Rebuilding Delhi, Rewriting History

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Rebuilding Delhi, Rewriting History

Beneath the functional reasons for this pursuit lurks the government’s insatiable desire to inscribe a new political order

Thursday November 14, 2019 11:07 AM, Asad Mirza, ummid.com

Rebuilding Delhi

History is witness that since the time immemorial every living being wanted to leave some legacy for posterity, so that the future generations could remember him and his contributions to the civilisations. For academics and philosophers, it used to be a gift of treatises and academic works, while for the warriors and rulers it transformed into big castles or forts or temples or monuments, which could remember them.

Going back in history, we have the evidence of the Megalithic Temples of Malta, considered to be the oldest free-standing structures on earth, dating back to 3600 BC and 700 BC. At number two the Knap of Howar is a Neolithic farmstead and is considered to be the oldest preserved stone house in Europe. It was occupied between 3700-2800 BC. Situated in County Meath, Ireland, New Grange is a prehistoric monument and was built around 3200BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. Archaeologists believe Egypt’s large pyramids are the work of the Old Kingdom society that rose to prominence in the Nile Valley after 3000 B.C.

In India it could be traced to the Temples of Ajanta and Ellora, Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, Red Forts in Agra and Delhi, and innumerable forts in Rajasthan and virtually every Indian state, built by Rajas and Maharajas who wanted to be remembered as patrons of arts and culture.

In the modern era, a new set of buildings was constructed when the colonial capital was shifted from Calcutta to New Delhi. This new area developed was known as Lutyens Delhi, recalling the name of the architect, who built it. Over the last 71 years, various governments continued to use the buildings in the Lutyens Delhi, right from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to the Parliament House to South and North Blocks, the seat of power in India.

Now however, the ruling BJP is trying to change that too, after working on the education, arts and culture and various other institutions of India.

In the bid document, released recently, seeking proposals to overhaul Delhi’s iconic Rajpath area is hidden the ruling party’s insatiable desire to destroy the old and inscribe a new political order so as to leave a new legacy.

Following the extensive redevelopment and radical changing of Varanasi temple areas last year, the BJP government is now all set to reshape Central Vista (Raj Path) in New Delhi, an urban space seeped in political symbolism and rituals. Along with it, the Parliament and Secretariat buildings will be rebuilt.

Beneath the functional reasons for this pursuit lurks the government’s insatiable desire to inscribe a new political order and plans to leave a new legacy for generations to come. Before this Kumari Mayawati had resorted to this legacy building project, by building parks and memorials to Buddha and Dr Ambedkar in Lucknow and Noida in UP. Her aim was very clear. Along with herself to be remembered, she also wanted to leave a legacy, which ensured that the future generations remain aware of the contribution of backward leaders and classes to the development of India. However, in the current plan, nothing is clear about what the government actually wants. Critics point out that that the main theme might be the promotion of Hindu gods and goddesses, and so-called leaders like Savarkar and killers like Godse.

Criticising the project only because it overlooks the heritage value, though valid, is thin ground. Places such as Raj Path, which symbolised colonial dominance, are always vulnerable to political re-writing. The problem hence is not entirely about its remaking. It lies in the answer to the question: What purpose does it serve?

Building new capital cities or remodelling old ones can be driven by practical reasons. However, Deyan Sudjic, a British cultural commentator, cites many examples across the world to show that such projects often turn “into fantasy, even a sickness.” From the Nazi rewriting of Berlin to Moscow’s Red Square, the story is the same. They either harbour “malevolent ambitions” or become a naked expression of the “egotism of the individual”. What is proposed in Delhi appears no different. The project neither radically undermines the spectacle of power, nor does it reconfigure the space to be more of a public space. It is an exercise in generating self-serving political symbols.

The British, who considered themselves natural successors to the Mughals, found Delhi to be the most fitting place for a new capital. Apart from geographical reasons, the city’s unparalleled historical associations appealed to them.

Robert Irving’s book Indian Summer (1981) extensively details the Empire’s intentions behind the new city. The planners — Lutyens, Baker, and Swinton — conceived the city as a monumental network of buildings, and proposed grand central avenues and imposing buildings. King’s Way (now called Raj Path) or Central Vista connecting Raisina Hill and an old historic site in the east was the jewel in the crown. This ceremonial path led to Viceroy’s House located on top of Raisina Hill. Viceroy Lord Hardinge, pleased with the arrangement, remarked that people would now know they were approaching the “house of Lord Sahib”. And now the new Sahib might want to be remembered as the one who built anew.

Nehru, Gandhi, and many Indian leaders despised the entire project. They dismissed it as vulgar extravagance and considered it as conflicting with the interest of the nation.

Parliament Building

Ironically, after independence, these leaders had no difficulty in occupying the bungalows, palaces, and Council House. The President comfortably inhabited Viceroy’s House, and Indian parliamentarians and babus took over the bungalows. Ostentation and vulgar architecture posed no dilemmas. At most, the political leaders changed the names of the streets and buildings, and removed colonial statues. King’s Way became Rajpath, Viceroy’s House was renamed Rashtrapati Bhavan, Council House became Parliament, and King George’s statue in Central Vista was removed.

In Rajpath, the Congress government found an ideal ritual space for the new republic and used it to demonstrate the country’s military might through grand parades. Over time, bungalows occupied by political leaders became sacred memorials.

In the hands of the State, architecture becomes iconic, a symbol for larger political ideas, as seen in the three Legislative Assemblies built after independence: the Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore, the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh and the Vidhan Bhawan in Chennai.

When the city of Chandigarh and its legislative assembly buildings were built, the architecture cast in concrete was very different from the Parliament and other legislative houses built before in India. Not everyone liked it. Dismissing the scepticism, Nehru, who ardently supported it, said, “some like it, and some dislike it… You may squirm at the impact, but it has made you think.”

However, the strident BJP government, after consecutive electoral successes, has decided to completely revamp the central area and the buildings around it. A few weeks ago, it invited consultants to participate in a contest to re-plan Central Vista, which will later serve as a blueprint for the other areas in LBZ. The government wants to complete the redesigning of Parliament by 2022, in time for the celebration of 75 years of independence. Either the existing structure will be revamped, or a new one will be built adjacent to or atop the existing one. A centralised Secretariat building will be built after the existing ones are vacated.

The reasons given are functional, but the real intent is laid bare in the bid document: create new iconic structures that “shall be a legacy for 150 to 200 years at the very least.” Conservationists are alarmed by the potential scale of changes and possible demolitions. Indian architects, for good reasons, are also upset because the contest favours big firms known for mega projects and huge turnovers. They find the entry barriers steep and the process opaque.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Urban Affairs, has made it clear that the whole project is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream. This is not surprising since the pattern is now familiar: Rewire the country with strident mega projects such as the Statue of Unity and Ayodhya, and incessantly generate political images.

[Asad Mirza is a Sr journalist based in New Delhi. In his career spanning more than 20 years, he was also associated with BBC Urdu Service and Khaleej Times of Dubai. He writes on Muslims, educational and international affairs issues. Email: asad.mirza.nd@gmail.com.]

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