Rajpath

After climbing Raisina Hill, Rajpath is flanked by the North and South Blocks of the Secretariat Building. Finally it ends at the gates of Rashtrapati Bhavan. At Vijay Chowk it crosses Sansad Marg, and the Parliament House of India can be seen to the right when coming from the India Gate.

It is also used for the funeral processions of key political leaders of India.

Name and history

In 1911 the British Imperial Government and the Viceregal administration determined that the capital of the British Indian Empire should be moved from Calcutta to Delhi. Accordingly, construction in that year began on the district of New Delhi, which would serve as the purpose-built administrative capital of the Indian Empire. The British Raj duly turned to Sir Edwin Lutyens to construct the new city. Lutyens conceived of a modern imperial city centred around a "ceremonial axis", such axis being the large boulevard now called the Rajpath. Lutyens wanted a panoramic view of the city of Delhi from the viceregal palace. Consequently, the view from Raisina Hill runs unhindered across Rajpath and the India Gate, and is obstructed only by the National Stadium.

Most of the buildings surrounding the Rajpath were designed by Lutyens and the second architect of the project, Sir Herbert Baker and contracted by Sir Sobha Singh. The key function of such buildings in the government of India ensures the road's importance. The first project was done in 1911 under Sujan Singh Hadaliwale, the Vijay Chowk, but it then halted due to the onset of the First World War.

Name

When built, the road was named King's Way, or Kingsway, in honour of the Emperor of India George V, who had visited Delhi during the Durbar of 1911, and where the Emperor formally proclaimed the decision to move the capital. The name was similar to Kingsway in London, which had been opened in 1905, and which was also a custom-built arterial road, and which had been named in honour of George V's father, Edward VII (as King of the United Kingdom).

Following the Independence of India the road was given its Hindi name, 'Rajpath', in place of its English designation. This represented a mere translation more than a substantial renaming, since 'Rajpath' in Hindi is broadly analogous in meaning to 'King's Way'.

In September 2022, Rajpath was redeveloped under Central Vista Redevelopment Project and renamed Kartavya Path.