The medieval fort of Purana Qila or Old Fort was built between 1538 and 1545 by the Mughal emperor Humayun and his intercessor Sher Shah Suri. Dinpanah The origins of the Purana Qila lie in the walls of Dinpanah, the new city of Delhi being constructed by Mughal Emperor Humayun, in the general vicinity of the ancient Indraprastha ruins. Abul Fazl states that he built the fort in the place of that of ancient Indraprastha. The founder of the Suri Dynasty, Sher Shah Suri, defeated Humayun and made changes to the fort, strengthening its fortifications and completing its walls. He also had another fort built there called Shergarh, where the governor resided. His project, however, was a continuation of Humayun's construction of a citadel for a royal city. He also built many structures inside the fort. Additions to the fort have been believed to have been made even after his rule. The extent of his contribution to the fort's construction is disputed. The historical attribution of its construction is also uncertain judging from primary sources. Muhammad Khwandamir said that Humayun laid the foundation of the city on a mound near Yamuna. The construction of the walls and fortifications were almost finished by Humayun's time. Tarikh-i-Da'udi states that Sher Shah Suri's royal city remained incomplete upon his death and he had named his fort Shergarh. Abbas Sarwani states the two forts being constructed by him were incomplete when he died. Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahan states that Salim Shah Suri had constructed a wall defending Dinpanah of Humayun. Purana Qila and its environs flourished as the "sixth city of Delhi". On 7 October 1556 Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, who had defeated Akbar's forces decisively at Battle of Delhi (1556) was crowned in Purana Qila. British Era Edwin Lutyens who designed the new capital of British India, New Delhi, in the 1920s, had aligned the central vista, now Rajpath, with Purana Qila. During the Partition of India, in August 1947 the Purana Qila along with the neighbouring Humayun's Tomb, became the site for refuge camps for Muslims migrating to newly founded Pakistan. This included over 12,000 government employees who had opted for service in Pakistan, and between 150,000–200,000 Muslim refugees, who swarmed inside Purana Qila by September 1947, when Indian government took over the management of the two camps. The Purana Qila camp remained functional until early 1948, as the trains to Pakistan waited until October 1947 to start. World War 2 During the Asia-Pacific War (1941-1945), over 2000 Japanese civilians were interned in British India, of whom around 554 were women and 224 children. Plans to intern Japanese living in British India, along with surveillance of persons of interest, were put into place from as early as July 1940, with preparations to open internment camps made from at least February 1941. After war broke out between Japan and the Allies later that year, Japanese civilians in India, along with those of other now-enemy nations, were joined in internment by civilians from various British colonial territories, including Malaya and Singapore. Two key civilian internment camps in India were Purana Qila, the Old Fort, in Delhi, and Deoli in the deserts of Rajasthan. The fate of the Japanese in India threw a shadow over the whole business, and the British believed, with some justification, that the ill-treatment of Allied prisoners of war was a reprisal for this. By December 1942, there were 2,115 Japanese internees, the vast majority from Singapore, in Purana Qila camp outside Delhi. They were housed in tents that gave little protection from the cold in winter, or from temperatures that rose to 120 degrees in summer. The Japanese government protested that the food and the cooking, washing and sanitation facilities were inadequate. The British dismissed this: the Japanese were `notoriously unable to cope with extremes of heat or cold'. (`Treatment of Japanese internees in India', 1z December 1942, F09,6/ 477, PRO.)`According to Asiatic standards', officials observed, the rations were `adequate for proper nourishment'.( R. N. Gilchrist to under secretary of state, Foreign Office, 19 October 1942. Recent years In the 1970s, the ramparts of Purana Qila were first used as a backdrop for theatre, when three productions of the National School of Drama were staged here: Tughlaq, Andha Yug and Sultan Razia, directed by Ebrahim Alkazi. In later decades it has been the venue of various important theatre productions, cultural events, and concerts. Today, it is the venue of a daily sound and light presentation after sunset, on the history of the "Seven Cities of Delhi", from Indraprastha through New Delhi. Physical features The walls of the fort rise to a height of 18 metres, traverse about 1.5 km, and have three arched gateways: the Bara Darwaza (Big Gate) facing west, which is still in use today; the south gate, also popularly known as the 'Humayun Gate' (probably so known because it was constructed by Humayun, or perhaps because Humayun's Tomb is visible from there); and lastly, the 'Talaqi Gate', often known as the "forbidden gate". All the gates are double-storeyed sandstone structures flanked by two huge semi-circular bastion towers, decorated with white and coloured-marble inlays and blue tiles. They are replete with detailing, including ornate overhanging balconies, or jharokhas, and are topped by pillared pavilions (chhatris), all features that are reminiscent of Rajasthani architecture as seen in the North and South Gates, and which were amply repeated in future Mughal architecture. Despite the grandeurs of the exterior, few of interior structures have survived except the Qila-i Kuhna Mosque and the Shermandal, both credited to Sher Shah.

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