Page 84 - SST Class 08
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When the local rulers were defeated by the g The British also set up many cantonment
British, many earlier centres of regional power towns. Lands down in Uttarakhand is a
collapsed and new centres of administration good example. These cantonments were
emerged. This process is usually called de- built on a European plan, with broad streets
urbanisation. Machlipatnam, Surat and and vast open spaces. Residential structures
Seringapatam were some of the cities which were and office buildings were kept separate.
deurbanised during the nineteenth century. By DELHI OVER THE AGES
the early twentieth century, only 11 percent of
Delhi had been the center of power for over
Indians were living in cities.
thousand years, but with some gaps in between.
Types Of Urban Centres Right from the days of the Rajput kings up to the
The new urban set up by the British can be Mughal dynasty, Delhi used to be the center of
divided into many categories. power. Cities developed in different parts on the
g Planned cities, one of them being New left bank of river Yamuna during the reign of
Delhi, came up at this time. The latter was different dynasties. Remnants of all those cities
center of administration. can still be seen in different parts of the modern
Delhi.
g Port cities like Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras became important. They played an The Seven Cities of Delhi
important role in trade. Raw materials were The history of Delhi goes back more than 3,000
sent to England from these ports. Similarly, years. Traditionally, Delhi is said to be the site of
manufactured goods from England landed Indraprastha, the capital of the Pandavas of the
at these ports which were then re-distributed Mahabharata. It was, however, with the begin-
throughout India. ning of the medieval period that Delhi began to
g The British quest for cool retreats from the take the shape of a proper city. The following are
heat and dust of the plains led to the setting generally regarded as the seven cities of Delhi.
up of hill stations. Thus Shimla, Ooty and g The first city was Lal Kot or Qila Rai
Darjiling became popular. Shimla, in fact, Pithora. It was built by the Tomars and
was the summer capital of the British from expanded by the Chauhan rulers and by
1864 till 1939. For a part of the year, all Qutb-ud-din Aibak.
work of the government was done from g The second city was Siri. It was built by Ala-
Shimla. ud-din Khalji.
g The third city was Tughlaqabad. It was built
by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq.
g The fourth city was Jahanpanah, which
means ‘Refuge of the World’. It was built by
Muhammad-bin Tughluq.
g The fifth city was Kotla Firoz Shah. It was
built by Firoz Shah Tughluq.
g The sixth city was Dinpanah, which means
‘Refuge of Religion’. It was built by
Humayun.
A Colonial Bungalow in Lansdowne
Social Science-8 84
