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| Located in northern Delhi, about 20 kilometers
from Connaught Place, is the Coronation Memorial. Marked by
a sandstone pillar, the site is off the KB Hedgewar Marg, beyond
Kingsway camp, and just after crossing the Nirankari colony.
This is the place where the British had held Durbars in Delhi
in the years 1877, 1903 and 1911. |
| In 1877, the British held the Durbar here when
Queen Victoria was declared the Empress of India where all the
major rulers of the country paid homage to the queen. The Durbar
was held here again in 1903, when Edward VII ascended the throne.
The grandest Durbar was organized during the accession of King
George V in 1911. The king himself was present to announce the
shift of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. The foundation
stone of the new capital was laid in the neighborhood of this
site, which was later removed and laid in the Raisina Hill area.
The foundation stone was quietly removed one night and placed
in the walls of Secretariat. Though the exact reasons for changing
the location and removing the stone secretly at night are not
known, it is said that the architects of New Delhi chose the
new location because it was unlikely to be affected by the seasonal
flooding of the Yamuna River. |
| Today, the Coronation Durbar Site is also an
important destination for it houses many British statues that
once stood grandly in the city. The Memorial has the impressive
15 meters high statue of George V attired in the coronation
robe. The statue was removed after independence from the domed
kiosk or canopy near India Gate to this memorial. There are
other statues of Lord Hardinge and Lord Willingdon, apart from
a few red sandstone plinths in this historic site. |
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