Lodhi Garden

Lodi Gardens were the burial site for the Sayyid and Lodi pre-Mogul rulers in the 15th and 16th centuries.  The dignified tomb of Muhammad Shah IV, built-in 1450, the third Lodi ruler who reigned from 1434 to 1443, set architectural precedence for Humayun’s tomb and Sikander Lodi’s tomb (1571).  It is set within a walled enclosure.  The building of such monumental tombs runs against the principles of Islam and it is probable that Delhi’s Turkish Sultans brought the idea from Persia to India.

By the 19th century, the tombs were occupied by squatters.  After the land passed into the ownership of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) the squatters were moved out, not without some acrimony, and the land was treated as a public park.  Today they are considered one of Delhi’s pleasantest green spaces, with labelled plants and trees to help educate visitors on Indian flora.