Khooni Darwaza (
Hindi:खूनी दरवाज़ा,
Urdu خونی دروازہliterally
The Gate of Blood), also referred to as
Lal Darwaza (
Hindi:लाल दरवाज़ा,
Red Gate), is located near
Delhi Gate, on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in
Delhi,
India. It is one of the 13 surviving gates in Delhi. It was just south of the fortified
Old Delhi constructed by
Sher Shah Suri.
Location
Khooni Darwaza was situated on an open tract of land before the rise of modern buildings around it. It lies today on the
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg opposite the
Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground, which lies to its east. To the west is the entrance to the
Maulana Azad Medical College. It lies about half a kilometre to the south of the Delhi Gate of
Old Delhi.
History
The Khooni Darwaza (Bloody Gate) earned its name after the three princes of the
Mughal dynasty -
Bahadur Shah Zafar's sons Mirza Mughal and Kizr Sultan and grandson Abu Bakr, were shot by
William Hodson on September 22, 1857 during the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as the First War of Indian Independence). After having secured the surrender of the Emperor, Hodson the next day asked for an unconditional surrender from the three princes at
Humayun's Tomb. They had gathered an army of thousands of rebels and refused. Hodson, armed with one hundred horsemen ordered the band to disarm which they did. Thus he got an unconditional surrender of the three princess. On their way to the
Red Fort, Hodson ordered the three...
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