Although Mumbai is the financial and entertainment capital of India, the three municipalities that make up the metropolitan area of Delhi is the real national capital. The metropolitan area is made up of the National capital territory (NCT), New Delhi, and Delhi Cantonment. With its position in the north central portion of the country, Delhi has historically been well positioned to be a city of power.

Today it is one of six union territories instead of a state and ruled directly by the national government. Home to more than 14 million people and covering nearly 600 square miles, the Delhi region occupies what was vital ground in the trading routes of years past. In fact, the name "Delhi" comes from the Hindustani word "Dahleez" that means threshold or frontier.

History

With its strategic location, Delhi has been a seat of power for many centuries. It is known as the "capital of seven empires" and contains more than 60,000 monuments that have been erected over thousands of years. As the city is the seat of modern government, it also stands as a testament to the empires that ruled for many centuries past. Architectural relics date back to 300 BCE and emperors and sultans have been building monuments there ever since.

References to the city date back to the Mahabharata, one of two major Sanskrit epic poems. The city served as the country's capital throughout most of history, except on a few occasions when invading rulers took over. One of these was the British Empire, which moved the capital to Calcutta until the early part of the 20th century. It was then that the British moved the capital back to Delhi and created the city of New Delhi.

Cosmo

Today Delhi is seen as the most cosmopolitan of Indian cities. As the seat of government it also is home to many embassies and many foreigners. A number of high-tech industries are located there, so Delhi has more of an international flair than many other Indian cities. It also is the most urbanized, boasting more cars than the next four largest Indian cities combined.

Visitors to Delhi should not be surprised to see discos, restaurants, and hip clothing stores in many places. It also is the place with the most fast food restaurants, such as Subway or McDonalds.