| Raj Ghat | |
|---|---|
 Memorial ofMahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat | |
  Location of Raj Ghat in Delhi | |
| General information | |
| Type | Tomb |
| Location | Ring Road, Shahjahanabad, Delhi, India |
| Coordinates | 28°38′25.8″N77°14′57.6″E / 28.640500°N 77.249333°E /28.640500; 77.249333 |
| Groundbreaking | 1948 |
Raj Ghat is amemorial complex inDelhi, India. The first memorial was dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi where a black marble platform was raised to mark the spot of his cremation on 31 January 1948 and consists of aneternal flame at one end. Located on Delhi'sRing Road, a stone footpath leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial. Later the memorial complex was expanded to include memorials for other prominent Indian leaders includingCharan Singh,Jawaharlal Nehru,Lal Bahadur Shastri,Indira Gandhi,Rajiv Gandhi,Chandra Shekhar andAtal Bihari Vajpayee.
Raj Ghat loosely translates toRoyal Steps with the word "royal" alluding to the importance of the place and "steps" referencing the climb from the banks of theYamuna river.[1]
Raj Ghat was the name of a location of historicghat inShahjahanabad inOld Delhi on the west bank of theYamuna River east ofDaryaganj.[2]
The first memorial was dedicated toMahatma Gandhi on the spot where his remains were cremated on 31 January 1948. It consists of a black marble platform with aneternal flame at one end. A stone footpath leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial. Later the memorial complex was expanded to include several othersamadhis for various leaders in the vicinity of Raj Ghat. The landscaping and planting of these memorials were originally performed by Alick Percy-Lancaster, Superintendent of Horticultural operations with theGovernment of India.[3][4][5][6]
In 2000, thegovernment of India underAtal Bihari Vajpayee took a decision to not create separate memorials for different leaders as the already existing memorials were occupying more than 245 acres of prime land inDelhi.[7]
| Name | Title/Position | Date of death | Memorial name (Meaning in English) | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahatma Gandhi | Father of the Nation (India) | 30 January 1948 | Raj Ghat (Royal Platform) | _complex_of_Mahatma_Gandhi_in_Rajghat_04.jpg) |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | FirstPrime Minister of India | 27 May 1964 | Shantivan (Forest of Peace) |  |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri | SecondPrime Minister of India | 11 January 1966 | Vijay Ghat (Victory Platform) |  |
| Sanjay Gandhi | Grandson ofJawaharlal Nehru and formermember of parliament | 23 June 1980 | Samadhi of Sanjay Gandhi (Tomb of Sanjay Gandhi) |  |
| Indira Gandhi | Daughter ofJawaharlal Nehru and ThirdPrime Minister of India | 31 October 1984 | Shakti Sthal (Place of Strength) |  |
| Jagjivan Ram | FourthDeputy Prime Minister of India | 6 July 1986 | Samta Sthal (Place of Equality) |  |
| Charan Singh | FifthPrime Minister of India | 29 May 1987 | Kisan Ghat (Farmer Platform) |  |
| Rajiv Gandhi | Grandson ofJawaharlal Nehru and SixthPrime Minister of India | 21 May 1991 | Vir Bhumi (Land of Brave) |  |
| Lalita Shastri | Spouse ofLal Bahadur Shastri | 13 April 1993 | Samadhi of Lalita Shastri (Tomb of Lalita Shastri) |  |
| Zail Singh | SeventhPresident of India | 25 December 1994 | Ekta Sthal (Place of Unity) |  |
| Shankar Dayal Sharma | NinthPresident of India | 26 December 1999 | Karma Bhumi (Land of Duty) |  |
| Devi Lal | SixthDeputy Prime Minister of India | 6 April 2001 | Sangharsh Sthal (Place of Struggle) | |
| P. V. Narasimha Rao | NinthPrime Minister of India | 23 December 2004 | Gyan Bhumi (Land of Knowledge) | |
| K. R. Narayanan | TenthPresident of India | 9 November 2005 | Uday Bhumi (Land of Dawn) |  |
| Chandra Shekhar | EighthPrime Minister of India | 8 July 2007 | Jannayak Sthal (Place of People's Leader) |  |
| Ramaswamy Venkataraman | EighthPresident of India | 27 January 2009 | Ekta Sthal (Place of Unity) |  |
| Inder Kumar Gujral | TwelfthPrime Minister of India | 30 November 2012 | Smriti Sthal (Place of Remembrance) |  |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee | TenthPrime Minister of India | 16 August 2018 | Sadaiv Atal (Firm Forever) |  |
| Pranab Mukherjee | ThirteenthPresident of India | 31 August 2020 | Rashtriya Smriti (National Memory) |
The hard materials used in the memorial had raised a few questions about the nature of Gandhian architecture where there is a stark difference between the architecture of Rajghat and a Gandhian low-cost housing architecture.[8]
P. V. Narasimha Rao was the ninth Prime minister of India. He died on 24 December 2004 at theAll India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.[9] His family wanted the body cremated at Raj Ghat in Delhi. In 2015, almost ten years since his death, a memorial was finally erected at Gyan Bhumi.[10]
