Gole Market

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Gole Market is a historic market in the heart of New Delhi. Built in 1921 inside a traffic roundabout, it was designed by Edwin Lutyens. It is one of Delhi’s oldest colonial markets and is considered an architectural icon. The market is octagonal and sits on an axis with four roads: Peshwa Road, Ramakrishna Ashram Road, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, and Bhai Veer Singh Road.

Connaught Place grew nearby as government offices moved to the new capital in the 1920s and 1930s, making the area a busy hub for daily needs of thousands of government workers.

After the Partition of India, painter B. C. Sanyal and his wife Snehlata lived in Gole Market; their refugee studio became Gallery 26 and helped influence North Indian modern art through the Delhi Shilpi Chakra.

By the early 2000s, about 28 shops operated in the market, many dating from the 1920s, including confectioneries, sweet shops, and fast-food places such as Kaleva, Bengali Sweet Shop, and Karachi Sweet Shop. Over time, the façade deteriorated from unauthorised construction and poor upkeep. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) fined shopkeepers for licensing and hygiene issues.

In 2007 the building was declared unsafe, and the NDMC offered alternative shops, which were rejected. The council then explored restoring the market and even proposed giving it full heritage status and ending commercial use to ease traffic. Traffic concerns supported the move, and eviction notices were issued in 2009, with the NDMC taking control of several shops.

In 2013, courts ruled in favor of the NDMC to evict shopkeepers by 30 June 2013, and the Supreme Court upheld the eviction date on 27 June 2013.

Nearby, the General Post Office (Gole Dak Khana), built in 1931, stands about 800 meters away. It is octagonal, designed by Robert Tor Russell, and was kept low to preserve views of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Gole Market lies about 1 kilometer from Connaught Place and 2 kilometers from the President’s House and Parliament. The area also hosts the Delhi headquarters of the Communist Party of India and several schools.