Paharganj - History

History

In the years after its establishment in 1638, Shahjahanabad, the capital of the Mughal Empire under Shah Jahan, was no longer contained within the walled city, it soon spilled into surrounding areas, stretching into miles at each end, where half of its population stayed. By 1739, the suburbs covered 1800 acres and included areas like Mughalpura, Sabzimandi, Paharganj and Jaisingh pura. One of the largest and most important suburban mohalla of the Walled city of Delhi, and located just outside the Ajmeri Gate of the Walled city, Paharganj was one of five main markets of Delhi, and the only one outside the walled city. Also, it was the principal grain market of the city in the 18th century, where grain was ferried, across Yamuna river, from wholesale markets and warehouses in Patparganj and Shahdara. Just outside the Ajmeri Gate was the custom house of the emperor, for collecting taxes. Between Paharganj and Akbarabadi gate of the walled city was Shahganj, another wholesale market, while on the other side towards Jantar Mantar was Raja Bazar. In fact Paharganj was also referred as Shahganj or King's ganj or market place during Mughal era, it gets its present name 'Paharganj', literally meaning Hilly neighbourhood, owing to its proximity to the Raisina Hill, where the Rashtrapati Bhavan stand today. Till, 1857, neighbourhoods like Paharganj, Kishenganj, and Pahari Dhiraj, were separate pockets which in the following years grew and merged, for example Pahari Dhiraj merged into the Sadar Bazaar.

In 1690s, Ghaziuddin Khan, a general of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, a leading Deccan commander and the father of Asaf Jah I, the founder of the Asaf Jahi dynasty of Hyderabad, through religious endowment founded a madarsa, Madrasa Ghaziuddin Khan after him. It eventually paved way for the present Zakir Hussain College, which in 1986, shifted to a new building outside Turkman Gate, the old structure in the Madrasa Ghaziuddin complex, still houses a hostel for the college and also has Ghaziuddin's mausoleum.

When the Lutyens' Delhi, was being built in 1920s, the area also saw major development, and the old 'Imperial theatre', built in 1930, stands as a legacy to that era. Though its neighbouring area of Jaisinghpura, where Gurudwara Bangla Sahib stands today, along with Madhoganj and Raja ka Bazaar were demolished to make way for the Connaught Place, shopping district. Indeed, the "Delhi Town Planning Committee on the planning of new Imperial capital" with George Swinton as chairman and John A. Brodie and Lutyens as members, submitted its report on June 13, 1912, it proposed a plan to include Paharganj and Sadar Bazar into the developing new imperial city, as they were only areas of Old Delhi, spilling into the planned New Delhi area. However it was rejected by the Viceroy, when the cost of compensation while acquiring the properties, was found to be too high. The central axis of New Delhi, which today faces east at India Gate, was previously meant to be a North-South axis, linking Viceroy's House with Paharganj, as the end of the axis.

Gradually, Chai-Tuti-Chowk or Six Tuti Chowk, named after six water taps originally place here for public, developed as an important market square, and a shopping area of Paharganj, within shops of cloth merchants coming up around it. Prior to the inauguration of New Delhi in 1931, the New Delhi Railway Station was opened with a single platform near Ajmeri Gate in 1926, till then the Old Delhi Railway Station served the entire city. This changed Paharganj landscape indelibly, with influx of travellers, small eateries started coming up in the area, and also temporary residential facilities.

The famous Shri Nand Lal Sharma dhaba was set up here in 1928, over time, his son built a three-storey hotel on spot, and now his grandson manages the Metropolis, known for its rooftop restaurant, which still has many Russian dishes on its menu. "Shiela Cinema" at Paharganj was Delhi’s first 70mm screen, second being "Odeon" in Connaught Place. "Imperial" and "Khanna" were other talkies in the area. Gradually, the entire area was catering to the tourism industry, though the grain bazars of Mughal era were long gone, in early 20th century, Paharganj still had principal markets in Delhi for building materials, cement, timber and steel, but by 1947 they had mostly shifted to other locations in the city, while Paharganj had become primarily a densely-populated residential and commercial area, replete with cheap hotels and restaurants for domestic and foreign tourists.

Paharganj witnessed upheavals during the prolonged Indian independence struggle, like during the Quit India Movement of August 1942, the British barracks near Paharganj were attacked and the soldiers' were thrown out, who then sought refuge in an Indian's bungalow, later the Paharganj Post office and five terminal tax posts were also raided by the mod and burnt down.