This week let’s check out an important political centre, though a lesser known tourist place, in New Delhi namely the Raj Ghat.  

• The Raj Ghat, which is located on the Delhi’s Ring Road, carries a lot of political significance as it is the memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. 

• This is the very site, a shiningly black marble platform, where Gandhiji is cremated. It is an open to the sky platform.

• There is an external flame placed at one end of the platform. The Delhi’s Ring Road is also popularly called the Mahatma Gandhi Road.
  
• The site features a stoned footpath and on either sides, there are lawns. This footpath takes you to the memorial.

• In addition to the Raj Bhat, you can add several places such as the India Gate, the Lotus Temple, the Red Fort, et al to the bucketlist of tourist destinations in New Delhi.

• The best time to visit the Raj Ghat is during the winter months, as the summers are generally hot and humid in the capital. 

• The natural milieu of the Raj Ghat area is also filled with trees planted by public figures and other distinguished personalities. 

• Mahatma Gandhi when assassinated on 30th January 1948 was cremated at this place. Previously known as Shajahanabad, a big Ghat of Old Delhi, the memorial was later renamed as the Raj Ghat.

• The Raj Ghat is also resting place of several other leaders including that of Jawaharlal Nehru known as the Shantivan, located to the north of the Raj Ghat, and situated close to it is the cremation site of K R Narayan, the 10th president of India, called Ekta Sthal. 

• Alick Percy-Lancaster, who was the Superintendent of Horticultural Operations, GOI, undertook the landscaping of the area. Interestingly, he was the last Britisher to occupy this post.