Fact #6

By Siddharth Jain

Declared a world heritage site in 2007 by UNESCO, Red Fort is one of the most important national building in India today, being the venue for flag hoisting ceremony on Independence Day each year. This tradition has been continuing since the first Independence Day of India.

Spread across an area of 256 acres, Qila-i-Mubarak or Blessed Fort, as it was originally called, was constructed when Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi.

Interestingly, it was not originally built the way we know it today. As per the Archaeological Survey of India, parts of the building were white in color and made of limestone and only its boundary walls which were made of red sandstone were red. When the white stone started chipping off, the building was painted red by the British.