Historically, it was said, "He who possesses the Red Fort in Delhi possesses India." Today, the tricolor of the flag of independent India flies over the fort. Constructed between 1638 and 1648 by Emperor Shah Jahan, the Lal Qila or Red Fort was intended to be the seat of his capital city--appropriately named Shahjahanabad. However, before Shah Jahan could move from his base at Agra, he was deposed and imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. The private audience hall, or Diwan-i-Khas, of the Lal Qila in Delhi once contained the fabulously bejeweled Peacock Throne, which was carried off to Persia in 1739 by Emperor Nadir Shah when he sacked the city. Beginning with Babur in 1526 and ending with Aurangzeb in 1707, India was under the reign of the 'great Mughals.' The atmosphere of the Lal Qila at its zenith can be ascertained by the famous Persian inscription carved into the white marble walls of the Diwan-i-Khas: "If there is paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this."

New Delhi

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