Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Indirect speech (Reported Speech) involves relaying someone else's message without using their exact words.
This process requires several systematic transformations: changing pronouns to match the reporter's perspective, adding a linking conjunction, and backshifting the verb tense if the reporting verb is in the past.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us break down the conversion of the sentence: Ravi said, "I am going to Delhi."
1. Reporting Verb and Conjunction: The reporting verb "said" is in the past tense. When we move to indirect speech, we remove the quotation marks and insert the conjunction "that".
2. Pronoun Change: In the direct quote, the word "I" refers to Ravi. When the sentence is reported by someone else, "I" must change to the third-person singular masculine pronoun "he" to maintain logical consistency.
3. Tense Shift (Backshifting): This is the most crucial rule. If the reporting verb ("said") is in the past, the tense of the reported statement must move one step back into the past.
The direct speech is in the Present Continuous tense ("am going").
According to grammar rules: Present Continuous $\rightarrow$ Past Continuous.
Therefore, "am going" must change to "was going".
Combining these steps: Ravi said + that + he + was going to Delhi.
Evaluation of errors:
Option (A) is incorrect because it fails to change the tense ("is going").
Option (B) is incorrect because it retains the pronoun "I", which changes the identity of the person going to Delhi.
Option (D) is incorrect because it changes the tense to the future ("will go"), which was not in the original sentence.
Thus, Option (C) is the only grammatically accurate representation.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct indirect speech is option (C).