The fading gates of Delhi's walled past
When Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built Shahjahanabad as his new capital in the 17th century, he wrapped it in formidable walls and crowned it with 13 grand gateways. These were no mere architectural flourishes. The gates were the city's watchmen—marking entry points for traders and emperors, guiding pilgrims, and standing guard during invasions. Each gate led to a city beyond: Ajmer, Kashmir, Kabul, Lahore.
Today, only four stand — Kashmere Gate, Delhi Gate, Ajmeri Gate, and Turkman Gate. The rest have been swallowed by the city's relentless sprawl. And those that survive, now choked by traffic and neglect, stand as crumbling reminders of a Delhi that has all but outgrown its own memory.
'Once proud guardians of an imperial capital, these gates now face a precarious battle against encroachments, neglect, and relentless urbanisation,' said writer and historian Sohail Hashmi. 'They have become invisible in plain sight.'
Kashmere Gate: A scarred sentinel
Built to lead travellers north toward Kashmir, the Kashmere Gate stands near the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in North Delhi. It was originally a single-arch structure, modified into a two-arched gateway by the British in the early 19th century. Its location made it a key node in the colonial network, facilitating trade and administration.
But the gate is also a witness to bloodshed. During the 1857 Rebellion, British forces used it as a critical access point to reclaim Delhi from the rebels. The scars of cannon fire and musket shots are still visible on its weathered red sandstone.
When HT visited the site, the monument stood hemmed in by traffic and chaos. On Nicholson Road, vendors crowd the footpaths, makeshift shops lean against the gate's flanks, and buses idle behind it. Sandstone and brickwork are stained with soot and peeling with age.
'Recent restoration efforts have included signage and wheelchair ramps, but these are superficial,' said Hashmi. 'The metro station, bus terminal, and commercial encroachments have buried the historical significance of the area.'
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which has classified the gate as a protected monument, maintains the site. Raj Kumar Patel, superintending archeologist, ASI (Delhi circle) said that on recent visit the impact of growing commercial activities around the gate has become even more apparent. 'The monument is in decent shape, but we noticed that garbage being dropped inside the monument premises from the bus stand next to it. Since it is also a low lying area, there are chances of rain water entering the area from the road, we are planning to rectify these issues as soon as possible,' he said.
But conservationists argue that the weight of Delhi's infrastructure is proving too heavy a burden.
Delhi Gate: A roundabout relic
Built in 1638 AD, Delhi Gate once marked the route from Shahjahanabad to Mehrauli, an ancient city that predates even the Mughals. Today, it finds itself marooned at a busy intersection—where Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg meets Jawaharlal Nehru Marg—reduced to a glorified traffic island near Ambedkar Stadium.
'If you walk out of the Walled City through this gate, you'd find a clear path to Mehrauli,' Hashmi said. 'Now, all you see is a swirl of cars.'
A visit revealed that signage around the gate is inadequate, and there is no pedestrian-friendly access. Its base is often submerged during monsoon rains, accelerating decay. 'This area is so commercialised now that most people don't even realise the historical significance of the gate,' said Manzar Hashmi, a Daryaganj resident. 'Waterlogging only adds to the damage.'
Colloquially, the gate was once believed to be haunted—an urban legend some residents believe could have been channelled into heritage storytelling. But there's little room now for myth or memory. 'The plight of Delhi Gate,' a conservation expert noted, 'mirrors the fate of many such monuments—sidelined, neglected, and left to disappear beneath the city's wheels.'
Though no major restoration has been undertaken in recent years, the gate remains under the protection of ASI.
Patel said that the monument is in good shape and the focus is on its conservation. 'There are two roads next to the monument, so there is a lack of space and there is an issue of traffic congestion, so our main focus is to keep the monument in its original form,' he said.
Ajmeri Gate: Lost in plain sight
Ajmeri Gate, constructed in 1644, once welcomed travellers from Ajmer. It still stands, but its context has evaporated. The gate now gives its name to one of the busiest entry points to the New Delhi Railway Station, but the structure itself is barely noticed, surrounded by shops, tangled wires, and a maze of rickshaws.
The original fortification walls that gave the gate its place in Shahjahanabad's defensive line are long gone. The monument, fenced off, is now a mute observer of the chaos around it.
'The roads are so busy that even getting close to the gate feels unsafe,' said Vinay Singh, a Chandni Chowk resident. 'Its connection to the Walled City has been completely severed.'
Rana Safvi, historian and author, said the gate suffers from more than neglect—it has been erased from public consciousness. 'No attempt has been made to integrate it into the city's historical narrative. At the very least, civic authorities and ASI should make it accessible and known to the people.'
Ajmeri Gate, too, is maintained by ASI, but heritage experts argue that physical maintenance alone is not enough when the monument has been severed from its identity.
ASI officials, who asked not to be identified, blamed its proximity to the railway station for affecting the monument's upkeep. 'We are planning to visit the monument in the coming days and then, depending upon the requirement, any work required shall be taken upon,' the official said.
Turkman Gate: History boxed in
Turkman Gate, named after the 13th-century Sufi saint Shah Turkman Bayabani whose dargah lies nearby, is among the oldest surviving entrances to the walled city. Uniquely, it still sits in a neighbourhood that retains some of Old Delhi's flavour, surrounded by winding alleyways and dense residential clusters.
But this proximity has proved a double-edged sword. Renovation work was underway when HT visited, but wires pierced the structure and political banners clung to its fencing. Shops blocked its rear view. Residents said that the tight urban fabric built up over the last 30-40 years has made proper conservation nearly impossible.
The gate also carries the burden of more recent history. It was the site of a brutal demolition drive during the Emergency in 1976, when resistance to forced evictions turned violent. 'That history is not marked anywhere at the site,' said Abdul Rasheed, 68, a Chandni Chowk resident. 'Its visibility has diminished. And now it's hemmed in by the Delhi Stock Exchange and nearby shops—torn between the old and the new.'
Historian Swapna Liddle added: 'Turkman Gate is one of the few gates still associated with a living community. But that doesn't make it safe. These structures are fragile. Without proper upkeep, they will not survive.'
Turkman Gate currently falls under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government's department of archaeology.
Sanjay Kumar Garg, head of office (archeology), in the department of Archeology said that keeping the monument encroachment free is a tedious task. 'People have lived here for centuries so the issue of encroachment is sensitive but to keep the monument in good condition, we are doing some conservation work on the monument at the moment including strengthening of pillar and overall maintenance,' he said. He added that few establishments in its vicinity are so old that they predate laws, so only through co-operation and awareness can the monument be maintained in good shape.
The vanished gates of Shahjahanabad
The surviving gates are only a fraction of Shahjahanabad's original 13. Others have vanished entirely—Calcutta Gate (a British-era addition), Kabuli Gate, Lahori Gate (distinct from the Red Fort's entrance), and Mori Gate were all erased during colonial restructuring and post-Independence development.
Several gates along the Yamuna—Rajghat Gate, Kela Ghat Gate, Nigambodh Gate, and Khizri Gate—disappeared as the river's course shifted and infrastructure projects took over the banks. Others, like Badar Gate and Patthar Khati Gate, have been completely erased from collective memory. Farrash Khana Gate, whose historical function remains unclear, likely served a local trade route but has also vanished.
'Each lost gate tells a story of erasure,' said Hashmi. 'Sometimes by war—like Nadir Shah's 1739 invasion. Sometimes by design—like the British response to 1857. And often by sheer apathy.'
A city losing its markers
Historians and conservationists agree that these gates are more than stone and mortar—they are Delhi's historical waypoints. Their gradual disappearance, or descent into neglect, is a symptom of a city losing touch with its layered past.
'Authorities spend crores beautifying places like Chandni Chowk, but ignore the structures that actually define its history,' said Hashmi. 'These gates are surrounded by trash, traffic, and construction debris. Without a cohesive strategy, we are simply putting Band-Aids on broken monuments.'
Liddle added: 'These are not dead artefacts. They are living monuments. Their survival depends on people recognising them as part of their own story. We need guided walks, cultural programming, community engagement—something more than a fence and a plaque.'
For now, the four gates stand, their arches casting long shadows over a city too busy to look back.
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