Delhi , City and national capital territory, north-central India. Area: national capital territory, 573 sq mi (1,483 sq km). Population: city, (2011) 11,007,835; national capital territory, (2011) 16,753,235. Bordered by the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the national capital territory comprises the cities of Delhi (popularly known as Old Delhi) and New Delhi (India’s capital) and adjacent rural areas. Delhi was the capital of a Muslim dynasty from 1206 until it was invaded and sacked by Timur in 1398. It again was made the capital by the Mughal emperor Bābur in 1526. Although the Mughal capital was relocated to Agra, Delhi was beautified by Shah Jahān beginning in 1638. Pillaged by Nādir Shah in 1739, it surrendered to the Marathas in 1771 before being taken by the British in 1803. Delhi was a centre of the Indian Mutiny in 1857. In 1911 the British decided to move the capital of British India from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi, and in 1912 construction began on New Delhi (as the new seat of the central government became known) at a site just south of central Delhi. New Delhi was dedicated in 1931, and it became the capital of independent India in 1947. The area’s economic and population centre, however, has remained mainly in Old Delhi. The services sector—including government—is the chief employer. The national capital territory is also the transportation hub for north-central India.
