Ramlila Maidan
Ramlila Maidan also Ramlila Ground is a large ground located in New Delhi, India, traditionally used for staging the annual Ramlila. It is used for religious festivals, major political rallies and meetings, and entertainment events. It is located near New Delhi Railway Station and Delhi Gate. History The Ramlila Maidan was originally a large pond before 1930. It was filled up in the early 1930s so that annual Ramlila, held in October, could be shifted here from the reti (sandy) floodplains of Yamuna River behind the Red Fort, where Hindu soldiers of the Mughal army first started staging the Ramila in the 1800s. Geographically the ground falls between the Old Delhi and the New Delhi. The historic Turkman Gate of the Old city stands nearby, and the ground stretches between Aruna Asaf Ali Marg and Jawaharlal Nehru Road. It quickly became a popular site for political meetings, with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and other top nationalist leaders addressing rallies here. A small pond is still there inside the Ramlila ground as a remembrance of its history. Historical events In 1961, then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru held a public gathering welcoming Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit to