moats that surround
most of the wall. The wall at its north-eastern corner is adjacent to
an older fort, the Salimgarh Fort, a defense built by Islam Shah Suri
in 1546.The construction of the Red Fort began in 1638 and was completed
by 1648.
On 11 March 1783, Sikhs briefly entered Red Fort in Delhi and occupied
the Diwan-i-Am. The city was essentially surrendered by the Mughal wazir
in cahoots with his Sikh Allies. This task was carried out under the
command of the Sardar Baghel Singh Dhaliwal of the Karor Singhia misl.
The last Mughal emperor to occupy the fort was Bahadur Shah II "Zafar".
After the failure of the 1857 rebellion, Zafar left the fort on 17th
September. He returned to Red Fort as a prisoner of the British. Zafar
was tried on in a trail starting on 27th January 1858, and was exiled
on 7 October.
On 15 August 1947, India became an independent nation. This was marked
by Jawahar Lal Nehru, the Prime Minister, unveiling the flag of independent
India on 15 August 1947.
The Red Fort is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Old Delhi,
attracting thousands of visitors every year. The fort is also the site
from which the Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on 15 August
, the day India achieved independence from the British. It also happens
to be the largest monument in Old Delhi.
At one point in time, more than 3,000 people lived within the premises
of the Delhi Fort complex. But after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the fort
was captured by Britain and the residential palaces destroyed. It was
made the headquarters of the British Indian Army. Immediately after the
mutiny, Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried at the Red Fort. It was also here
in November 1945, that the most famous courts-martial of three officers
of the Indian National Army were held. After India gained independence
in 1947, the Indian Army took control over the fort. In December 2003,
the Indian Army handed the fort over to the Indian tourist authorities.
The fort was the site of a December 2000 attack by terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba
which killed two soldiers and one civilian in what was described in the
media as an attempt to derail the India-Pakistan peace process in Kashmir.
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