Kingsway Camp
Encyclopedia
Kingsway Camp officially known as Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar (GTB Nagar), since 1970, is a historic area located in North Delhi
, near Civil Lines
and Delhi University. It starts from Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar (GTB) Chauraha (passing), and has residential areas like Hudson Lines and Outram Lines. Localities like Dhaka Village
, Mukherjee Nagar and Hakikat Nagar
nearby close. Though it is most known for the Coronation Park, where the foundation of the new capital of British India, New Delhi
, north of Old Delhi
, was laid in December, 1911, by King George V.
Originally named after Kingsway, an avenue which was built as a precursor to the construction of residence of the Viceroy of India, after the Delhi Durbar
of 1911, though its location was finally shifted to the Raisina Hill
, its present location, as was the road titled Kingsway, now known as Rajpath
. The area stretched over twenty-five square miles from banks of Yamuna River in the east to Shalimar Bagh in the west. Post independence in 1947, it became the venue of the largest refugee camp in Delhi, housing 3,00,000 refugees. Today, it is posh residential locality, with a large number of students residing in the area owing to its proximity with the Delhi University; it serviced by the GTB Nagar
underground station of Delhi Metro
.
During the British Raj
it acquired historic importance due to the presence of the "Coronation Park" close by, now close to the Nirankari Colony, where all the three Delhi Durbar
took place, and is now host the Coronation Memorial. Though the most important event took place on December 12, 1911, when George V
, the then Emperor of India
along with Queen Mary
, during the Delhi Durbar
, made the announcement that the capital of the Raj was to be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi
, subsequently on December 15, 1911, they laid the foundation stone for Viceroy's residence, and New Delhi here, which was subsequently shifted to its present location on Raisina Hill
near Rashtrapati Bhavan
(President's House).The newly-appointed emperors of the British Raj were stationed at Kingsway Camp. Since the Kings had to pass through this route, it was named "Kingsway Camp", meaning the "Way Of the King".
In 1910s, a steam generation power plant was established here by the government, which was later shifted to Raj Ghat area around 1931, when the capital of India was shifted to New Delhi, and known as Central Power House.
The 'Harijan Sevak Sangh' for Dalit
s (untouchables) was established here, by Mahatma Gandhi
on September 24, 1932. Later, it was Valmiki Bhawan within the campus, which functioned as Gandhi ji's one-room ashram,. Today, the 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) campus includes the Gandhi ashram, Harijan Basti, Lala Hans Raj Gupta Industrial Training Institute and also has a residential school for boys and girls. Today, the 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) campus includes the Gandhi Ashram, Harijan Basti, Lala Hans Raj Gupta Industrial Training Institute and also has a residential school for boys and girls.
However, until the independence of India, much of area was still filled with fruit gardens, or remained a wilderness
and swamp
, due to its low-lying location, which tended to flood during the rainy season though a big change was yet to come. As with India's independence in 1947, Kingway Camp became the venue to the one of many refugee camps set up in Delhi. Here some 3,00,000 people displaced from what was now Pakistan
, due to partition of India
stayed, making it the largest such camp. Here tents and temporary barracks became home for the people in the coming months. Though almost two years after it was built, in May 1949 over 42,000 refugees were still living at the camp as the construction of rehabilitation colonies and houses in area was still underway, that is when the inhabitants of the camp went on a hunger strike. Gandhian Lakshmi Chand Jain
was in-charge of working of the camp, which was close to the Gandhi ashram, where Gandhiji held his prayer meetings. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
also worked extensively at the camp, with women groups and also worked towards forming cooperatives here. Over the next few years a lot of refugees settled in the nearby area itself, many moved to West Delhi residential areas, and some newly buily refugee townships. Though unlike other refugee townships like Nilokheri
, Faridabad
and Rajpura
, there was no attempt to bring residential and economic activity in proximity to one another, nevertheless owning to its proximity with Delhi University the area flourished in the coming years.
The Oznam Home, a noted old-age home was established here, by St. Vincent de Paul Society in 1958, and was run by an Austrian nun, Sister Edith who stayed for the next 30 years. Kingsway Camp was official renamed as Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar on December 12, 1970 by Municipal Corporation of Delhi
. All India Radio
's first external service shortwave
facility was also established here.
has also started functioning in this part of North Delhi. Ring road passes through the place.
Police vigilance is high as the police training centre and DAP 4th Battalion is adjacent to this place.
Landscape is lush green and two major grounds are there POLO and Parade grounds. Rajan Babu Tuberculosis Hospital, Hans Charitable and New Life nursing home are among the few hospitals in the area.One CGHS dispensary is also there. The place offers a wide variety of food that is available in different restaurants such as Samrat,Ramble,Dinners and Cafe coffee day. Almost every CAT ,IIT JEE and IAS coatching centre is present.
North Delhi
North Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India.North Delhi is bounded by the Yamuna River on the east, and by the districts of North West Delhi to the north and west, West Delhi to the southwest, Central Delhi to the south, and North East Delhi to the...
, near Civil Lines
Civil Lines
Civil Lines is a term used for residential areas originally built by the British Raj for its senior officers. The Civil Lines, Delhi is a subdivision of North Delhi District in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, India and noted residential areas in Delhi. It is one of the 12 zones under the...
and Delhi University. It starts from Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar (GTB) Chauraha (passing), and has residential areas like Hudson Lines and Outram Lines. Localities like Dhaka Village
Dhaka Village (Delhi)
Dhaka is a small village located near Kingsway Camp in Delhi, India.The village has around 500 houses and two chaupals. The village has a large structure called the Pathar Wali Kothi, originally constructed by a Muslim family before the partition of India....
, Mukherjee Nagar and Hakikat Nagar
Hakikat Nagar
Hakikat Nagar is a residential colony in Delhi located near Kingsway Camp in the North west district. One of the site where refugee from Sind and Punjab province of Today's Pakistan were settled. This colony is part of the Model Town tehsil. The colony is at the crossroads of Mall Road and Banda...
nearby close. Though it is most known for the Coronation Park, where the foundation of the new capital of British India, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, north of Old Delhi
Old Delhi
Old Delhi , walled city of Delhi, India, was founded as Shahjahanabad by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in 1639. It remained the capital of the Mughals until the end of the Mughal dynasty....
, was laid in December, 1911, by King George V.
Originally named after Kingsway, an avenue which was built as a precursor to the construction of residence of the Viceroy of India, after the Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
of 1911, though its location was finally shifted to the Raisina Hill
Raisina Hill
Raisina Hill is an area of Lutyens' Delhi, New Delhi, housing India's most important government buildings, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India and the Secretariat building housing the Prime Minister's Office and several other important ministries...
, its present location, as was the road titled Kingsway, now known as Rajpath
Rajpath
Rajpath is the ceremonial boulevard for the Republic of India. It runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan through Vijay Chowk and India Gate to National Stadium, Delhi. The New Delhi avenue is lined on both sides by lawns with rows of trees and ponds...
. The area stretched over twenty-five square miles from banks of Yamuna River in the east to Shalimar Bagh in the west. Post independence in 1947, it became the venue of the largest refugee camp in Delhi, housing 3,00,000 refugees. Today, it is posh residential locality, with a large number of students residing in the area owing to its proximity with the Delhi University; it serviced by the GTB Nagar
GTB Nagar (Delhi Metro)
The GTB Nagar Metro Station is located on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro in Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar ....
underground station of Delhi Metro
Delhi Metro
Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region of India. It is one of the largest metro networks in the world. The network consists of six lines with a total length of with 142 stations of which 35 are underground...
.
History
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
it acquired historic importance due to the presence of the "Coronation Park" close by, now close to the Nirankari Colony, where all the three Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
took place, and is now host the Coronation Memorial. Though the most important event took place on December 12, 1911, when George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, the then Emperor of India
Emperor of India
Emperor/Empress of India was used as a title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, and revived by the colonial British monarchs during the British Raj in India....
along with Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
, during the Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
, made the announcement that the capital of the Raj was to be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, subsequently on December 15, 1911, they laid the foundation stone for Viceroy's residence, and New Delhi here, which was subsequently shifted to its present location on Raisina Hill
Raisina Hill
Raisina Hill is an area of Lutyens' Delhi, New Delhi, housing India's most important government buildings, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India and the Secretariat building housing the Prime Minister's Office and several other important ministries...
near Rashtrapati Bhavan
Rashtrapati Bhavan
The Rashtrapati Bhavan or The Official Residence of the Head of the State is the official residence of the President of India, located at Raisina hill in New Delhi, India. Until 1950 it was known as "Viceroy's House" and served as the residence of the Viceroy and Governor-General of India...
(President's House).The newly-appointed emperors of the British Raj were stationed at Kingsway Camp. Since the Kings had to pass through this route, it was named "Kingsway Camp", meaning the "Way Of the King".
In 1910s, a steam generation power plant was established here by the government, which was later shifted to Raj Ghat area around 1931, when the capital of India was shifted to New Delhi, and known as Central Power House.
The 'Harijan Sevak Sangh' for Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
s (untouchables) was established here, by Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
on September 24, 1932. Later, it was Valmiki Bhawan within the campus, which functioned as Gandhi ji's one-room ashram,. Today, the 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) campus includes the Gandhi ashram, Harijan Basti, Lala Hans Raj Gupta Industrial Training Institute and also has a residential school for boys and girls. Today, the 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) campus includes the Gandhi Ashram, Harijan Basti, Lala Hans Raj Gupta Industrial Training Institute and also has a residential school for boys and girls.
However, until the independence of India, much of area was still filled with fruit gardens, or remained a wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
and swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
, due to its low-lying location, which tended to flood during the rainy season though a big change was yet to come. As with India's independence in 1947, Kingway Camp became the venue to the one of many refugee camps set up in Delhi. Here some 3,00,000 people displaced from what was now Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, due to partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
stayed, making it the largest such camp. Here tents and temporary barracks became home for the people in the coming months. Though almost two years after it was built, in May 1949 over 42,000 refugees were still living at the camp as the construction of rehabilitation colonies and houses in area was still underway, that is when the inhabitants of the camp went on a hunger strike. Gandhian Lakshmi Chand Jain
Lakshmi Chand Jain
Lakshmi Chand Jain was a Gandhian activist and writer. In his youth, he participated briefly in the Indian freedom movement. Later, he served at various times as a member of the Planning Commission, as Indian High commissioner to South Africa, as a member of the World Commission on Dams and as...
was in-charge of working of the camp, which was close to the Gandhi ashram, where Gandhiji held his prayer meetings. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was an Indian social reformer, freedom fighter, and most remembered for her contribution to Indian independence movement, for being the driving force behind the renaissance of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in post-Independence India, and for upliftment of the...
also worked extensively at the camp, with women groups and also worked towards forming cooperatives here. Over the next few years a lot of refugees settled in the nearby area itself, many moved to West Delhi residential areas, and some newly buily refugee townships. Though unlike other refugee townships like Nilokheri
Nilokheri
Nilokheri is a city and a municipal committee in Karnal district in the Indian state of Haryana. The town is located about 145 km from Delhi on National Highway 1....
, Faridabad
Faridabad
Faridabad is a city in the south-east of Haryana state in northern India, in Faridabad district. It lies at 28º 25' 16" N Latitude and 77º 18' 28" E Longitude. The district shares its boundaries with the National Capital and Union Territory of Delhi to its north, Gurgaon district to the west and...
and Rajpura
Rajpura
Rajpura is a city and a municipal council in Patiala district in the Indian state of Punjab.-Geography:Rajpura is located at . It has an average elevation of 259 metres ....
, there was no attempt to bring residential and economic activity in proximity to one another, nevertheless owning to its proximity with Delhi University the area flourished in the coming years.
The Oznam Home, a noted old-age home was established here, by St. Vincent de Paul Society in 1958, and was run by an Austrian nun, Sister Edith who stayed for the next 30 years. Kingsway Camp was official renamed as Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar on December 12, 1970 by Municipal Corporation of Delhi
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is a municipal corporation, an autonomous body that governs 9 Districts of Delhi, in the state of Delhi, India. It is one of three municipal corporations in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the others being New Delhi Municipal Council, and Delhi...
. All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
's first external service shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
facility was also established here.
Transport
The place is well connected with all the major places in and around Delhi 24x7 transport. The Delhi MetroDelhi Metro
Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region of India. It is one of the largest metro networks in the world. The network consists of six lines with a total length of with 142 stations of which 35 are underground...
has also started functioning in this part of North Delhi. Ring road passes through the place.
Overview
It proves to be a great place for students as the place is in the vicinity of Delhi University. Students can find great rent deals.Police vigilance is high as the police training centre and DAP 4th Battalion is adjacent to this place.
Landscape is lush green and two major grounds are there POLO and Parade grounds. Rajan Babu Tuberculosis Hospital, Hans Charitable and New Life nursing home are among the few hospitals in the area.One CGHS dispensary is also there. The place offers a wide variety of food that is available in different restaurants such as Samrat,Ramble,Dinners and Cafe coffee day. Almost every CAT ,IIT JEE and IAS coatching centre is present.
External links
- Kingsway-Camp wikimapiaWikimapiaWikiMapia is a privately owned, online map and satellite imaging resource that combines Google Maps with a wiki system, allowing users to add information, in the form of a note, to any location on Earth. Users may currently use this information for free...