Raj Ghat and associated memorials

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Raj Ghat
Gandhi Memorial.jpg
Memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat
Location map India Delhi EN.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Raj Ghat in Delhi
General information
TypeTomb
Location Ring Road, Shahjahanabad, Delhi, India
Coordinates 28°38′25.8″N77°14′57.6″E / 28.640500°N 77.249333°E / 28.640500; 77.249333
Groundbreaking1948

Raj Ghat is a memorial complex in Delhi, India. The first memorial was dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi where a black marble platform was raised to mark the spot of his cremation on 31 January 1948 and consists of an eternal flame at one end. Located on Delhi's Ring Road, officially known as Mahatma Gandhi Road, a stone footpath leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial. Later the memorial complex was expanded to include other memorials for other prominent people including Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Charan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee among the others.

Contents

Etymology

Raj Ghat loosely translates to Royal Steps with the word "royal" alluding to the importance of the place and "steps" referencing the climb from the banks of the Yamuna river. [1]

Location

Raj Ghat was the name of a location of historic ghat in Shahjahanabad in Old Delhi on the west bank of the Yamuna River east of Daryaganj. [2]

List of memorials

The first memorial was dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi on the spot where his remains were cremated on 31 January 1948. It consists of a black marble platform with an eternal flame at one end. A stone footpath leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial. Later the memorial complex was expanded to include several other samadhis for various leaders in the vicinity of Raj Ghat. The landscaping and planting of these memorials were originally performed by Alick Percy-Lancaster, Superintendent of Horticultural operations with the Government of India. [3] [4] [5] [6]

In 2000, the Government of India under Vajpayee took a decision to not create separate memorials for different leaders as the already existing memorials were occupying more than 245 acres of prime land in Delhi. [7]

NameTitle/PositionDate of deathMemorial name
(Meaning in English)
Image
Mahatma Gandhi Leader of Indian Independence movement and Father of the Nation 30 January 1948Raj Ghat
(Royal Platform)
Samadhi (shrines) complex of Mahatma Gandhi in Rajghat 04.jpg
Jawaharlal Nehru First Prime Minister of India 27 May 1964Shanti Van
(Forest of Peace)
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying tributes at the Samadhi of former Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his 43rd death anniversary at Shantivan, in Delhi on May 27, 2007.jpg
Lal Bahadur Shastri Second Prime Minister of India 11 January 1966Vijay Ghat
(Victory Platform)
The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil paying tributes at Vijay Ghat the Samadhi of Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, in Delhi on July 26, 2007.jpg
Sanjay Gandhi Grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru and former Member of Parliament 23 June 1980Samadhi of Sanjay Gandhi
(Tomb of Sanjay Gandhi)
Sanjay Gandhi Memorial.jpg
Indira Gandhi Third Prime Minister of India 31 October 1984 Shakti Sthal
(Place of Strength)
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying homage at the Samadhi of Indira Gandhi at Shakti Sthal on the occasion of 61st Independence Day in Delhi on August 15, 2007.jpg
Jagjivan Ram Fourth Deputy Prime Minister of India 6 July 1986Samta Sthal
(Place of Equality)
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying floral tributes at the Samadhi of Babu Jagjivan Ram on the occasion of his 101st birth anniversary at Samta Sthal, in Delhi on April 05, 2008.jpg
Charan Singh Fifth Prime Minister of India 29 May 1987Kisan Ghat
(Farmer Platform)
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying floral tribute to the former Prime Minister, Late Ch. Charan Singh on his 104th birth anniversary at Kisan Ghat in Delhi on December 23, 2006.jpg
Rajiv Gandhi Sixth Prime Minister of India 21 May 1991Vir Bhumi
(Land of Brave)
Rajiv Gandhi Memorial, Delhi.jpg
Lalita Shastri Spouse of Lal Bahadur Shastri 13 April 1993Samadhi of Lalita Shastri
(Tomb of Lalita Shastri)
No image available.svg
Giani Zail Singh Seventh President of India 25 December 1994Ekta Sthal
(Place of Unity)
The Vice President, Shri Mohd. Hamid Ansari paying floral tributes at the Samadhi of former President of India, late Shri Giani Zail Singh on his 96th Birth anniversary, at Ekta Sthal, in Delhi on May 05, 2012.jpg
Shanker Dayal Sharma Ninth President of India 26 December 1999Karma Bhumi
(Land of Duty)
The Vice President, Shri M. Hamid Ansari performing parikrama at the Samadhi of the former President, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma on his birth anniversary, at Karma Bhoomi, in Delhi on August 19, 2016.jpg
Devi Lal Sixth Deputy Prime Minister of India 6 April 2001Sangharsh Sthal
(Place of Struggle)
No image available.svg
P. V. Narasimha Rao Ninth Prime Minister of India 23 December 2004Smriti Sthal
(Place of Remembrance)
No image available.svg
K. R. Narayanan Tenth President of India 9 November 2005Uday Bhumi
(Land of Dawn)
No image available.svg
Chandra Shekhar Eighth Prime Minister of India 8 July 2007Jannayak Sthal
(Place of People's Leader)
The Vice President, Shri Mohd. Hamid Ansari paying floral tribute at the Samadhi of former Prime Minister late Shri Chandra Shekhar on his 6th death anniversary at Smriti Sthal, in Delhi on July 08, 2013.jpg
R. Venkataraman Eighth President of India 27 January 2009Ekta Sthal
(Place of Unity)
No image available.svg
Inder Kumar Gujral Twelfth Prime Minister of India 30 November 2012Smriti Sthal
(Place of Remembrance)
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh paying floral tributes at the Samadhi of former Prime Minister, Shri Inder Kumar Gujral, on his death anniversary, in Delhi on November 30, 2013.jpg
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tenth Prime Minister of India 16 August 2018Sadaiv Atal
(Firm Forever)
Prime Minister Modi at Sadaiv Atal.jpg

Controversies

The hard materials used in the memorial had raised a few questions about the nature of Gandhian architecture where there is a stark difference between the architecture of Rajghat and a Gandhian low-cost housing architecture. [8]

P. V. Narasimha Rao was the ninth Prime minister of India. He died on 24 December 2004 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. [9] His family wanted the body cremated at Raj ghat in Delhi. In 2015, almost ten years since his death, a memorial was finally erected at Smriti Sthal at the behest of the BJP government led by Narendra Modi. [10]

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References

  1. Maddipati, Venugopal (January 2017). "When Landscape Became King: A Short Note on the Ascendancy of the Immediate Present as the Sovereign of Rajghat". LA Journal of Landscape Architecture, India. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  2. H.C. Fanshawe (1998). Delhi, past and present. Asian Educational Services. ISBN   81-206-1318-X.
  3. "No space for 'samadhis', VVIPs to share memorial place in Delhi". Rediff.com. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  4. "'Rajiv' to bloom at Veer Bhumi". The Tribune Trust. 18 August 2004. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  5. "Tearful farewell to S.D. Sharma". The Tribune . The Tribune Trust. 28 December 1999. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  6. "Former PM Chandrashekhar's samadhi to be called Jannayak Sthal". The Times of India. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  7. "History, significance of Rashtriya Smriti Sthal where Atal Bihari Vajpayee's last rites will be held". Financial Express. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  8. Maddipati, Venugopal (January 2020). "Gandhi and Architecture: A Time for Low-Cost Housing: The Philosophy of Finitude". Gandhi and Architecture: A Time for Low-Cost Housing. doi:10.4324/9780429262517. ISBN   9780429262517. S2CID   225597933 . Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  9. "Narasimha Rao passes away at the age of 83". The Hindu . 24 December 2004. Archived from the original on 30 December 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  10. "10 years after death, Narasimha Rao gets memorial in Delhi". The Times of India. 30 June 2015.