The focal point of Edwin Lutyens’ plan for New Delhi was Rajpath (Kingsway), a grand parade linking India Gate to the offices of the Indian government. Constructed between 1914 and 1931, these grand civic buildings, reminiscent of Imperial Rome, were intended to spell out in stone the might of the British empire – yet just 16 years later, the British were out on their ear and Indian politicians were pacing the corridors of power.
Shielded by a wrought-iron fence at the western end of Rajpath, the official residence of the president of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan , is flanked by the mirror-image, dome-crowned North Secretariat and South Secretariat , housing government ministries. The Indian parliament meets nearby at the Sansad Bhavan , a circular, colonnaded edifice at the end of Sansad Marg.
At Rajpath’s eastern end, and constantly thronged by tourists, is India Gate . This 42m-high stone memorial arch, designed by Lutyens, pays tribute to around 90,000 Indian army soldiers who died in WWI, the Northwest Frontier operations, and the 1919 Anglo-Afghan War.
