In 1911, the decision was made to transfer the winter capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi (
Simla remained the summer capital for the remainder of colonial rule). The slow, decades-long process of constructing the imperial complex in New Delhi commenced shortly thereafter. Inaugurated as 'Flagstaff House' in 1930, the building was the winter headquarters and residence of the
Commander-in-Chief of Forces in India who maintained unified command of the British Indian Army,
British Army, and princely states forces. The road on which it stood was named after
the 1st Earl Roberts, the Commander-in-Chief for over seven years between 1885 and 1893. After independence in August 1947, the house became the year-round
official residence and workplace of the Prime Minister, and
Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck relocated. Following Jawarharlal's Nehru's death in office in May 1964, the house was converted into a national memorial to him comprising a library and a museum. Today, in a ground floor room of the Nehru Museum, his
South Block office in the Ministry of External Affairs has been 'recreated' with the same furniture and other articles he used, along with several mementos, objects and manuscripts. The complex has the headquarters of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, established in November 1964, Nehru Memorial Library, and also the
Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship. The planetarium was reopened in September 2010, after renovations worth Rs. 11 crore, ahead of the
2010 Commonwealth Games and received Queen's Baton. It now has 'Definiti optical star projector "Megastar" that can show 2 million stars. Close to the Nehru Planetarium within the Bhavan complex, stands the
Shikargah, also known as Kushak Mahal, the
hunting lodge of 14th-century ruler of the
Sultanate of Delhi,
Firoz Shah Tughlaq (r. 1351–1388 AD). Built on a high platform of
rubble masonry accessed by stairs, the near square structure contains three open bays, containing arches, with each bay further divided into three compartments. Firoz Shah's fort,
Firoz Shah Kotla was situated far away on the banks of Yamuna River. Though, the 1912 map of Delhi shows a stream flowing near it towards the Yamuna. The monument is today protected by
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the nearby Kushak Road is named after it. ==References==