Majnu-ka-tilla

Last updated
Buddhist site in Samyeling Tibetan Colony or Majnu ka tilla Majnu ka tilla monastery.jpg
Buddhist site in Samyeling Tibetan Colony or Majnu ka tilla

Majnu-ka-tilla
New Aruna Nagar Colony, Samyeling
Neighborhood of Delhi
View from rooftop in Majnu-ka-tilla.jpg
View from rooftop in Majnu-ka-tilla
Majnu-ka-tilla.png
Location of Majnu-ka-tilla in Delhi
Coordinates: 28°42′05″N77°13′41″E / 28.70137°N 77.22816°E / 28.70137; 77.22816
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
State Delhi
District North Delhi
Established1960
Population
 (2000) [1]
 • Total2,500
Time zone UTC+5:30 (Indian Standard Time)
Pincode(s)
[2]
Area code +91 11
New Aruna-Nagar Tibetan settlement, Delhi New Aruna-Nagar Tibetan settlement, Delhi.jpg
New Aruna-Nagar Tibetan settlement, Delhi

Majnu-ka-tilla (MT) is a colony in Delhi, India that was established around 1950. [note 1] Majnu-ka-tilla is officially called New Aruna Nagar Colony, [5] Chungtown, [3] and Samyeling. [6] It is part of North Delhi district and is located at the bank of the Yamuna River (NH-1) near ISBT Kashmiri Gate.

Contents

History

The historic name of the area, literally means the hillock of Majnu, after the tilla or mound where during the reign of Sikandar Lodhi (r. 1489–1517) on Delhi Sultanate, a local Iranian Sufi mystic Abdulla, nicknamed Majnu (lost in love), met Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji on 20 July 1505. Majnu ferried people across the Yamuna river for free as a service to God, his devotion resulted in the guru Ji staying here till the end of July. In later history, Sikh military leader Baghel Singh Dhaliwal built the Majnu ka Tila Gurudwara to commemorate the stay in 1783, and the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Har Gobind also stayed here. Today it is one of oldest extant Sikh shrines in Delhi and the surrounding estate of donated by early 19th-century Sikh emperor, Ranjit Singh. [7] [8] [9]

Majnu Ka Tilla area has three main residential settlements with total 3000–3500 homes, Aruna Nagar, New Aruna Nagar and Old Chandrawal village, which was built up in the early 1900s, when British government settled labourers involved in the construction of the Central Secretariat buildings, during the construction of the New Delhi. The next round of settlement came post-independence in 1958-59 when Aruna Nagar was developed by the Land and Development wing of the Ministry of Urban Development as it disburses 925 plots of 40 sq. yard each, to people resettled here from various parts of North Delhi. The Tibetan refugee camp later named New Aruna Nagar developed after 1960. [9]

Tibetan settlement: 1950s to present

Just as Aruna Nagar was developing, the 1959 Tibetan uprising took place in March, most residents of Majnu-ka-tilla left Tibet in 1959–60, when the Dalai Lama too went into exile to Dharamshala. Soon, a small Tibetan refugee camp up across the road, on the Yamuna riverbed. [1] [9] The land was allotted by the Government of India to the refugees in 1960. [10] After the Sino-Indian War in 1962, many of the refugees who had previously settled temporarily near the Indo-Chinese border shifted here. [9] Today, it is home to second generation of Tibet refugees and is also known as Samyeling, through colloquially as "Little-Tibet" or "Mini-Tibet". [11] [12]

Tempa Tsering, Representative of 14th Dalai Lama to New Delhi and member Tibetan Government in Exile, speaking at a gathering, Majnu Ka Tilla, 2013 Tempa Tsering 2013.jpg
Tempa Tsering, Representative of 14th Dalai Lama to New Delhi and member Tibetan Government in Exile, speaking at a gathering, Majnu Ka Tilla, 2013

The legal status of Majnu-ka-tilla has previously come into dispute. In 1995, residents were "given a formal assurance from the Centre" that they would be allowed to remain at the site until the international dispute over Tibet was settled. [4] In June 2006, the colony was served a court-issued notice indicating that it would be demolished in connection with the Delhi government's road expansion and Yamuna River beautification plan. [13] [14] At least two buildings were demolished in connection with this order. [6] As of 2012, however, a court order had avoided eviction, regularising the status of the colony. [15] [16] In March 2013, Government of Delhi included New Aruna Nagar (Tibetan refugee camp) in its list of 895 "to-be-regularised colonies". [9]

The refugee colony experienced widespread flooding in 2010 rainy season, as a result many of the residents took reinforcement measure in their buildings. [17] On 20 June 2013, during the North India floods, the Yamuna river breached its banks and inundated numerous houses in the low-lying area. They remained partially submerged for several days, and people shifted to upper floors or to relief camps. The floods also lead to power outages and water shortages, raising concerns of health hazards. [18] [19] [20]

Economy

The economy of Majnu-ka-tilla centres around hotels, guest-houses and restaurants. [6] Another important aspect of the economy is home rentals as a large population is cramped in closely built houses, several floors high and approachable through narrow bylanes. [9] In addition, there is a market of retail stalls, including bookshops, curio shops, metalsmiths, and a beauty parlor; internet cafes, and travel agencies. [3] [6] The neighborhood is extreamly popular among foreign and domestic tourists. The location is close to popular universities of Delhi like Delhi University and Ambedkar University. Thus students comprises a large tourists demography of this area. [3]

Culture

Majnu-ta-killa houses a monastery and Buddhist temple, preaching Tibetan Buddhism. The Saka Dewa, Losar, Birthday of Dalai Lama are most famous festivities celebrated. [9] [12]

Demographics

The colony had approximately 2,500 residents in 378 family groups as of 2000. [1] Residents have strong ethnic identification: in one survey of young adult recent arrivals from Tibet and young adult children of Tibetan refugees in Majnu-ka-tilla, all identified as 100% Tibetan, nearly all wanted to marry Tibetans, and around 60% said that 80% or more of their friends were Tibetan. [1]

Most importantly this place is famous for free education, career counselling and social welfare by Mr. Purushottam Dass who is a social activist and well wisher of Human Development.

Administration

Administratively, it falls under the Civil Lines subdivision of the North Delhi district of NCT Delhi. [2]

Transport

The area lies on a stretch of the National Highway 1, which is part of the historic Grand Trunk Road and the Outer Ring Road of Delhi. It is at a walkable distance from ISBT Kashmere Gate. It is approachable through the Kashmeri Gate station of the Delhi Metro, lies on the Red (New Bus Adda-Rithala), Violet (Escorts Mujesar - Kashmere Gate) and Yellow Lines (Samaypur Badli - HUDA City Centre). [21] It is a transfer station between the Red Line on the highest upper level and the Yellow Line on the lowest level. [22] The Vidhan Sabha metro station is 1.5 km away. [9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Express India writes that it was founded in 1959, [3] while The Times of India writes that it was founded in 1962. [4]

Related Research Articles

The Mudrika Seva is one of the most popular bus routes in Delhi, India. It was started by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in May 1974, and is now operated by both the Corporation and DIMTS' cluster buses. The service runs on Delhi's inner ring road, with major stops at AIIMS, Lajpat Nagar, Sarai Kale Khan, ITO, Delhi Gate, Kashmere Gate, DU North Campus, Model Town, Azadpur market, Shalimar Bagh, Punjabi Bagh, Britannia Factory, Rajouri Garden, Naraina, and DU South Campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayur Vihar</span> Neighborhood of Delhi in East Delhi, India

Mayur Vihar is an upmarket residential area in East Delhi close to the city's Noida-Delhi border, situated just across the Yamuna River, and is divided into three distinct phases. As the name suggests, it has been the dwelling (vihar) of peacocks (mayur). Even today, the area has a closed sanctuary dedicated to the conservation of peacocks.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar (GTB Nagar), formerly known as Koliwada, is a neighbourhood in Sion, Mumbai, named after Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the ninth Guru of Sikhism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inner Ring Road, Delhi</span> Roadway in Delhi,India

The Inner Ring Road refers to one of the two main ring roads, the main inner one and an outer one in Delhi, India. The two ring roads have a combined length of 87 km (54 mi). There are two less significant Ring Roads in Delhi apart from the above two, namely the Rural Ring Road, that runs across the rural areas on the fringe of North West Delhi and West Delhi Ring Road, limited only to the West Delhi region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmiri Gate, Delhi</span> Gate in Old Delhi, India

Kashmiri Gate or Kashmere Gate is a gate located in Old Delhi in UT of Delhi, India. it is the northern gate to the historic walled city of Old Delhi. Built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, the gate is so named because it was at the start of a road that led to Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baghel Singh</span> Sikh leader of the Singh Krora Misl

Baghel Singh was a Military general in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. He rose to prominence in the area around Sutlej and Yamuna. Singh joined the Singh Krora Misl, one of the misls during Sikh Confederacy. In 1765, Singh became the leader of the misl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Delhi district</span> District of Delhi in India

East Delhi is an administrative district of Delhi in India. It is bounded by the Yamuna River on the west, North East Delhi to the north, Ghaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh state to the east, and Gautam Buddha Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh to the south. Administratively, the district is divided into three subdivisions: Gandhi Nagar, Preet Vihar, and Mayur Vihar.

The Civil Lines is a residential area and one of the 3 subdivisions of the Central Delhi district of Delhi in India. It is one of the 12 zones under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. It was the hub of European-style hotels in the city until New Delhi came into being in 1911. The official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is also located at Raj Niwas Marg, Civil Lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsway Camp</span> Neighborhood of Delhi in North West Delhi, India

Kingsway Camp, officially Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar since 1970, is a historic area located in North West Delhi, near Civil Lines and Delhi University. It starts from Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar (GTB) intersection, and has residential areas like Hudson Lines and Outram Lines. Neighboring localities include Dhaka Village, Mukherjee Nagar and Hakikat Nagar. The foundation of the new capital of British India, New Delhi, was laid at Coronation Park by King George V in December, 1911, making this area historically significant.

The Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE) or Kundli–Manesar–Palwal Expressway, is an operational 6-lane, 135.6 km (84.3 mi)-long Expressway in the Haryana state of India. Along with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the Western Peripheral Expressway is expected to divert more than 50,000 heavy vehicles away from Delhi, which will help to maintain good air quality in Delhi. Western Peripheral Expressway along with Eastern Peripheral Expressway completes the largest Ring Road around Delhi. There are 10 tolled entries and exits, from north to south - Kundli, Kharkhoda, Bahadurgarh, Badli, Fartukhnagar, Panchgaon, Manesar, Taoru, Sohna & Palwal. Toll rate notified in December 2018 is INR1.35 per km for cars, INR2.18 per km for light motor vehicles, INR4.98 per km for trucks and buses, and two wheelers are not permitted on the expressway.

Tsering Chungtak was a Tibetan model and beauty pageant titleholder who represented Tibet at the 2006 edition of the environmentally oriented beauty pageant Miss Earth 2006. She was the first Tibetan woman to participate in any major international beauty contest. Tsering pursued her undergraduation from Hindu College, University of Delhi and was pursuing her PhD degree in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She was working as a research scholar with Ayur Gyan Nyas, an organisation creating curriculum on secular ethics for students from class one to twelve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmere Gate metro station</span> Metro station in Delhi, India

Kashmere Gate, also known as Kashmiri Gate, is an important metro station on Delhi Metro in Delhi, which is elevated for the Red Line and underground for both the Yellow Line and Violet Line. It is a transfer station between the Red Line on the highest upper level, the Yellow Line on the lowest underground level and Violet Line on the parallel underground level. It is the busiest metro station in India. It was named on 25 December 2002. During peak hours, it serves as an alternate Northern Terminus for the yellow line along with Vishwa Vidyalaya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vidhan Sabha metro station</span> Metro station in Delhi, India

The Vidhan Sabha metro station is located on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro. It services the area around Delhi Legislative Assembly, and Majnu Ka Tilla, which is 1.5 km away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lobsang Wangyal</span>

Lobsang Wangyal is a writer, social activist, photojournalist, and events producer, based in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, India. He has been a stringer reporter and photographer for Agence France-Presse for many years.

Defence Colony is a neighbourhood in Delhi. It was built in the 1960s for veterans of the Indian Armed Forces. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the South East Delhi district of Delhi.

Pandav Nagar is a residential colony in East Delhi, India. The back side of the colony is across the road from the famous Akshardham Temple. The majority of the people are Hindus or Sikhs. Languages spoken are Hindi and Punjabi.

Jangpura is a neighbourhood in South East Delhi district of Delhi. Beginning from the east and moving clockwise, it is bordered by the Mathura Road, Ring Railway line, Silver Oak Park beyond the Defence Colony Flyover, and the Barapulla Nullah. It encompasses the residential areas of Jangpura A and B on either side of the Mathura Road, Jangpura (Bhogal) extending west from the Mathura Road until Jangpura Extension, which in turn extends along the northern side of the Ring Railway line to the east side of the Defence Colony Flyover on Josip Broz Tito Marg. The small colony of Pant Nagar along the Barapulla Nullah is contiguous with Jangpura Extension.

Luo Sang is a Chinese national who was arrested by Indian authorities on charges of espionage, forgery and money laundering in 2018. After his arrest in 2018 the Indian courts let him go and expelled him from India. However he came back to India under a new identity, married a girl from Lunglei in Mizoram and continued money laundering in the Delhi. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Income Tax Department caught him in raids related to a ₹1,000 crore hawala network on 11 August 2020. He was also caught on charges of spying on the Dalai Lama and his close circle, hiring people to spy on pro-Tibetan Indians, and using the banned WeChat app to communicate.

Sikh attacks on Delhi were common in the second half of the 18th century. The Sikhs attacked Delhi 19 times between 1766 and 1788.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Klieger, Paul Christiaan (2002). "Engendering Tibet: Power, Self, and Change in the Diaspora". In Paul Christiaan Klieger (ed.). Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS, 2000 - Tibet, Self, and the Tibetan Diaspora: Voices of Difference. Brill Publishers. pp.  142–145, 149. ISBN   978-90-04-12555-1.
  2. 1 2 "List of applicant unauthorized colonies: Sl. no.106, rgn no. 111" (PDF). Govt. Of NCT. Of Delhi, Urban Development Department. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Yambem, Miranda; Amrita Tripathi. "Footloose in Little Lhasa". Indian Express . Retrieved 4 January 2005.
  4. 1 2 Sharma, Nidhi (5 August 2006). "Majnu ka tilla eviction issue: Govt won't give up on 'Little Tibet'". Times of India .
  5. ↑ "Get a taste of Tibet in Delhi". Hindustan Times . 19 March 2006. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Samphel, Thubten (13 September 2006). "Dharamshala diary: Majnu Ka Tilla re-visited". TibetNet . Central Tibetan Administration . Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "A Gurdwara steeped in history". The Times of India. 25 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "Majnu ka Tila and the romance of sepak takraw". Indian Express. 28 July 2011.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Happiness and discontentment". Hindustan Times. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "Suggestion of Masterplan Review 2021 (RWA Letter)" (PDF). Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  11. ↑ Jayashree Nandi (15 May 2013). "Lull before Li storm in 'Little Tibet'". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  12. 1 2 Isha Gupta (18 June 2011). "Delhi's mini Tibet: Majnu Ka Tilla". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Majnu-ka-tilla finally gets court notice on demolition". Phayul . 15 June 2006.
  14. ↑ Dickyi, Tenzin (8 September 2006). "Can we still save Majnu-ka-tilla?". Phayul .
  15. ↑ "Delhi court order brings relief to Tibetans". Central Tibetan Administration. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  16. ↑ "Delhi Tibetan colony to be regularized". Voice of America Tibetan. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  17. ↑ "3 yrs on, flood in mini Tibet". The Times of India . 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Water recedes, disease threat looms". The Times of India . 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "Delhi: Yamuna continues to flow over danger mark". Hindustan Times. 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "Health hazards loom large". DNA India. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  21. ↑ "Delhi Metro Yellow Line Map". Maps of India. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  22. ↑ "Station Information". Archived from the original on 19 June 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.