New Delhi, the modern grand Capital of India with the Raisina Hill complex at its heart, whose foundation stones were laid by King George V and Queen Mary over a century ago, was inaugurated on this day in 1931 by Viceroy Lord Irwin.

 The inauguration ceremony was spread over a week, during which then Viceroy also dedicated the All-India War Memorial Arch, now known as India Gate, on February 12 that year in memory of the soldiers who died in the First World War (1914-1918) and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919). The landmark has the names of soldiers inscribed on its surface.

The new imperial city was born on December 12, 1911, during a grand ceremonial 'Durbar' here when British monarch King George V had announced the shifting of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi.

Three days later, a simple ceremony was held at the Government of India Camp where King George and Queen Mary had laid two foundation stones of the new capital city in succession. The stone blocks did not carry anything, but a simple inscription of "15th December 1911", according to archival records.

After laying of the foundation stones, the King-Emperor, said: "It is my desire that the planning and designing of the public buildings to be erected should be considered with the greatest deliberation and care, so that the new creation may be in every way worthy of this ancient and beautiful city."

 In consonance with the vision of the king, architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker built the new capital city of the British Raj, whose grandeur and architectural splendour rivalled the best of the cities in Europe and America. The centrepiece of this new capital was the Raisina Hill complex, housing the majestic Viceroy's House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) and North Block and South Block.

The city, constructed between the two World Wars and which took over 20 years to build, was inaugurated on February 13, 1931 by the then Viceroy Lord Irwin.

On the day of the inauguration, four iconic Dominion Columns, each made of red sandstone and topped by replica of a ship, were unveiled by Lord Irwin amid fanfare of trumpets followed by the playing of the (British) national anthem, according to the book 'Glittering Decades: New Delhi in Love and War'.