The road follows a 14th-century dirt track connecting Ghiyathpur village with the Bagh-i Jud, one of the earliest orchards mentioned in Sultanate records, before joining the larger road from Rewari and Gurgaon. It has been used by invading armies, most famously by Timur's troops in 1398. The road has always marked a boundary between neighbouring settlements. During the 15th century it divided the Kotla Mubarakpur from the necropolis of the Lodis. In the 16th and 17th centuries it marked the boundary between the Delhi and Mehrauli tehsils. The masonry bridge over the now dried-up rivulet of Jaitpur is a reminder of Mughal Emperor Akbar's interest in the region. By the late 18th century the road marked the edge of the then controversial Shia enclave of Alipur, which contained the remains, houses, and troops of some estranged Persian nobles of the later Mughal court.
Overview
The road marked the edge of the original New Delhi Plan, and still defines the Lutyens Bungalow Zone. Almost all the trees lining New Delhi's avenues can be traced to the Lodhi Road nursery, created as New Delhi was being planned. The road was significantly widened in preparation for the Asian Games of 1982. The post-independence spurt of institutions constructed along Lodhi Road began with Jawaharlal Nehru's gift of some minor bungalow plots to the India International Center. The Ford Foundation, the architectural input of Joseph Allen Stein, the "brown sahib" bureaucrat nexus, and the approval of the Indian government, allowed the gradual growth of institutions built in a sultanate-cum-prairie architectural style extending as far as the Lodhi tombs in Lodhi Gardens, which Stein re-landscaped in 1968. The Meteorological Department was soon followed by the international development community active in Delhi during the 1960s. UNICEF, WHF, and others acquired plots in what was developing into an enclave for the diplomatic and government elite. Subsequently, the Chinmaya Mission, World Bank, INTACH and India Habitat Centre constructed buildings in sympathetic materials and architectural styles. The area was referred to as Steinabad, and Stein remained involved with the construction until the early 1990s. In addition, the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, is headquartered at Lodhi Road. The area is largely an exclusive, elite preserve in the heart of the city, containing the offices of many large Indian companies.
