"Delhi is not India." Any rickshaw driver will tell you this. The capital city of India is not India?? Then what is Delhi?

1. Delhi is teeming with masses.
Some 11 million Delhians crowd into slightly more than 500 square miles, making it one of the world's densest populations in an urban region. And the masses drive cars, carts, and even cattle. A three-wheeled delivery bicycle with a refrigerator on the back swerves inches in front of a BMW. There is a family of five on a motor scooter. There are three million automobiles and nearly 400,000 rickshaw drivers.

2. Delhi is polluted.
The average Delhian inhales the toxic equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes per day. Many of the rickshaw drivers smoke anyway. Don't even ask me why.

3. Delhi is actually eight cities.
Conquering armies always make their mark and in Delhi you can see their stories in her many historic buildings. These can be roughly divided into early, middle, and late Pathan periods followed by early, middle, and late Moghul periods. The Qutab Minar complex dates from the early Pathan (1193-1320) period. Situated 15 miles south of New Delhi, the Qutab Minar itself is a soaring tower of victory, which was built beginning in 1193, immediately after the defeat of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi. It reaches 73 meters high and tapers from a 15-meter diameter base to just 2.5 meters at the top. Characteristically this complex combines Hindu designs with those of the Muslim invaders. Dome and arches were the chief imported element. During the middle Moghul period, they used marble extensively. Buildings had bulb-shaped domes and towering minarets. The Red Fort is a good example, but of course, the prime example is the Taj Mahal in Agra.

4. Delhi is political power.
Delhi or 'Old' Delhi was the capital of Muslim India between the 12th and 19th centuries. In the late 17th century, Delhi served as capital for the last great Moghul ruler, Aurangzeb. This was the very peak of Moghul power. The emperor rode out on elephant back into the streets of Old Delhi as a display of pomp and power. In 1931 New Delhi, or Eighth Delhi, replaced Calcutta as the capital for British India for the final 16 years of its rule. Upon partition, New Delhi became the federal capital and Jawaharlal Nehru her first Prime Minister.

5. Delhi is money and industry.
India manufactures much of what she needs, and Delhi is an important manufacturing center. Jain businessmen are a major part of this cadre of wealthy businessmen who control Delhi's industry.

6. Delhi is development chaos.
Fully three-quarters of the structures in the city violate building standards in some way. Local officials turn a blind eye and perhaps an open palm to squatters who build without regard to construction codes as they gobble up public land meant to provide fresh air and open space. Authorities destroy tens of thousands of these illegal structures. Old Delhi is a crowded maze of streets. The richest shopping street in the world at the time of partition, the Chandni Chowk, 'the moonlight bazaar' is hopelessly congested day and night now. Residents of this district are accustomed to the bewildering series of inner courtyards and dark stairwells leading up to broad sun-drenched roofs. The massive domes of Jama Masjid and the rhubarb-colored walls of the Red Fort still dominate the skyline. Many of these are new homes, built since the late 1940s, and now are five and six stories high. The interiors of the exquisitely carved residences of the courtiers and craftsmen of Moghul Delhi have been carved up into warehouses, shops, factories, and tenements. "The old city-my city-has been buried," says Saeed Khan who has lived his whole life in Old Delhi and runs a printing press there. New Delhi was British. It is a planned city that took from 1911 to 1931 to construct. This spacious open city contains embassies, government buildings, and fabulous shopping galleries. This is one of the most pleasant urban areas in India. It is a travel gateway for international flights destined for the Indian subcontinent. New Delhi has changed dramatically since partition. Still the men and women who govern India today insist on leaving its style intact. This small district of order is on an island of disarray. The rest of Delhi is a patchwork of brand-new concrete colonies and sub-divisions consuming the countryside.

7. Delhi is a city of refugees.
According to Rajiv Kapur, deputy chief of mission in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He is the son of refugees from the Punjab. Partition in 1947 separated Pakistan and India and caused some 15 million people to relocate. Delhi's population doubled nearly overnight. More than a half million Punjabis flooded into Delhi, commandeering homes and shops abandoned by fleeing Muslims within the old walled city. Newcomers spilled out into vast tent settlements hastily set up in the countryside. Overnight Delhi was transformed into a mostly Punjabi city, aggressive and energetic. Delhi had just begun to grow.

8. Delhi is the heart of the Hindi Belt.
New migrants are mainly from poor regions in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, most of which are Hindi-speaking states. Neighboring Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of North India, with over 100 million Hindus. There is a road sign as you enter Himachal Pradesh, "Abode of gods." But Delhi shares the same spiritual dynamics as the rest of the Hindi-speaking regions. Hinduism is dominant there. Yet in Delhi, there are significant communities from nearly every major ethnic group in India, and that means a smorgasbord of religions. But it also means that these people groups can be reached in this powerful city and take the gospel back to their homelands. Delhi is headquarters for many Christian organizations, notably Evangelical Fellowship of India, All India Prayer Fellowship, Emmanuel Hospital Association, and Trans World Radio-India.

Pray...

• Pray that blessings flow from these nationwide ministries to all corners of India.
• Pray that Delhi's hundreds of ethnic and caste groups will be reached with the gospel in a way that they can understand and accept.
• Pray for wisdom for political leadership in Delhi. Whether they know it or not, they are accountable to God for their decisions, and they need His guidance.