encapsulating the loci via hybrid modernity: the political

ENCAPSULATING THE LOCI VIA HYBRID MODERNITY: THE POLITICAL SYNTAX OF POST-COLONIAL CAPITALS, ISLAMABAD AND

CHANDIGARH

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES

OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

MANSOOR AHMED

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN

ARCHITECTURE

NOVEMBER 2018

Approval of the thesis:

ENCAPSULATING THE LOCI VIA HYBRID MODERNITY: THE

POLITICAL SYNTAX OF POST-COLONIAL CAPITALS, ISLAMABAD

AND CHANDIGARH

submitted by MANSOOR AHMED in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture Department, Middle East

Technical University by,

Prof. Dr. Halil Kalıpçılar Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences

Prof. Dr. Fatma Cânâ Bilsel Head of Department, Architecture

Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın Supervisor, Architecture, METU

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bülent Batuman Co-Supervisor, Urban Des. & Landscape Arch., Bilkent Uni.

Examining Committee Members:

Prof. Dr. Aydan Balamir Architecture Dept., METU

Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın Architecture Dept., METU

Prof. Dr. Tomris Elvan Altan Architecture Dept., METU

Prof. Dr. Zeynep UludağArchitecture Dept., Gazi University

Assist. Prof. Dr. Bilge İmamoğlu Architecture Dept., TED University

Date: 30.11.2018

iv

I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and

presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare

that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all

material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Surname:

Signature:

Mansoor Ahmed

ABSTRACT

ENCAPSULATING THE LOCI VIA HYBRID MODERNITY: THE

POLITICAL SYNTAX OF POST-COLONIAL CAPITALS, ISLAMABAD

AND CHANDIGARH

Ahmed , Mansoor Doctor of Philosophy, Architecture

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın Co-Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bülent Batuman

November 2018, 388 pages

The dissertation aims to comparatively analyses the architecture and urban

development of the planned modern capital cities in post-partitioned Indian

Subcontinent, through the concept of hybrid modernity. While emphasizing the hybrid

character of modernity, the dissertation maps the evolution of modernity in the Indian

Subcontinent, through analysing the planned modern capital cities, from early modern

period to the post-independence period, concerning the architecture and urban

development.

Right after partition, the governments of India and Pakistan developed the modern

capital cities, Chandigarh and Islamabad, from scratch. For architecture and urban

development of these modern capital cities, the new nation-states invited the well-

known international architects such as, Albert Mayer, Le Corbusier, Doxiadis, Louis

Kahn, Edward Durrell Stone and Arne Jacobson. The design ideas of these architects

had nurtured and evolved in a Eurocentric context and these ideas were later

contextualized, once they came in contestation with the Indian conditions, during the

development of modern capitals in the Indian Subcontinent, which in result paved

v

vi

the way for emergence of post-independence modernity. Through a

detailed spatial analysis, the dissertation reaffirms the fact that this “new”

modernity is a historical extension of prevailing hybrid modernity of the Indian

Subcontinent and should not be read only as an extension of Western modernity.

In the discussion of evolutionary modernity, the dissertation provides a

detailed analysis of how foreign ideas were imported, legitimized,

domesticated and hybridized in the local context, across historical timeline, to

develop the modern planned capitals in the Indian Subcontinent.

Keywords: Hybrid modernity, Nationalism, Planned Indian capitals, Comparative urbanism, Postcolonialism.

ÖZ

MELEZ MODERNITE VASITASIYLA YERI TARTIŞMAK: POST-

KOLONYAL BAŞKENTLERIN POLITIK SÖZDIZIMI, ISLAMABAD VE

CHANDIGARH

Ahmed , Mansoor Doktora, Mimarlık

Tez Danışmanı: Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın Ortak Tez Danışmanı: Prof. Dr. Bülent Batuman

Kasım 2018, 388 sayfa

Bu tez, bölünme sonrası Britanya Hindistan’ındaki planlı başkentlerin mimarlığını ve

kentsel gelişimini karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bölünmeden

hemen sonra, Hindistan ve Pakistan hükümetleri başkentleri olan İslamabad ve

Chandigarh’ı inşaa ettiler. Bu başkentler yalnızca geleneksel bilgelik ve Avrupa

hegemonyasi arasında bir çekişme sahası olarak rol almakla kalmadı, fakat aynı

zamanda savaş sonrası kentsel planlamanın iyi birer örneğine evrildiler. Bu

başkentleri ve mimarlıklarını geliştirmek üzere hükümetler Albert Mayer, Le

Corbusier, Doxiadis, Louis Kahn, Edward Durrell Stone ve Arne Jacobson gibi iyi

bilinen uluslararası mimarları davet etti. Ülke dışından mimarların davet edilmesi

yarımadada yetişmiş yerel mimar eksikliğini meşru hale getirdi. Davet edilen

mimarların Batı merkezli çevreden beslenmiş tasarım felsefeleri ve bunun Hint

yerelinde bağlamsallaştırılması bir bağımsızlık sonrası -post-bağımsızlık- üretimi

olarak sonuçlandı. Detaylı bir analiz sonucunda tez, bu yeni modernitenin batılı bir

modernite uzantısı olmaktan ziyade, bölgede hüküm süren melez modernitenin

tarihsel bir sürekliliği olarak imlenebileceği one surmektedir. Araştırma, yurtdışı

kaynaklı fikirlerin nasıl yerele aktarılmış olduğunun, meşru hale getirildiğinin ve

yerel

vii

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yerel bağlamda yorumlanarak ehlileştirildiğinin detaylı bir analizini sunmaktadır.

Kentleşme süreçlerini ve mimari üretimi teorileştirmek üzere tez, melez

modernitenin Hint yarımadasında evrilme süreçlerini planlı başkentlerin erken

dönemden bağımsızlık sonrası döneme kadarki mimarlık ve kentsel analiziyle

haritalamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Hibrit modernite, Milliyetçilik, Planlı Hint Başkentleri, Karşılaştırmalı Şehircilik, Sömürgecılık sonrası.

ix

To my wife Wardah, and my sons Shayan and Erhan.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The dissertation took its present shape under the tutelage of Prof. Dr. Guven Arif

Sargin, my Ph.D. supervisor. His valuable criticism and discussion on architecture

and city, had helped me in successfully completing this dissertation I would also like

to acknowledge his support in my personal and non-academic matters. Furthermore,

I am also thankful to my co-advisor Prof. Dr. Bulent Batuman. Throughout

this dissertation, he provided an in-depth criticism especially concerning Modernity,

Post-Colonial theory, and Political Islam. I also want to thank, Prof. Dr. Aydan

Balamir who kept on providing her insightful criticism throughout this Dissertation.

I am thankful to Bobby Singh, Prof. Dr. Kiran Joshi., Prof. Dr. Sangeeta Bagga,

Prof. Dr. Rohit Jigyasu and Mr. Ramana Johal who are associated with Chandigarh

for quite a long time. I am also thankful to Prof Dr. Vikramditya Parakash, Prof Dr.

Ravi Kalia for sparing time for discussions.

I want to extend my thanks to Arnaud Dercelles and Claudia Weigert at Fondation

Le-Corbusier, Giota Pavlidou at Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis Archives

in Athens, Isbell Schumacher Archivist at the University of Pennsylvania for

providing me the required information about Louis Kahn and Miss. Sarah

Green, who helped me in getting the documents from Edward Durrell Stone

Archives at the University of Arkansas, I am also thankful to Architect Hick

Stone, son of Edward Durrell Stone for providing an insight into the Stone’s

work. I want to extend my gratitude to Athanasios Hadjopoulos, (Project

Architect, Islamabad for Doxiadis Associates).

I also like to thanks Dr. Shama Anbrine and Adam Abdullah for carefully

proofreading the dissertation and providing their valuable insight. I also like to

thank my friend Taimur for assisting me with field work in Pakistan. I am greatfull

of Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan for funding my Ph.D. Studies.

x

xi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. v

ÖZ ........................................................................................................................... vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... x

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... xi

LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... xv

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. xvi

CHAPTERS

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1

1.1. Premises ............................................................................................................ 1

1.2. Aims and Objectives ..................................................................................... 10

1.3. Methodological Framework and Methodology ............................................ 12

1.4. Significance of Study .................................................................................. 22

1.5. Scope of Study ............................................................................................. 25

1.6. Literature Review ....................................................................................... 26

2. HYBRID MODERNITY & CAPITAL CITIES IN PRE COLONIAL AND

COLONIAL INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. ............................................................... 37

2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 37

2.2. Early Nodes of Modernity in India ................................................................ 50

2.3. From Modernity to Hybrid Modernity ......................................................... 57

2.4. Pre-Colonial Planned Capital Cities ............................................................. 61

2.4.1. Fatehpur Sikri: The First Modern Planned Capital in India .................... 63

2.4.2. Shahjahan Abad: The Sovereign Planned Capital .................................. 71

xii

2.5. Colonialism: The Emergence of the New Modernity ................................... 80

2.6. Raj and Urban Space .................................................................................... 82

2.6.1. Madras: A Case of Apartheid Urbanism ................................................ 84

2.6.2. Calcutta: From a Trading Post to Capital City ...................................... 88

2.6.3. New Delhi: The Dichotomy of East and West ..................................... 97

2.7. Conclusion ................................................................................................... 107

3. CONCEPTION OF PROMISED LAND ........................................................ 111

3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 111

3.2. Chandigarh: The Modern Experiment in India ........................................... 119

3.2.1. Deciphering Tradition (From Nehru to Le Corbusier) .......................... 120

3.2.2. The Planning Mantra ............................................................................. 127

3.2.3. The First Plan: An American Garden City in India ............................... 129

3.2.4. Novicki’s Plan ....................................................................................... 135

3.2.5. Corbusier’s Plan: Reinvented City ....................................................... 141

3.3. Islamabad: The Capital City between a Utopia and Mirage ........................ 172

3.3.1. Islamic City .......................................................................................... 173

3.3.2. Karachi - A Plan for The Democratic State .......................................... 181

3.3.3. Corbusier’s Sketch for National Capital ................................................ 187

3.3.4. Islamabad – The City for Future ........................................................... 189

3.4. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 216

4. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN MANTRA ....................................................... 221

4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 221

4.2. The Capitol Complex: Chandigarh ............................................................... 227

4.2.1. Novicki/Mayer’s 1st Design: Cosmeticizing the Foreign ...................... 227

xiii

4.2.2. Novicki’s 2nd Proposal: Aesthetic and Consumerization. ...................... 233

4.2.3. The Capitol Complex: Le Corbusier ...................................................... 238

4.2.3.1. High Court ....................................................................................... 247

4.2.3.2. Secretariat Building ......................................................................... 252

4.2.3.3. Constitution Assembly ................................................................... 255

4.2.3.4. Governor’s Palace ......................................................................... 259

4.3. The Presidential Estate: Islamabad ................................................................ 273

4.3.1. Reductionism as an Ideology in Pakistani Islamic Architecture ........... 274

4.3.2. Doxiadis' First Proposal ........................................................................ 277

4.3.3. Doxiadis' Second Proposal ................................................................... 278

4.3.4. Arne Jacobsons’s Proposal .................................................................. 284

4.3.5. Louis Kahn’s Proposal ......................................................................... 287

4.3.6. Edward Durell Stone’s Proposal .......................................................... 293

4.3.7. Shah Faisal Mosque ............................................................................ 303

4.4. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 308

5. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 311

A. GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................... 361

B. LAND USE PLAN OF ISLAMABAD ........................................................... 367

C. MASTER PLAN OF ISLAMABAD ................................................................ 368

D. LAND USE PLAN OF CHANDIGARH ........................................................ 369

E. MASTER PLAN OF CHANDIGARH ............................................................. 370

F. DOCUMENTS AT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, FRANCE ...... 371

REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 333

APPENDICES

xiv

H. DOCUMENTS AT CONSTANTINOS A. DOXIADIS ARCHIVES. ............ 377

I. CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. ISLAMABAD, ARCHIVES .. 379

J. EDWARD DURELL STONE PAPERS, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, U.S.A

SERIES 11. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS ..................................................... 380

K. CANADIAN CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE ........................................... 382

L. PRINCIPLES AND ELEMETNS OF EKISTICS .......................................... 383

M. EVOLUTION OF INDIAN NATIONALISM ............................................... 385

CURRICULUM VITAE .......................................................................................... 387

G. LIST OF DRAWINGS AT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER ........................ 376

xv

LIST OF TABLES

TABLES

Table 1.1. Scholars Interviewed in connection with Architectural and Urban

Development of Chandigarh and Islamabad. ............................................................. 21

Table 2.1. Reforms in the Indian Society under Akbar.............................................. 56

Table 2.2. Three types of towns in the Indian Subcontinent. ..................................... 62

Table 2.3. The Cities of Delhi. ................................................................................... 72

Table 2.4. List of European Trading Companies in India .......................................... 81

Table 2.5. Towns Developed by British in India ....................................................... 83

Table 2.6. Capital Cities and Administrative Centres Developed by British ............ 84

Table 3.1. Classification of Residential Units in Mayer’s Plan for Chandigarh ...... 133

Table 3.2. Detail of Novicki’s Every day and Holiday Functions ........................... 135

Table 3.3. Human Organs & Corresponding Space in Chandigarh ......................... 142

Table 3.4. Chandigarh’s Phases of Development. ................................................... 153

Table 3.5. Functions in the City .............................................................................. 154

Table 4.1. Building Program for Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex .......................... 239

Table 4.2. List of Building (Proposed or Constructed) in Islamabad with their

Corresponding Buildings in Chandigarh .................................................................. 273

Table 5.1. Five Elements of Ekistics. ....................................................................... 383

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURES

Figure 1.1. Map of British Punjab. .............................................................................. 2

Figure 1.2. Post-partitioned Indian Subcontinent (1947). ........................................... 3

Figure 2.1. Genealogy of Spatial Modernity ............................................................. 39

Figure 2.2. Schema of different Nodes of Modernity ................................................ 40

Figure 2.3. Indian Subcontinent under Mauryan, Ghaznavid & Mughal Empires. ... 53

Figure 2.4. Evolution of Sultanate Period Dynasties. ................................................ 53

Figure 2.5. Evolution of the Mughal Empire from 1565 to 1772. ............................. 54

Figure 2.6. Evolution of Hybrid Modernity............................................................... 59

Figure 2.7. Reference Points for the Three Phases of Modernity. ............................. 60

Figure 2.8. Stone Carver’s Mosque, Centric Mosque with Wall of Fatehpur Sikri. . 64

Figure 2.9. Major Axis and Squares on the Plan of Fatehpur Sikri. .......................... 65

Figure 2.10. Plan of Fateh Pur Sikri (01). .................................................................. 67

Figure 2.11. Plan of Fateh Pur Sikri (02) ................................................................... 68

Figure 2.12. Plan of Ibadat Khana. ............................................................................ 70

Figure 2.13. Map of Cities of Delhi. .......................................................................... 73

Figure 2.14. Plan of Delhi (Shahjahan Abad)............................................................ 74

Figure 2.15. Plan of Shahjahanabad with Two Axes ................................................. 75

Figure 2.16. Bird's Eye view of Shahjahanabad, 1857. ............................................. 78

Figure 2.17. European Settlements in the Indian Subcontinent. ................................ 81

Figure 2.18. Plan of Madras (01), 1726. .................................................................... 85

Figure 2.19. Plan of Madras (02) ............................................................................... 87

Figure 2.20. Plan of Old Fort Williams, Calcutta. ..................................................... 89

Figure 2.21. Calcutta before the Construction of New Fort. ..................................... 90

Figure 2.22. Calcutta City and Environs. .................................................................. 91

Figure 2.23. Detail Plan of the New Fort Williams ................................................... 92

Figure 2.24. Detail of Old Fort in Calcutta ................................................................ 93

Figure 2.25. Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, England ................................................. 94

xvii

Figure 2.26. Government House Calcutta. ................................................................. 94

Figure 2.27. (Left) Plan of Kedleston and (Right) Government House, Calcutta. .... 95

Figure 2.28. Edwin Lutyens' Official Master Plan for New Delhi. ......................... 100

Figure 3.1. Schema of Postcolonial Architecture and Urban Production ................ 112

Figure 3.2. Structure of Chapter 03. ......................................................................... 113

Figure 3.3. (Left) Indian Houses and (Right) Bulls and Peasant Houses. ............... 124

Figure 3.4. Albert Mayer’s Plan for Chandigarh. .................................................... 131

Figure 3.5. Albert Mayer Sketch for Chandigarh. ................................................... 132

Figure 3.6. Novicki’s Leaf Plan (01), Chandigarh, 1950. ........................................ 136

Figure 3.7. Novicki’s Leaf Plan (02), Chandigarh, 1950. ........................................ 137

Figure 3.8. Matthew Novicki Plan for Three Districts in Chandigarh. .................... 139

Figure 3.9. Novicki’s Bazaar Office Building, Chandigarh, 1950). ........................ 140

Figure 3.10. Novicki’s Market Space, Chandigarh, 1950. ....................................... 140

Figure 3.11. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the City of Chandigarh (01). .................... 144

Figure 3.12. Schematics Plans for Chandigarh by Mayer and Le Corbusier. .......... 145

Figure 3.13. Comparative Plan of Chandigarh and New Delhi. .............................. 147

Figure 3.14. Sketch of the Capitol Complex by Le Corbusier. ................................ 148

Figure 3.15. Corbusier’s Sketch for the City of Chandigarh (02) circa, 1951. ........ 149

Figure 3.16. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the City of Chandigarh (03), circa 1951. ... 149

Figure 3.17. Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh Plan, circa 1951 ....................................... 150

Figure 3.18. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the City of Chandigarh (04), circa, 1951. .. 150

Figure 3.19. Development Phases of Chandigarh (01). ........................................... 151

Figure 3.20. Development phases of Chandigarh (02), c. 1976. .............................. 151

Figure 3.21. Initial Master Plan of Chandigarh, 1951.............................................. 152

Figure 3.22. Final Master Plan of Chandigarh. ........................................................ 155

Figure 3.23. Grille for Chandigarh. .......................................................................... 156

Figure 3.24. Plan of Chandigarh with the Major Roads. ......................................... 157

Figure 3.25. V2 to V7 in a sector of Chandigarh. .................................................... 158

Figure 3.26. Aerial View New Delhi c.1920. .......................................................... 160

Figure 3.27. Major Axes in Chandigarh................................................................... 161

xviii

Figure 3.28. Intersection of Two Aaxes Chandigarh. .............................................. 162

Figure 3.29. The Sector ........................................................................................... 164

Figure 3.30. Le Corbusier's Sketches for Montevideo and São Paulo, 1929. ......... 165

Figure 3.31. Pilot Plan for Bogota by Le Corbusier. ............................................... 166

Figure 3.32. Sector 22, First Residential Sector Developed in Chandigarh. ........... 166

Figure 3.33. Chandigarh from Sky. ......................................................................... 167

Figure 3.34. Layout Plan of Sector 22 Chandigarh ................................................. 168

Figure 3.35. Plan of Chandigarh with the Highlighted Green Areas. ...................... 169

Figure 3.36. (Left) Sketch of Pak Millat & (Right) Indian Subcontinent.. .............. 179

Figure 3.37. Proposed (Left)“Main Axis”& (Right) “Main Square” for Karachi. . 181

Figure 3.38. (Left) Plan of Shahjahanabad and (Right) Karachi (MRV 1952). ...... 182

Figure 3.39. (Left) The Round City, Baghdad and (Right) Meydan, Isfahan.. ....... 184

Figure 3.40. MRV’s Masters Plan of Karachi ......................................................... 185

Figure 3.41. MRV’s Master Plan for Karachi. ........................................................ 186

Figure 3.42. Functional consideration by MRV for the Master Plan of Karachi. ... 187

Figure 3.43. Study Sketch for New Capital of Pakistan by Le Corbusier. .............. 188

Figure 3.44. Doxiadis Sketch for the Greater Karachi, ........................................... 190

Figure 3.45. The Traditional Pattern of Growth of City. ......................................... 192

Figure 3.46. Highways for the City of Future ......................................................... 193

Figure 3.47. Dynapolis incorporating Plans of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. ........... 195

Figure 3.48. Structure of Dynapolis. ....................................................................... 197

Figure 3.49. Map of Islamabad with the Low, Middle and High-Income Regions . 198

Figure 3.50. Mohenjo-Daro and Islamabad. ............................................................ 199

Figure 3.51. Four Classical Cities superimposed over the Plan of Islamabad. ....... 200

Figure 3.52. Axes, Grand Mosque and Presidential Estate in Islamabad. ............... 202

Figure 3.53. Principal Axes and Location of Principal monuments in Islamabad. . 203

Figure 3.54. Doxiadis’ Sketch for the Presidential Estate in Islamabad ................. 206

Figure 3.55. Schematic Diagram of a Sector in Islamabad ..................................... 208

Figure 3.56. Average Size of Ancient Greek cities. ............................................... 209

Figure 3.57. Comparison of Old Athens and Sector G-6 Islamabad by Doxiadis. .. 209

xix

Figure 3.58. Comparison Plan of Old Athens and Sector G-6 Islamabad. .............. 209

Figure 3.59. Community Class V, Sector G-6, Islamabad. ...................................... 210

Figure 3.60. (Left) Community Class IV and (Right) III, Sector G-6, Islamabad .. 210

Figure 3.61. Block of the Ancient City with Sector of Islamabad. .......................... 211

Figure 3.62. Metropolitan Area of Islamabad. ......................................................... 213

Figure 3.63. Seven Landscape Areas of Islamabad. ................................................ 214

Figure 3.64. Central Axis and Principal Administrative Buildings(Left) Chandigarh &

(Right) Islamabad. .................................................................................................... 219

Figure 4.1. Structure of Chapter 04 .......................................................................... 222

Figure 4.2. (Left) A Mohamedan Doorway, (Right) A Hindu Doorway. ................ 224

Figure 4.3. Novicki’s First Proposal for the Capital Complex in Chandigarh ......... 230

Figure 4.4. Novicki’s Sketch for the 1st proposal of Capitol Complex. ................. 232

Figure 4.5. Novicki’s Sketch for the 2nd proposal of Capitol Complex................. 234

Figure 4.6. Tracing Inspiration for Novicki’s 2nd Proposal / Assembly Building. . 236

Figure 4.7. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the Capitol Complex, 1958.......................... 238

Figure 4.8. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the Location of Capitol Complex, 1956 ...... 239

Figure 4.9. The First Sketch of the Capitol Complex Feb 26, 1952. ....................... 240

Figure 4.10. Letter Written by Le Corbusier to M. T. Harris. ................................ 241

Figure 4.11. Second Sketch for the Capitol Complex Chandigarh. Nov 28, 1952. . 242

Figure 4.12. Le Corbusier Sketch from the Pinjore Garden. ................................... 243

Figure 4.13. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for Courtyard Capitol Complex. ..................... 243

Figure 4.14. Preliminary Sketch for the Capitol Complex (01) ............................... 244

Figure 4.15. Preliminary Sketch for the Capitol Complex (02). .............................. 245

Figure 4.16. he First Draft of the Capitol Complex. ................................................ 245

Figure 4.17. Plan of Capitol Complex at Chandigarh by Le Corbusier. .................. 246

Figure 4.18. Skyline for Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex ........................................ 246

Figure 4.19. High Court Building, Chandigarh during Construction. ..................... 248

Figure 4.20. Le Corbusier at the Construction of the High Court Building............. 248

Figure 4.21. Colour Scheme of the Frontal Columns of High Court. ...................... 249

Figure 4.22. High Court Building (Chandigarh) with the Signature Colours. ......... 250

xx

Figure 4.23. Initial Sketch of the High Court Building at Chandigarh.................... 251

Figure 4.24. Diwan-e-Khas (House of Elites) in Red Fort, New Delhi. .................. 251

Figure 4.25. First (Left) and Final (Right) Schemes for the Secretariat Building. .. 252

Figure 4.26. Secretariat Complex, Chandigarh. ...................................................... 253

Figure 4.27. Secretariat Building, Chandigarh. ....................................................... 254

Figure 4.28. Assembly Building, Chandigarh ......................................................... 255

Figure 4.29. Assembly Building in Chandigarh during Construction (01). ............ 256

Figure 4.30. Assembly Building in Chandigarh during Construction (02). ............ 257

Figure 4.31. Interior and Roof View for Assembly Building in Chandigarh. ......... 258

Figure 4.32. Sketch (Left) & 3D visualization (Right) of the Governor’s Palace ... 260

Figure 4.33. Model of Governor’s Palace and Monument of Martyrs. ................... 261

Figure 4.34. Chandigarh’s Capitol Sketch & View of Viceroy’s Palace Delhi. ..... 263

Figure 4.35. (Left) Governor’s Palace Chandigarh & Diwan-e-Khas, Fatehpur Sikr,

(Right) High Court Building & Diwan-e-Aam. ....................................................... 264

Figure 4.36. Mughal Garden’s Morphological Analysis. ........................................ 266

Figure 4.37. . (Left) Mughal Garden on the Rear Side of Viceroy’s Palace in New

Delhi, Right) Gardens on the Rear Side of Governor’s House Chandigarh.. .......... 266

Figure 4.38. Le Corbusier’s Sketches of Indigenous Indian Houses. ...................... 268

Figure 4.39. (Left) Model of the Assembly Tower, Chandigarh, (Top Right) Solar

Clock at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (Bottom Right) Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. ............ 270

Figure 4.40. Tower of Shadows, Chandigarh (01). ................................................. 271

Figure 4.41. (Left) Picture and (Right) Sketch of Tower of Shadows.. .................. 272

Figure 4.42. Elevation of the Presidential Estate Islamabad. .................................. 273

Figure 4.43. Jamia Masjid Shahjahan Abad, India .................................................. 275

Figure 4.44. Jaina Temple. ...................................................................................... 276

Figure 4.45. First proposal (Rear View) for the Presidential Estate (01). ............... 278

Figure 4.46. First Proposal (Top View) for the Presidential Estate (02). ................ 278

Figure 4.47. Proposed Boulevards in Islamabad. .................................................... 279

Figure 4.48. Perspective Drawings for the Presidential Estate, Islamabad. ............ 281

Figure 4.49. Skyline of the Proposed Presidential Estate by Doxiadis Associates. 281

xxi

Figure 4.50. Relationship Diagram of the Presidential Estate, Islamabad. .............. 282

Figure 4.51. Ancient City Squares with Chandigarh & Islamabad. ........................ 282

Figure 4.52. Second Proposal for the Presidential Estate. ....................................... 283

Figure 4.53. Mount at Mohanjo Daro. ..................................................................... 283

Figure 4.54. (Top Left) Model for the Assembly Building in Islamabad, (Bottom Left)

Elevation of the Assembly Building (Islamabad), (Right) Plan and Section of

Assembly Building (Islamabad) by Arne Jacobson. ................................................ 286

Figure 4.55. Presidential Estate (First Proposal) by Louis Kahn. ............................ 288

Figure 4.56. (Left) Presidential Estate (Islamabad) 2nd Proposal, version 01, (Right)

Presidential Estate (Islamabad) 2nd Proposal, version 02 by Louis Kahn. ............. 290

Figure 4.57. Model of Presidential Estate, Islamabad’s 1st Proposal by Stone ....... 294

Figure 4.58. . View of Shalimar Garden Lahore ...................................................... 295

Figure 4.59. Ground Floor of the Presidential Estate (01). ...................................... 296

Figure 4.60. Ground Floor of the Presidential Estate (02). ...................................... 297

Figure 4.61. Presidential Estate (Islamabad) by Stone ............................................ 298

Figure 4.62. Presidential Estate (Islamabad) Edward Durrell Stone. ...................... 299

Figure 4.63. The J. F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts.............................. 302

Figure 4.64. Front View of Faisal Mosque. ............................................................. 304

Figure 4.65.(Left) Sketch & (Right) Model of (Unbuilt) Kocatepe Cami, Ankara. 305

Figure 4.66. Faisal Mosque & the Faisal Avenue. ................................................... 306

Figure 4.67. (Left) Faisal Mosque, (Right) Study sketch for Faisal Mosque ......... 308

Figure 5.1. Schematics Plans for Chandigarh by Mayer and Le Corbusier. ............ 315

Figure 5.2. CIAM’s Six Functions and Ekistics Framework. .................................. 317

Figure 5.3. (Left) Master Plan of Islamabad and (Right) Chandigarh ..................... 318

Figure 5.4. Static and Dynamic Plans of Islamabad and Chandigarh respectively. . 319

Figure 5.5. Commercial Centres in Islamabad (Left) and Chandigarh (Right). ...... 320

Figure 5.6. Location of Monuments in the Plan of Chandigarh and Islamabad. ..... 321

Figure 5.7. Multi-level Structures & Networks, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1965). ...... 322

Figure 5.8. Pyramidal Expansion of Networks (in Depth) and Shells (in Height). . 322

Figure 5.9. Schematic Blow up Highlighting V2 to V7 in a sector of Chandigarh. 323

xxii

Figure 5.10. Plan of Sector, G6 of Islamabad (Left) and Sector 22, Chandigarh .... 324

Figure 5.11. Capitol Complex, Chandigarh & Presidential Estate, Islamabad . ...... 325

Figure 5.12. Composition of Viceroy Palace, New Delhi (Left), Presidential Estate,

Islamabad (Centre), Capitol Complex Chandigarh (Right). .................................... 328

Figure 5.13. Typical Traffic Flow in Chandigarh (Top Right), Islamabad (Top Left),

New-Delhi (Bottom Right) and Karachi (Bottom Left) on Monday at 0900. ......... 330

1

CHAPTER 1

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Premises

Right after the partition of British India in August 1947, two new nations India and

Pakistan came into being. These nations were created following the controversial

partition plan presented by Sir Radcliff. His demarcation plan and physical constraints

had left Pakistan without a capital city, as New Delhi, the capital of British Empire

ceded to India (Chester 2010)( See Figure 1.2). Similarly, Punjab: one of the two states

of British India that got divided between India and Pakistan also suffered the loss of

capital. The former capital of the state of Punjab, Lahore was ceded to the Pakistani

Punjab, hence leaving the Indian Punjab without any capital (See Figure 1.1.).(Ahmed

2018).

From the administrative point of view, the lack of capital cities had left the country

and the state in turmoil. Government of Pakistan had initiated its governmental

functions from a makeshift capital in Karachi, and Indian Punjab initially hosted its

governmental function at Shimla, the summer capital of British Empire. Both Karachi

and Shimla were not functionally equipped for hosting the new state’s administrative

functions. Thus, the respective governments faced several shortcomings. The major

problem was the unavailability of buildings to host the new type of government and

its allied departments. Even the buildings which were dedicated to hosting the

government’s function were not designed for this purpose. Furthermore, the influx of

refugees, in East Punjab and Karachi, had made it even more challenging for

governments to undertake the administrative functions. To cope with the problem of

missing capitals and to provide shelter for refugees, who migrated across the border

2

after the partition, both the respective governments of India and Pakistan had

prioritized the works for the development of the national and state capitals,

immediately after the independence (Evenson 1966; Nilsson 1973; Kalia 1987;

Prakash 2002; Mahsud 2008).

Figure 1.1. Map of British Punjab.

Muslims (Green) Non-Muslim (Pink) Majority Areas and Princely States (Yellow). The red line

depicts the international boundary line between India and Pakistan (Source: Punjab Digital Library).

To pursue this task both the governments invited internationally acclaimed architects

to design the new capital cities. The first reason for asking these architects was the

lack of trained people, especially architects, in India and Pakistan. Secondly, both the

government wanted to align themselves with the progressive first world nations by

making these capitals as a symbol of progress for their countries. The development

process for these cities was not a straightforward as its foundation lies on the fractured

history, dichotomy of tradition and modernity, the escape from the colonial ethos,

burden of representation, people’s aspiration, state’s ambition, architect’s vision, and

the physical and technological constraints. It is evident from the above description and

title of this dissertation that discussion on the two cities whirls around three

3

fundamental issues, which are, postcolonialism, modernity and planned capital cities.

Concerning the subject of the dissertation, these three issues need to be comprehended

and read concerning space.

Figure 1.2. Post-partitioned Indian Subcontinent (1947). (Source: http://windsurfaddicts.com/outline-map-of-south-asia/outline-map-of-south-asia-map-city-

admin-page-25-tele-m/). Last visited on June 2018.

1.1.1. Postcolonial Space & Indian Subcontinent

For Karl Marx, the modern city is a point in time that marks the transition from one

mode of production to the other, that is from Feudalism to Capitalism. It also signifies

the transfer of the means of production and capital to urban areas (Chandoke 1991).

The city in the Indian Subcontinent cannot be read in the same way, as this European

transition never happened in India. The modern city, in the Indian Subcontinent, had

a different meaning altogether across the social, political and economic spectrum,

4

which is in contrast with the European cities. As Chandoke explains, “the city in the

European historical experience represents a break; a point of transition from one mode

of production to another. In the postcolonial world, the city is a historical subject

(Chandoke 1991).” Thus, in order to understand the modern Indian city, an excavation,

integration, and reconstitution of the history is required. The process of decolonization

started during the first quarter of the 19th century when several new nations came into

being. The creation of the new countries was the result of a complicated process that

includes the rise of the anti-colonial sentiments and formulation of the national

narratives. Although in the Indian Subcontinent the process of decolonization gained

its momentum in the middle of the 20th century, its roots can be traced back to a

century ago, to the failed war of independence in 1857.1 The loss in war against the

British, helped Indians in nurturing and reconstituting their nationalistic ideologies.

Furthermore, the Empire’s initiative, such as India’s participation in the great

exhibitions, historiography2, and Macaulay’s educational reforms3 and political

reforms4, also reinforced the Indian society towards reconstituting the national

sentiments. The rise of anti-colonial and national sentiments had affected almost every

aspect of life. The impact had extended to religious and educational spheres,

1 Indian war of Independence or India Mutiny was a battle fought between the British empire and local

Indian (including Hindu. Muslim and Sikhs) under the patronage of Bahadur Shah Zafer the last Mughal Emperor (Singh 2009; Fremont-Barnes 2014).

2 The Raj’s project of historiography was aligned with Empire’s policy of “divide and rule”, which in result fabricated the narrative that developed the gulf of difference between Hindus and Muslims, the two religious group which were living together in the Indian Subcontinent for more than 1000 years. The Empire’s ambitious project of historiography resulted in the production of few, controversial yet mostly referred texts on the Indian history which includes “History of Indian and

Eastern Architecture”, by Fergusson (Fergusson 1899) and “The Design and development of Indian

Architecture” by Batley (Batley 1934). 3 Macaulay’s education reforms were centred around the planned substitution of the alien culture of a

colonizing power via the education system. The term is derived from the name of British Lawyer and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859), an individual who was instrumental in the introduction of English as the medium of instruction for higher education in India and for encouraging the systematic wiping out of traditional and indigenous means of education and sciences (Macaulay 1835).

4 Hume, an Englishmen, formed the first political party, that was, the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885 with a vision to include locals Indian into the political spectrum of British India. Hume assumed that this in result would facilitate the Empire in making India as its stronghold. However, a few decades after its formation INC became the major party fighting for the independence of India (Sharma and Sharma 2001).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Babington_Macaulay,_1st_Baron_Macaulay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_education

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India

5

construction of national narratives, manufacturing and altering history. These

conditions had resulted in creating and validating the existing national sentiments and

bestowed a material dimension to the abstract concept of nation. In the case of the

Indian Subcontinent, the national sentiments evolved into two dominant and opposing

ideologies that resulted in the creation of India and Pakistan. The material dimension

incurred to the nationalism during the pre-colonial and colonial period had a direct

impact on the spatial development of the postcolonial era in the Indian Subcontinent.

On the midnight between 14th and 15th, August 1947, British India got divided to form

two new countries, India and Pakistan. Unlike other new nation states like Turkey,

Algeria and Malaysia, and so far, where the independence was a result of a war of

independence, India and Pakistan gained their freedom through a political solution

supported by “Indian Independence Act, 1947” passed by United Kingdom’s

Parliament. As a result of this political solution, the King of England appointed the

Head of state of the two dominions. Several authors had questioned the scale of this

freedom that these new nation-states acquired. The primary reason for this criticism

was that the postcolonial state had been reconstituted following its colonial legacy

(Radcliffe 2005) and remained the dominions of the British crown until

implementation of their constitution. Even after the adaptation of their constitutions

both India and Pakistan had retained British institutions, their political, educational,

legal and administrative systems (Williams 2006). The colonial tradition prevails in

the material domain about which Chatterjee writes that, “the legacies occur

particularly in the so-called “material domain,” the domain of the “outside”

comprising the economy, statecraft, science, and technology, wherein the colonial

power had proved superior (Chatterjee 1993).” Chatterjee further writes about an

“inner domain,” that can also be read as the cultural or spiritual domain, where the

influence of the British was much less. The dissertation argues that it is that inner

domain that provided a basis for the postcolonial modernist spatial development and

helped it in standing as an anomaly to the tradition of blindly following the colonial

material culture. It is that opposition to colonialism and debates encircling continuity

6

and discontinuity (Shaw 2009), inner and outer that remained pivotal in the

construction of the postcolonial planned capitals in the Indian Subcontinent.

The postcolonial spatial construction in the Indian Subcontinent is an integral part of

this material domain, but in striking opposition to the systems of governance

mentioned above, it out rightly rejects the colonial legacies. One of the primary reason

for this opposition, as stated above, is that the spatial construction was closely linked

with the “inner” or “spiritual/cultural” domain where the impact of the British empire

was far less (Shaw 2009). The construction of the postcolonial cities was surrounded

by an extensive debate and controversies encircling tradition and modernity, but the

rejection of the colonial legacy in favour of an indigenous town was mutually agreed

across the two countries throughout the political spectrum. The postcolonial cities in

the Indian Subcontinent were developed, not only to construct a national image, to

represent the respective countries amongst the world’s nations, but also directed to

steer the future direction of development in both the countries. Furthermore, these

cities also meant to facilitate an alien type of governance system, that is, Democracy.

The study of these cities can also act as a window that can provide an insight into the

postcolonial spatial construction. Adjoining the prevailing theories of the spatial

construct, that include architecture and urban development, agendas of CIAM and

DELOS conferences the study of these cities would also enhance the present day

understanding of the post-war spatial construction.

1.1.2. Colonial and Postcolonial Spatial Development

The term “postcolonial studies” was formulated and nurtured outside the discipline

of architecture and urban design. These studies produced the key concepts and

challenges to the existing phenomenon such as (Eurocentric) historiography, culture

and helped in the localization of complex ideas like “traditions “and “modernity.” The

critical analysis of the concepts, rooted in Eurocentrism by non-Western authors, has

shaken the foundation of the Eurocentric conception of linear history (Braudel 1991),

7

and provided an inside view into the non-Western world, which initially was framed

and viewed through the lens of Eurocentric concepts (for example, modernization,

nation-statehood, development, and urbanization). The localization of these concepts

also helped in developing a national discourse and impacted the architecture and urban

construction in the postcolonial nations. The issues thus generated by social scientists

could not escape from the problematic of “space” in colonial and postcolonial

contexts. Though these new critiques have opened a vast horizon for discussions,

however, Chakrabarty believes that further improvement is still required. He points

out that, “the standpoint or focus from which these works are generated still tends to

be the European (Chakrabarty 1992).” Logically the spectrum of postcolonial studies

can only be broadened by the inclusion of ideas from the “Third World” which consist

of the narrative of suppressed, the subjects who resisted, fought and overthrew the

colonial powers. The non-European scholars have also insisted on the inclusion of the

non-Western knowledge into the cannon of historiography.

The conventional study of architecture and urban design designates the subjects as

independent fields of inquiry by positioning the architect as a master builder who

interprets space in terms of aesthetic and technological values, instead of the social

formation which it is made up of (Fletcher 1996). In sheer contrast, a number of other

studies with reference to the structure of spatial and architectural agendas, (Mitchell

1991; Thai 1997; Blunt and McEwan 2003; King 2007) have argued that architecture

and space are constructed over a distinct base, which is formed by different socio-

political forces, thus negating the sole role of Architect in these social formations.

These studies are pivotal in the sense that they not only open up a new horizon in

historiography, but also helps in reconfiguring the relationship between architecture

and space in a postcolonial context under the influence of socio-political and culture.

Brenda Yeoh’s (2003) study of urban transformation with reference to Singapore is a

critical example in terms of socio-political analysis from the other’s perspective.

Yeoh’s principle argument is that the morphological form of Singapore is a product

of British and Chinese history overlaid with the project of modernity. A parallel

8

thought was established by not negating the colonial past but emphasizing the later

processes. Nalbantoglu and Wong analyses the idea of “domination and resistance” in

the rapidly changing postcolonial world. They write that

… an intervention into that unified architectural discourse that developed

under the guise of global agendas and tends to exclude or repress spatial

construct of often disadvantaged ethnicities, and underdeveloped

communities or people (G. B. Nalbantoglu and Wong 1997).

The postcolonial theorist had focused on the examination of the discourses generated

by “others” (Said 2012; Spivak 1987; Bhabha 1994). However, the major problem

which was challenged by the non-Western authors can be well narrated in Scott’s

words as the “epistemic violence” of colonialism, and the ways in which colonial

power works, in the realm of the real as well as the representational, at some time to

exclude and at others to include the colonized (Scott 1995).

1.1.3. Modernist Spatial Development in India and Pakistan

The rise of Modern movement at the start of the 20th century had made it almost

impossible to comprehend modernity. The term “modern” becomes more complicated

when the problematic is contextualized in a non-European geography like India, as

majority of the literature written on the genealogy, evolution, and taxonomy of

modernity inclined towards Eurocentrism. Alternatively, it also suggests that the

modern development in the Indian Subcontinent is the translation and domestication

of Western modernization, but is this really the case?

The postcolonial modern city is a product of sovereign cultural domain within the

society that is affected by the legacy of the colonizers and the pre-colonial past. The

importance of its predecessor spatial construction under the British Empire cannot be

neglected; however, the way it is understood within the framework developed by

Eurocentric social theory suppresses this influence. Appadurai presented a more

9

balanced approach to the problem. He writes, “for the ex-colony decolonization is a

dialogue with the colonial past and not a simple dismantling of colonial habits and

mode of life (Appadurai 1996).” Chapter 2 of the dissertation will provide a detailed

study of how spatial modernity originated and evolved in the Indian Subcontinent

integrating the pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial literature. The mentioned

studies have resulted in the formulation of a new discourse on modern architecture

and urban design by broadening of the existing point of view on European colonization

and post-imperialism. These studies also depict that architecture and space were being

used as tools to establish European supremacy over the rest of the world, especially at

the end of 19th and beginning of 20th century (Frampton 2007). The depth created in

the field due to more recent scholarly works has made it possible to analyse

architecture and urbanism in the indigenous socio-political context. Here architecture

and urban development in the so-called “third-world” countries can be seen as a

fragment of their respective “political strategies” and “historicity.”

In the cases of India and Pakistan, postcolonial states with a colonial and pre-colonial

spatial past had worked out towards the creation of a “new meaning” that can represent

the society. The society in a Leferbvian sense is not an individual object, and nor is

space a static object that is frozen within a point in time. Both space and society evolve

together by influencing each other over the course of time (Lefebvre 1992). The

postcolonial governments are equally authoritative as their colonial predecessors, and

want to establish their control over the society, using space, similar to the colonizers.

The critical point to note that in such (postcolonial) scenarios, urban design (and

spatial construct to be more specific) was only executed under a shallow agenda of

development, where it becomes an instrument of achieving political control over

subjects (Wright 1991; Al Sayyad 1992; Rabinow 1995; Home 2011). The dissertation

will argue that it is the authoritative stance that helped in reinforcing the colonial

legacies in the architectural and urban domains. This dissertation advocates the idea

of “Indian exceptionalism ” (Chatterjee 1993) and utilizes the endogenous notions

while comprehending the modern cities. In other words, the project of modernity in

10

Islamabad and Chandigarh can be read as the resultant of diverse and deeper

intellectual agendas of the political leaders rather than the mere implementation of

European Modernism. Thus, the dissertation claims that a distinction should be made

the universal Modernism and multiple modernities that flourish in different socio-

political contexts, especially in the case of Islamabad, Pakistan and Chandigarh, India

and consequently how these modernities formed a national image of the country using

architecture and urban constructs. The pivotal question the dissertation address is, how

this postcolonial phenomenon affects the urban and architecture spatial construct. It is

understood that in nations that came into being at the end of colonial era, modernity

is being used as a tool by architects. Thus, modernity reinforces the state’s ambitions

for the formation of a national image. In any such construction, architecture has always

been taken as its object rather than a subject. However, the framework for

understanding the spatial construction in Indo-Pakistan remained unattended. Some

fundamental question can be posed to formulate an in-depth study of spatial

construction for example, how spatial construction is being created? What are the

primary elements that formulate and maneuver spatial construction? Modernist spatial

construct (both architectural and urban) in postcolonial nations was a manifestation of

states’ agenda of acquiring control over space. However, over time, architecture and

urban space assimilated into nationhood and became an integral part of national

subjectivity. As Kusno narrates, “The making of postcolonial subjects, phrased as

hybrid contradictory and ambivalent, are all noticeable unmediated by the materials

properties of the space (Kusno 2000).” Thus, the dissertation will focus on

highlighting how spatial and political cultures are formed by the representation of

architectural culture and how a city is used for the production of these objects, instead

of just merely representing the identity of the new nation.

1.2. Aims and Objectives

The dissertation is an attempt to investigate the modernist spatial construction within

cities of “Islamabad” and “Chandigarh,” along with utopias, prevailing socio-political

11

condition, and the background forces that influenced their development. The

dissertation will provide an overview of how architectural and urban development was

initiated and evolved in these cities. Chandigarh and Islamabad are two critical

examples of the postcolonial and post-war planning. The cities were constructed on a

part of the earth that shares thousands of years of mutual history yet were segregated

by a political border. Moreover, they were designed under the same socio-political

condition and following similar design philosophies. In contradiction to the

similarities, the political differences that resulted in the creation of the two states, India

and Pakistan, created a gulf of differences between them. The dissertation is an effort

to bridge that gulf and develop a theory of the cities that not only mend the ruptured

past, but also facilitate future development in the Indian Subcontinent. In order to

provide a holistic understanding of the planned capital cities, the dissertation will posit

the three critical concepts, that are, Postcolonial Indian city, Genealogy of Indian

spatial modernity and Planned Capital cities in India. The dissertation will

contextualize the “hybrid5 modernity,” as it formulated and evolved in the postcolonial

capital cities, within the socio-historical paradigm, in the South Asian context. This

effort will carve new venues of understanding and brings depth to the existing

literature. The primary objectives of this research are to formulate knowledge, by

locating the “spatial development” in the core and disengaging it with the politics of

manufactured historical narratives and Empire’s social theory. As a conclusion, the

dissertation will produce spatial knowledge. It will also comprehend the conditions

that contributed towards the formation of the new cities and later on steered the

direction of urban morphological and architectural development of the principal

administrative centres, that is, Capitol Complex in Chandigarh and the Presidential

Estate in Islamabad. The dissertation will critically analyse the complex relationships

between religion and state, by deciphering the underlying processes that resulted in

5 Hybridity” is one of the key terms coined by Bhabha and used quite frequently in the postcolonial

literature. Hybridity commonly refers to the creation of new transcultural forms within the contact zone produced by colonization. As used in horticulture, the term refers to the cross-breeding of two species by grafting or cross-pollination to form a third, ‘hybrid’ species. Hybridization takes many forms: linguistic, cultural, political, racial, etc. (Bhabha 1994; Mambrol 2016).

12

the development of state apparatuses. In the result, the dissertation will advance

towards the formulation of the theory of “hybrid modernity” by comparing the cities

and their principal administrative centres, constructed on the opposite side of borders.

In short, the research aims for the dissertation would be

1. To locate the origin of the spatial (hybrid) modernity in the Indian

Subcontinent and classify spatial (hybrid) modernity.

2. To theorize the premises for the postcolonial spatial development which

include nationalistic ideologies, architect’s ambitions, regime’s intention and

people’s aspiration.

3. To evaluate the distinctive spatial characteristics of Islamabad and

Chandigarh, created as a “cities for the future” in the postcolonial, post-

Independence context.

4. To theorize the urban and architectural space that in necessity explores the

multiple modernities along various conflicting and contested lines of identity,

representation and consumption.

1.3. Methodological Framework and Methodology

The main frame of the dissertation is bifold. Firstly, it will theorize modernity in order

to impart a deeper understanding of the postcolonial planned capital cities. Secondly,

it includes urban analysis, and thirdly architectural analysis, of the principal

administrative centres. In order to obtain the desired objective, the methodological

framework constitutes two distinct yet interrelated methods, that are, Discourse

analysis and Comparative Method. Foucault’s discourse analysis emphasises the fact

that the “truth is a discursive construction.” In line with this, the dissertation will

critically analyse the structure of different regimes of knowledge: the most relevant

among them, in accordance with the subject of the dissertation, are pre-British,

colonial and postcolonial, although the dissertation also rejects the idea of a single

recurring discourse in a single time frame, and would try to incorporate several other

13

discourses arising from the left and right political activism. In Foucault’s framework,

the rules and structure which manufacture truth are of seminal importance. In this

regard, the dissertation will also take into account the rules that govern the true/false

and said/unsaid relationship. The dissertation relies mainly on Foucault’s

methodological tools, which are, objects, enunciative modalities, concepts and

strategies (Foucault 1995) and to a lesser extent on his empirical analyses (Foucault

1995; Foucault 2012). In light of Foucault’s methodological analyses and to pursue an

objective study of the urban and architectural construction as a distinct social

formation, the dissertation is intended to reconfigure the relation between the

prevailing discourses, modernity, and spatial construction.

The primary challenge of the dissertation is to decipher the prevailing discourse(s) of

spatial modernity that was operative behind the construction of Chandigarh and

Islamabad. The most widespread and influential discourse(s) is the one that emerged

during the colonial period. The discourse whirls around the Empire’s ideology of

“divide and rule” and its effort of indigenization. The principal objective of the

dissertation is to analyse these popular discourses that establish the relationship

between British and post-British societies with spatial construction. Furthermore, the

discourse formulated under the Empire also assimilated into the postcolonial theory

and worked as a window for providing an insight into the spatial construction, which

in turns create ambiguity while reading the postcolonial spatial construction. The

dissertation in the light of Foucault's work addresses the structure of this empowering

discourse projected as absolute truth and the circumstances under which that truth is

naturalized (Jørgensen and Phillips 2002). The answer to the above question leads us

towards the Empire’s political ambition to subjugate the indigenous knowledge by

declaring India as a land of uneducated and uncivilized men. Thus, to acquire a critical

or objective understanding of the spatial construct, it is deemed necessary to widen

the discursive frame formulated during the colonial and postcolonial period, where the

colonial takes full credit for modernity and its associated developments, and the

postcolonial dwells on the framework provided by the former. To widen the discursive

14

frame, the dissertation takes into account the forgotten episodes of the pre-British

discourses and conclude towards a taxonomy of spatial modernity. The dissertation

will also provide critical insight into the structure of colonial and postcolonial

discourses. This effort in turn imparts a new meaning to the study of the postcolonial

theory of spatial development. The second fold of the research, which is more

empirical, surrounds urban morphological analysis and architectural typological

analysis. The city and its architecture would be read in conjunction with the discourse

on the “third age of modernity. “Comparative urbanism (Nijman 2007) is a study of

similarities and differences between the city processes and the city. The dissertation

is taking forward the methodologies of comparative urbanism formulated by Lin (Lin

2007). In his study of Chinese urban form, he interrogates the relation between the

state and society which results in the provision of valuable information about

“convergences” and “divergence” within urbanism under globalization. Following

Lin’s historical perspective, and as stated earlier, the dissertation will evaluate the

spatiality within Chandigarh and Islamabad bringing into account the three periods

from history, namely pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial. The spatial-historical

analysis would be developed by focusing on the two issues

1. Critique of spatial development (with reference to the bilateral relationship

between the state and society, the internal and the external).

2. Bridging the historical split.

In order to analyse the spatiality, the dissertation will start by taking “city” as a living

organism that started, evolved, destroyed and vanished within due course in history.

The dissertation will also involve the spatiality within the city as it was developed and

evolved under certain circumstances, which occurred as a result of the bilateral

relationship between the externality and internality. The city would be read in

conjunction with the “container” and the “content.” The city’s morphological form is

designated as a “container”. Following Lin, the relation between the state and society

would be read as bilateral. The analysis of the space would be based on Henri

15

Lefebvre’s conceptual triad of “spatial practices”, “the representations of space”

(planned or conceived space) and “spaces of representation,” that provides an

interesting framework for analysing not only society- state relationship, but also the

spatiality of urbanism (Lefebvre 1992; Lin 2007). In addition to space the cities of

“Chandigarh” and “Islamabad,” would be studied alongside the theoretical approaches

established by their respective architects “Le Corbusier” and “Doxiadis” within the

primary stream of the urban development concepts of the 20th century. Both cities

were constructed to fulfil the need of the “missing” capital, to be represented as a

symbol of progression and provide the habiting to the people.The postcolonial

theorists over-emphasized the “split,” initially formulated as a result of Eurocentric

philosophical dilemmas and attached a negative connotation on whatever comes from

the west. The dissertation would emphasize the fact the border between historical

times lines shall not be read as a blockade; instead, it is porous and provides an

opportunity for historical assimilation. The analysis will also omit the interval between

the late 18th century to the earlier 19th century, a period of chaos, civil war and anarchy

in India.

1.3.1. Framework for Comprehending the KEY Terms

The dissertation’s central theme is based on hybrid modernity, an idea that emerged

from the contesting discourses of modernity in Indian Subcontinent and had a

universal meaning. Thus, for deciphering the hybrid character of modernity, it is

important to present definitions of the key terms such as modernity, modernization

and alternate modernities.

1.3.1.1. Modernity

The term modern is used for quite a long time in Western literature. Its basic meaning

is the humans’ negotiation with the present (Berman 1983). Berman’s three phases of

modernity roughly starts from sixteenth century and ends at the age of globalization

16

that reached its advent in the twentieth century. Unfortunately, the idea was forcefully

engaged with newness, thus resulted in multifaceted interpretations (Calinescu 1993).

Modernity, in general, is perceived as a rupture, from the past. Several philosophers

had criticised this conception of modernity and labelled this rupture as falsely

fabricated, which theorizes present as a disconnected episode of the human evolution.

On contrary modernity can be conceptualized as the acquired ability of man that is

linked with its progress, which materializes once man gain “ rational control over his

physical and social environment (Tipps 1973). In order to chalk a holistic picture of

modernity, the dissertation advocates a second “model” from comprehending

modernity where it is conceived as “re-orientation” from the past rather than a rupture

(Fernée 2014). The dissertation thus tries to disengage the problem of modernity from

“newness6” and “formalism7”, and charts its holistic understanding, which leads

towards the development of the theory of hybrid modernity.

The dissertation’s main frame for the origin of modernity coincides with the

Jairazbhoy’s idea that present an absolute picture about the process of modernization.

The works by King, Bhabha, Chatterjee and Karim’s postcolonial ideas are

investigated to develop a political stance about modernity. The Western authors like

Berman, Marx, Giedion and Habermas are also studied to conceptualize modernity

and locate its counterpart in the Indian Subcontinent. The Eurocentric restrictions in

the text of the Western authors are carefully studied and funnelled through the writings

of postcolonial authors to yield an Indian perspective on hybrid modernity. In His

historical account of modernity, All that is Solid Melts into Air Berman described the

yesterday, today and tomorrow of modernity concerning Faust as, Dreamer,

Destructor, and Developer. The book also enhances the terms modernity and

6 In post-independence India modern or new is generally read as a synonym of being foreigner (Prakash

2002), which brings the local at a primitive position, when it is read in conjunction with the externality. The dissertation develops a theory which comprehend the fact that modernity belongs to the region where it evolved, following a symbiotic relationship with the indigenous trends.

7 Academic formality is another challenge that restricts or at times negates the “others” of modernity in the favor of imparting a European supremacy. The dissertation challenges the very notion of this fabricated idea and through an intensive study of spatial development.

17

modernism by releasing them from “historical conjunctures and elite cultural forms.”

Though the book is excellently compiled and brought all modernists, from Marx and

Nietzsche to Foucault into a single frame, the limits imposed by its westward

orientation limits its role in the dissertation. Habermas’s seminal essay, “Modernity:

an Unfinished Project” emphasizes reassessing the “modern” before jumping into the

realm of post-modernity. He believes in modernity and its surviving potential. On

defining the function of modernity, He writes, “Modernity revolts against the

normalizing function of tradition; modernity lives on the experience of rebelling

against all that is normative (Habermas and Ben-Habib 1981, 5).”

Although written with reference to Europe’s cultural and societal limits, the function

and definition formulated by Habermas (as mentioned above) are appropriated with

reference to the dissertation. Heynen (2000), who tries to connect cultural theories of

modernity and modern movement provides an excellent account and bridges

architecture, modernity and dwelling. The dissertation, however, will take a different

route especially when discussing the colonial modernity and will disengage the

colonial modernity from the British-centric cultural theories. David Harvey’s, Paris:

Capital of Modernity would further steer the direction of the dissertation. In continuity

with Marxist tradition and postcolonial authors, Harvey also doesn't agree with the

idea of modernity as a radical break from the past. However, the dissertation is

utilizing his main idea as a substantial justification for engaging modernity with the

pre-colonial discourse. Harvey writes

The alternative theory of modernization (rather than modernity), due

initially to Saint-Simon and very much taken to heart by Marx, is that no

social order can achieve changes that are not already latent within its

existing condition (Harvey 2003).

Rabinow’s, French Modern: Norms and Forms of the Social Environment is a study

of space and power which provides an insight into how modernity was reflected onto

18

the urban space in Paris by using different philosophical and cultural tools. This book

provides a mould for reading and deciphering the modernist city which is in line with

the main idea of this dissertation (Rabinow 1995). Vikramaditya Parkash also pens

down first-hand information as he inherited from his father Aditya Prakash, one of the

nine assistants of Indian origin designated to facilitate Le Corbusier and his team by

the Government of India.

1.3.1.2. Modernization

Modernization in the West is viewed as a product of industrialisation, which limits its

age to few hundred years, but is it really the case? According to Berman (1983), in the

last century “the social processes that bring this maelstrom into being, and keep it in

a state of perpetual becoming, have come to be called "modernization.” These social

processes had their Eurocentric origins, due to the strong affinity between

“Modernism” and industrialization in the West, which was later assimilated into the

postcolonial world. Berman, like the rest of Eurocentric authors, envisioned the

process of modernization that started in the West and enraptured the world. The

dissertation through a detailed historiographical analysis will excavate the similar

condition in the Indian Subcontinent, which supports the presence of existence of

modernity. The dissertation also negates a monolithic image of modernization in the

non-Western world and reinforces the fact that modernization should be read in a close

relationship with the social and political processes. For Example, in Brasilia, the plan

was sought to act as a mould for social change, which was not the case in the Indian

Subcontinent. Furthermore, the ambitious Stalinist projects (such as the White Sea

Canal – 1931-33) in Russia or Kemalist modernization in Turkey, where the states had

authoritative agendas for change, are drastically in contrast with postcolonial Indian

modern projects. With certain specificities, Berman (1983, 76) claims the the French

Revolution also popularized the idea of overnight revolutionary transformation in

which the modernization process acts as main agent, remained the core philosophy of

Stalinist and Kemalist regimes. After the partition of British India, like other countries

19

of Third World, the modernization process was triggered and affirmed by the

respective governments of India and Pakistan. Ayyub in Pakistan and Nehru in India

were the spearhead of these spatial experiments8. The major objective of the respective

governments was to put their countries on the track of economic growth. Through the

analysis of the spatial manifestation and urban construct the dissertation highlights the

differences between the intended and executed paradigms and present a schema for

post-partitioned Indian modernization.

1.3.1.3. Alternative Modernities in Indian Subcontinent

The rise of Modern movement, (which eventually turned into Modernism) in social

and cultural theories at the dawn of the twentieth century along with other “isms”,

reaffirmed the European control over modernity. Berman’s definition of Modernism

is useful, provided that it is understood beyond Europe, “Any attempt by modern men

and women to become subjects as well as objects of modernization, to get a grip on

the modern world and make themselves at home in it (Berman 1983, 5).” The

dissertation critically analyse that even the idea of superficially imposing these

concepts on a “Living” civilization (A valuable account about this notion can be found

in (Jairazbhoy 1963) is vague and ambiguous. Furthermore, several postcolonial

authors like Jairazbhoy (1963), Prakash (2002), King (2004) and Hosagrahar (2005)

had also provided a frame work that reaffirms that fact that the prevailing alternative

modernities in the Indian Subcontinent are the result of exogenous and endogenous

forces and should be read in the similar fashion. The dissertation rephrases the claim

8 Ayyub khan (a military dictator, who overthrew the elected government, in 1958, through a blood less coup d'état) in order to authenticate his rule used religion as a tool to gain the popularity amongst masses. Educated and trained under British, his liberal orientation was not hidden. Since Ayyub Khan was keen in acquiring the support of right-wing activist to upheld his regime, He passively tried to integrate liberal values, (for example, removal of the word “Islamic” from the name of country in the constitution and Romanizing the Urdu script following the Turkish experiment (Rizvi 2000, 129)) but he never tried, nor he was politically powerful to implement his liberal ideas. Nehru’s modernization had come head to head with the “rationalism” of his mentor Gandhi. Following his democratic ideas, he never tried to enforce his vision on masses and space. Thus, the modernity experiment in India under Nehru was a “compromised” solution developed through the amalgamation of “Sawaraj, tradition and modernity.”(Gandhi 1909; Kalia 1999).

20

about alternative modernities, supported by the writers like Harvey (2003), Latour

(2012) and Berman (1983)9 that challenges the monolithic authoritarian vision of

modernity, as compiled in the form of “Modern movement”.

1.3.1.4. Modernism

The Rise of Modern movement, (which eventually turned into Modernism) in social

and cultural theories at the dawn of twentieth century along with other “isms”,

reaffirmed the European control over modernity. A definition of Modernism as

provided by Berman if understood beyond the European sphere reinforces this idea.

Berman writes that

Any attempt by modern men and women to become subjects as well as

objects of modernization, to get a grip on the modern world and make

themselves at home in it.

The dissertation is an attempt to disengage the problem of Modernism from the

industrialization and capitalism and locate its contextual origin. It provides a critique

of how Modernism, an idea that was conceptualized in the west is not only

appropriated and contextualized in the post-colonial world, but it can be traced over

the historical timeline of Indian subcontinent. The dissertation from the very start

reinforce the point of view that the industrial and capital driven western Modernism

was alien to the Indian sub-continent. Although the industrial Modernism enforced

over India during the colonial rule but it was the framework that was imported and not

the content (Chatterjee 1993; Karim 2012). of the ideas, that nurtured in the cradle of

social theory.

9 Harvey in his seminal book, “ Paris: the Capital of Modernity” writes that “the conditions of modernity are latent within the society (Harvey 2003)”. In the similar fashion, Latour challenges the divide between the modern and pre-modern (Latour 2012) and Berman says that “once this developer has destroyed the pre-modern world, he has destroyed his whole reason for being in the world. (Berman 1983)” These arguments clearly provides a possibility of alternative modernities which also come into being as a challenge to the FORMAL vision of modernity.

21

1.3.2. Methodology

The dissertation dwells on an extensive archival survey conducted across four

countries in three continents. Both in India and Pakistan, the archival materials are not

maintained correctly, thus while surveying the archives in Pakistan and Chandigarh

several documents and links were found missing. In order to overcomes these

deficiencies, the archival survey is further extended, to acquire the firsthand

knowledge of design and development of postcolonial planned capital cities

Chandigarh, India and Islamabad, Pakistan, specifically focusing on Fondation Le

Corbusier, Paris, France, Constantinos A. Doxiadis Archives, Athens, Greece and

Edward Durrell Stone Paper, University of Arkansas, U.S.A. (For the detail about the

documents and drawings accessed in the above mentioned archives see Appendix F-

L). In order to understand and analyze the social, political, cultural and built traditions

of Chandigarh brief interviews are conducted with distinguished Authors, Professors,

Researchers, and people living and working primarily associated with Chandigarh.

These discussions helped me in acquiring first-hand information about the history,

social formation, material culture, design ideas and evolution of the Chandigarh, India.

Following is the list of notable individuals who were interviewed during the

development of this dissertation.

Table 1.1. Scholars Interviewed in connection with Architecture and Urban Development of

Chandigarh and Islamabad.

No. Name Significance

1 Athanasios Hadjopoulos (Architect & Town Planner)

Head of Islamabad office, Doxiadis Associates, Intern at the office of the Le Corbusier.

2 Prof. Dr. Vikramadatya Parakash

University of Washington Son of Mr. Aditya Prakash one of the Assistant Architect to Mr. Le Corbusier for Chandigarh project. Book: 1. Chandigarh’s Le Corbusier, the struggle

of Modernity in postcolonial India.

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3 Prof Dr. Kiran Joshi Head – Chitkara Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture, Chandigarh, India. Books: 1. Documenting Chandigarh: The Indian

Architecture of Pierre Jeanneret, Edwin

Maxwell Fry, and Jane Beverly Drew,

Vol. 1.

4 Prof. Dr. Ravi Kalia The City College of New York Books: 1. Chandigarh: In search of an Identity.

2. Bhubaneswar, From a Temple Town to a

Capital City.

3. Gandhinagar, building national identity in

postcolonial India. 5 Prof Dr. Rohit Jigyasu

President of ICOMOS, India and a resident of Chandigarh.

6 Prof. Dr. J. P. Singh President of ICOMOS, India and a resident of Chandigarh.

Hick Stone (Architect) Son of Edward Durrell Stone. Books: 1. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's Untold

Story of a Legendary Architect.

1.4. Significance of Study

The studies on the postcolonial urban development try to analyse the city with

reference to the Eurocentric models. This study will outright reject the claims that

spatial modernity is a product of the West. Instead, it will present the idea that hybrid

modernity originated in the early modern period, long before the arrival of the British.

In this regard, the dissertation will theorize the origin of modernity before British by

bringing into account the books written under the Empire and lesser known books

published before the British period. The study would provide an insight into the

relationship between modernity, Nationalism, and spatial urban construction and

architectural development of principal administrative buildings, as it appeared in the

construction of post-independence capitals, Islamabad and Chandigarh. The starting

point of the dissertation is to appropriate nationalism and modernity. The dissertation

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will further proceed with analysing their reflections and implications on architectural

and urban development in both the cities. The study will provide a framework for

understanding the modernistic spatial development as an apex point of the hybrid

modern urban development that originated in Fatehpur Sikri. The recent years have

seen an immense academic interest concerning the cross roads of nationalism,

modernity and urban/architectural development. The dissertation will compare the city

of Islamabad to Chandigarh, and also highlight the fact that although these cities

evolved under starkly different political circumstances, yet the resultant urban

formation shares the same trajectory of evolution. The comparison will help in

providing a better comprehension of the hybrid modernity and its connection to the

history. The study will also conclude the operational role of hybrid modernity and how

it was contextualized and acclimatized to the local condition. Several studies10 by

authors across the globe to tackle the new nation-states and capital cities. The

modernity in this regard can be read as a bridge that can help in the collective reading

of the cities that were developed on the strikingly different discourse, to resolve the

urban and architectural problems of India and Pakistan. Another important aspect of

this dissertation is to comprehend the different issues about “representation,” “utopia”

and “dwelling” in the light of urban theory. Benedict Anderson in his seminal text

elaborates that new nation states came into existence following a schema of “imagined

communities”; these imagined communities require a space to prove their existence

(Anderson 1983). The dissertation thus briefly addresses that this “space” which was

constructed not only takes the burden of representation, nationalism, and so forth, but

also brings new nations into existence. The development of the new cities “from

scratch” can be seen in continuation to the overall process of the urbanization in the

10 These studies include Sibel Bozdogan, Esra Akcan and Kezer’s works with reference to Nation

building in Turkey (Bozdogan and Kasaba 1997; Bozdogan and Akcan 2012) & Zeynep Kezer’s (Kezer 2016); Abidin Kusno’s seminal work invetigating the relation between postcolonialism and spatial construction in indonesia (Kusno 2000); James Holston’s and Mehrten’s landmark books criticizing Brasilia, the new capital of Brasil (Holston 1989a; Peixoto-Mehrtens 2010); Anoma Pieris’ book encircling nationalism and space for Sri Lanka (Pieris 2012); Kishwer Rizvi’s envisioning text written for the Middle East (Isenstadt and Rizvi 2011); Duanfang Lo’s book for Chinese urban development and forms (Lu 2006); and Vikramaditya Prakash’s deciphering the complex relation between modernity and postcolonial India (Prakash 2002).

24

post-partition India. The urbanization also resulted in land speculation and converted

use-value of the land into exchange-value. This study can be seen as a tool for urban

analysis. It not only contributes in developing a holistic understanding of the

modernistic spatial development in the Indian Subcontinent, but also helps in

identifying and comprehending the ideologies and forces that are steering the

morphological and typological development. Reinforced by archival materials, this

study will also open up concealed issues like the relationship between national politics,

issues of representation and spatial development. The study will try to investigate the

relation between the base and superstructure bringing into the discussion the issue of

class formation and socio-political conditions and will try to understand the forces that

were generating, shaping up and giving form to these cities.

To conclude this, the dissertation firstly intends to contribute to the theories of urban

history in the South Asian context by discussing the relationship between politics and

spatial construction. Secondly, the dissertation aims to open a new horizon for

discussing planned cities in general and post-independence cities in particular by

bringing together two similar cities that are separated by political borders. The

dissertation aims to frame a new perspective on the 20th-century urbanism by

providing the comparative analysis of the two modern planned capital cities. Thirdly,

the dissertation will contribute to re-defining modernity, and will present a contextual

definition of hybrid modernity. The theory of hybrid modernity would help in

broadening of the existing understanding about architectural and urban development.

In doing so, the dissertation will analyse and reconfigure the relationship between the

religious ideologies, political ambitions and aspiration to create a new meaning of

modern city in the Indian Subcontinent. Fourthly, cities in the Subcontinent were

marginalized from the main course discussion on the architecture and urbanism of the

20th century (Taylor 1998). Although Chandigarh got extensive media coverage

during its early years, the main reason for the coverage was Corbusier and his love for

self-projection, and not the city as such. On the other hand, Doxiadis was not even

included in seminal texts like Tafuri’s, History of Architecture (Tafuri 1986). This

25

dissertation is intended to bring the historical development and evolution of these

cities into mainstream discourse. Furthermore, the development of this discourse will

help in widening the horizon for the discussion on spatial construction. Lastly, the

studies will contribute objectively towards the study of the historiography of the South

Asian cities and formulate knowledge that would be beyond the religious

subjectivities and nationalistic dilemma. Since the partition of India, religious

subjectivities were anchored in the pivotal position in the historiography, that resulted

in the construction of a fractured narrative11.

1.5. Scope of Study

The dissertation will reconfigure the modernistic spatial development by

contextualizing modernity. In order to achieve the desired objective, the dissertation

will start by substituting the word “modern” with “hybrid modern” in order to

disengage the problem of modernity from the Western/Eurocentrism theorization and

to open up a new horizon and opportunities to the discuss the modernity concerning

the Indian Subcontinent. Although Chatterjee had provided a detailed insight into

modernity (Chatterjee 1997), his discussion is limited to India, and does not address

Pakistan. The study of Islamabad and Chandigarh is an opportunity to segregate

modernity from Eurocentrism and define it in relation to an area that shares centuries

of history, transcending political borders. The dissertation will analyse the

architectural and urban spatial construction concerning modernist spatial development

in the postcolonial nations of India and Pakistan. The focus of the dissertation are the

metropolitan areas of the cities, as defined by the Capital Development Authority,

Islamabad, Pakistan, and Chandigarh Urban Development and Planning Authority,

11 Pakistan came into being following the two-nation theory, based on the fact that Muslims of the

Indian Subcontinent are a different nation than Hindus and thus require their separate homeland. Although India’s founding fathers Gandhi, Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad were all secular and believed in the secular state, however a faction of Indian society viewed the Indian Republic as an extension to Mahabharata, a term derived from Hindu religious scriptures that emphasize that India should not be divided, and partition of India was a sin that should be reverted back (Iqbal 1959; Bansal 2015).

26

Chandigarh, India. Reinforced by excessive archival materials, this study will bring

the evolution both in terms of plans and the city into the discussion. The discussion

will consider the significant historical and geographical development and would act

as a bridge to connect isolated patches of history, deconstruct manufactured narratives,

and engage contradictory geographies. However, this dissertation will specifically

focus on the three aspects of the development related to the cities

1. The historical and geographical relations between the early modern, colonial

modern and postcolonial space as it developed.

2. The politics of development of new cities, architects’ aspirations, the regime’s

intention and people’s dream.

3. The comparative study to analyse the social-spatial characteristics of space.

The dissertation will analyse the new planned cities, which were designed and

developed, in striking contrast with the earlier cities within the shared geography and

will discuss the resultant class antagonism developed in the city in relation with the

architecture of the major administrative complexes and vice versa. The study starts by

theorizing the capital cities in the Indian Subcontinent. In this regard, the dissertation

provides a brief overview of the capital cities developed in the Indian-Subcontinent.

Particular emphasis will be given to the capital cities where a considerable amount of

literature and archaeological evidence are present. These capital cities include

Fatehpur Sikri, (the first designed capital by Mughals) Shahjahan Abad, Madras (The

first imperial capital), Calcutta and New-Delhi (the last imperial capital).The study

will also take into consideration the urban design project by the British, including the

military cantonment, trade towns and capital city as stated underneath.

1.6. Literature Review

The early modern condition in Indian subcontinent, were theoretical camouflage by

misreading on India, thus in order to evaluate these conditions in India, Fernee’s and

27

Richard’s text provided a solid ground with complimentary help from Fergusson’s and

King’s writings, whose work also reinforce the presence of early nodes of Indian

modernity. The dissertation’s central framework is developed along Bhabha’s seminal

term “hybrid.”12 While describing the postcolonial modernity, the dissertation is

further reinforced by Homi Bhabha’s key concepts such as “ambivalence13 and”

beyond”14 and his conceptualization of the borders and the illusions of space, that

exists between private and public, past and present, and the psyche and society.

Fergusson’s controversial yet essential book provides the earliest traces of modernity

before the arrival of the British. The book is reinforced with hundreds of sketches of

the building and overview of Indo-Saracenic style (Fergusson 1899). To decipher the

colonial biases embedded by Fergusson in his book, the dissertation analyses it with

reference to the writings of Inigenous authors like Jairazbhoy’s, Foreign influences in

India (Jairazbhoy 1963) and Nath’s detailed description of the Mughal Architecture

(Nath 1982). The dissertation also takes into account Karim’s Ph.D. dissertation which

reiterates the fact that modernity (as a content) was imported during the British period

and later domesticated. Karim also provides insight into the colonial development in

India (Karim 2012). The dissertation’s central theme about modernity is greatly

influenced by Anthony King’s essay “Transnational Delhi Revisited: The spatial

Language of Three Modernities,” re-published in his book, Spaces of Global Cultures,

12 Recent years have seen a rise in the utility of the term “hybrid”, which is mainly used in postcolonial

discourse, gender studies etc. In terms of the spatial analysis Bhabha referred hybrid as “third space” – a space where a new position is upheld, that is not only the sum of two parts, but something more. For a detail discussion on this see “The Commitment to Theory” in (Bhabha 1994).

13 The simple presence of the colonized “Others” within the textual structure, is enough evidence of the ambivalence of the colonial text. An ambivalence that destabilizes its claim for absolute authority or unquestionable authenticity. Bhabha writes, “it is only by understanding the ambivalence and the antagonism of the desire of the Other that we can avoid the increasingly facile adoption of the notion of a homogenized other.” (Bhabha 1994).

14 Bhaba writes while describing beyond as “it is the trope of our times to location the question of culture in the realm of the beyond … prefix post: post-modernist, postcolonialism, post- feminism” and “Beyond signifies spatial distances, marks progress, promises the future, but our intimations of exceeding the barrier or boundary – the very act of going beyond -are unknowable, unpresentable, without a return to the ‘present’ which in the process of repetition, becomes disjunct and displaced”. Furthermore, he writes “it is in the sense that the boundary becomes the place from which something begins it presenting in a movement not dissimilar to the ambulant, ambivalent articulation of the beyond.” (Bhabha 1994).

28

Architecture Urbanism Identity. In this article King provides an excellent account of

three modernities in the Indian subcontinent, that are, indigenous, colonial and post-

colonial. The geographical constraint and the context of Delhi resulted in the

difference of almost seventy years between King’s description of the colonial and

post-colonial space.

1.6.1. Architecture and Urban Development

To acquire the desired objectives a comprehensive survey has been done on literature

produced by Soja, Harvey, and Lefebvre. Their analysis of the urban space provides a

framework within which this dissertation operates. In addition to the analysis of space

as an “objective” instrument, different layers of subjectivities are read in coordination

with the relevant literature produced, for example, postcolonial studies by King and

Bhaba are referred quite frequently. However, since the subject of the thesis is purely

space and architecture, the next generation of postcolonial authors, who grounded their

argument on architecture and spatial construct, is given great importance. In this

regard, books written by Sibel Bozdogan, Abidin Kusno, James Holston, and

Vikramaditya Prakash played a pivotal role towards the conceptualization of this

dissertation. Their works have provided a base to understand modernity concerning

the new nation-statehood. Written concerning the different geographical locations,

such as Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil and India, these works steer the direction of the

dissertation. Though the concentration of the study is the postcolonial literature,

however, authors from around the world are taken into consideration for this work.

Most prominent of them is Paul Rabinow (Rabinow 1995), Smith (Smith 1998) and

Tom Avermaete (Avermaete 2010). Rabinow studies the formation of the “modern”

social environment of France, through examination of the field in which power

operates, namely urban planning (Rabinow 1995).Also, Lawrence J Vale’s seminal

book (Vale 1992) criticizing the relation between politics and architecture/urban

design is taken into consideration for developing a thesis on comparison and

https://library.metu.edu.tr/search~S4?/aSmith%2C+Anthony+D./asmith+anthony+d/-3,-1,0,B/browse

29

understanding the typological development of architecture in the new cities. Vale

analyses the development of architecture by placing architecture and urban design in

the light of cultural production and political history.

Recent years have witnessed the publishing of comparative studies on the modern

capitals. These studies not only deepen one’s understandings of the evolution and

functionality of modern cities, but also help in carving a framework for this

dissertation. For the architectural and urban comparison and the issue of modernity as

operative in modernist capital cities, that are, Chandigarh Brasilia, Paris and

Casablanca, see (Gast 2000; Baan et al. 2010; Avermaete et al. 2014; Herbert and

Lenfant 2015).Conley and Makas provide a narrative about the capital city formation

and its relation to urban history, nationalization and Europeanization formed at the

end of empire (Conley and Makas 2010). Michael provides a critical study of old, new

and European capitals in his book, Capital Cities in the Aftermath of Empires:

Planning in Central and South Eastern Europe. The books provide a brief analysis of

the dialectic relationship, within the capital cities, formulated between the identity,

urban design, public building and regime (Minkenberg 2014). Heitzman’s study about

the urbanization in South Asia provides a detailed account of the urbanization

processes and production of space with strong references from the religion, art, and

architecture (Heitzman 2008).

1.6.2. Nationalism

Anderson’s seminal book, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and

Spread of Nationalism provides a framework for understanding the city as a material

object for the “imagined communities” in Indian and Pakistan, His work was carried

on, criticized and appropriated with reference to India by Partha Chatterjee in his book,

The Nation and its Fragments. The book also helped in freeing terms like

“nationalism” from the Eurocentric perspective by providing a comprehensive

explanation about “material” and “spiritual” domains of society. Furthermore,

30

Madison provides a detailed analysis of the particular Indian and Pakistan Nationalism

in his Class structure and economic growth: India and Pakistan. The book provides

an insight into a different contradictory nationalism that developed in British India.

Specific description on Indian nationalism is rooted in the book written by Gandhi

titled as, Hind Swaraj (translated in English as Indian Home Rule). This book not only

explains the necessary ingredients of the Home Rule, but also describes the ideal social

life. Though Nehru was a close associate of Gandhi, however, being a modernist his

ideas at times comes in contradiction with the traditional preaching of Gandhi (Nehru

2015). In the case of Pakistan the dissertation document the genealogical development

of nationalism through the writing of Sir Syed including his seminal book, Asbab-e-

Baghawat-e-Hind (The Reasons of Indian Mutiny) and to the philosophy for the new

nations as narrated by Dr. M. Iqbal (Iqbal 1930). The counter-narratives developed by

the conservative Islamist scholar Maulana Maududi were also included to critically

analyse the history.

1.6.3. Chandigarh and Le-Corbusier

Chandigarh is an Indian city based on the contradictions between Nehru’s modernistic

vision and Gandhi’s tradition. Although Gandhi’s vision remained marginalized in the

theoretical discourse, design, and development of the city, its importance in India’s

social sphere cannot be neglected. The only authentic commentary on the relationship

between Gandhi’s philosophy and modern Indian city is found in the diary of

Doxiadis15. Nehru’s seminal books written with reference to India, including India

Today & Tomorrow (Nehru 1961), The Discovery of India (Nehru 2015) and his letter

and speeches compiled as, Jawaharlal Nehru Speeches (Kumar 2011), provide a

complete overview about his political orientation, vision for India, architecture and

Chandigarh. Norma Evenson’s critical analysis of Chandigarh (Evenson 1966),

compiled in the form of a book few years after the construction of “City Beautiful,”

15 Doxiadis Archives Athens, India Regional Housing Centre Vol 2, page 91.

31

not only provides a framework for tracing the origin of the city, but also brings

together first-hand information about the city. Evenson's study was considered a

ground-breaking effort for understanding. Chandigarh. In due course of history, much

has been written and published about Chandigarh. It was designated as the Mecca of

contemporary architecture and urbanism (Giedion 1956), acknowledged for its

struggle for Modernity (Prakash 2002), appreciated for its role in making Indian

Identity (Kalia 1987), its development as an Indian City (Kalia 1999), re-evaluated as

a modern city (Khan, Beinart, and Correa 2010), documented along with its built

elements (Joshi 1999). The above-mentioned references provide a holistic

understanding of the politics of development, power, and representation in

Chandigarh. Furthermore, several other books that provide an illustrated account of

the city by publishing the archival photographs of the “City Beautiful” are referred.

This list includes Ernst Scheidegger unpublished monographs about Chandigarh. Due

to the visa limitation, the author of the dissertation was not able to visit Chandigarh.

However, several monographs containing the old and new pictures of Chandigarh

published in recent years were studied. These volumes provide in-depth information

about the character of Chandigarh through several old and new photographs. These

volumes include Chandigarh 1956 (Scheidegger, Moos, and Casciato 2010),

Chandigarh Redux (Feiersinger and Feiersinger 2015) and Fynn’s excellent

publication with the current pictures of the Chandigarh (Fynn 2017). Anderson’s

Ph.D. dissertation titled Expressive Structure: The Life and Work of Matthew Novicki,

provides an in-depth analysis of the buildings designed by Matthew Novicki and

specifically his work in Chandigarh. The dissertation also helps in reading his plan for

Chandigarh concerning his earlier works.

Le Corbusier and Doxiadis had also written extensively on urban design and city

planning. Their books and articles are precious not only in understanding their vision

about the cities and post-independence spatial modernity, but also clears them from

undue criticism, posted on them for being the flag bearers of European thought and

culture. In this regard, Towards a New Architecture a book written by Le Corbusier,

32

focuses on redefining the relation, beyond being a mere stylistic expression, between

users and buildings, in the new industrial age (Corbusier 2014). Further to Corbusier’s

core philosophy his seminal projects include, Contemporary city of 3 million people

(The ideal city) /1922. Plan Voisin for Paris /1925 and The Radiant city (Villa

Radieuse) /1930. are reviewed.

These books provide a detailed account of Corbusian vision of the city and help in

developing a critical understanding that how physical constraints in India had

restricted and forced Corbusier to contextualize his ideas. Furthermore, the charters

developed by CIAM (Frampton and Mumford 2002) and during the Athens

conference (Corbusier 1973) are also studied. These chapters provide information

about the primary functions of the city design as defined by CIAM, which are

dwelling, work, recreation, transportation and civic space. After the CIAM meeting in

1943 monumentality was added as a necessary function. Although Corbusier’s work

drew a lot of attention and criticism, pertaining to the scope of the dissertation Curtis,

Jacobs, Colquhoun, Frampton and Mumford’s works are reviewed. Curtis criticized

Corbusier for using alien symbolism in India (Curtis 1994). Jacobs concluded her

criticism by coining the term “Radiant Garden City Beautiful” produced by the

amalgamation of Corbusier’s radiant city and American garden cities (Jacobs 1992).

Colquhoun’s commentary on Corbusier, which appeared in his essays, criticized

Corbusier's approach as a modernist and in lieu of prevailing architectural historicism

(Colquhoun 1989; Colquhoun and Frampton 1985). Mumford’s seminal essay which

was written with reference to the Unite d’Habitation, Marseilles, criticized

Corbusier’s work as less innovative as compared to his competitors (Mumford 1981).

Although Chandigarh was the most significant urban development project undertaken

by Le Corbusier, some of his key ideas remained unimplemented due to the economic,

social and political condition of post-independence India. However, those concepts

are seminal for theorizing the origin, development, and evolution of Chandigarh.

Further to the published text, several archives around the world are accessed to gain

first-hand knowledge. The most prominent among them are Doxiadis’ archives in

33

Athens and Fondation Le Corbusier in Paris. For a complete list of archives and

interview conducted see Appendices F-K.

1.6.4. On Islamabad and Doxiadis

The discussion on Islamabad will comprise of a critique of spatial modernity and

Islamic spatial ideology. For criticism about the spatial modernity, the dissertation

asserts the following books and articles. Sten Nilsson’s monograph written about the

new capital developed for Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh provide a detailed account

on Islamabad, in addition to Chandigarh and Dhaka (Nilsson 1973). Several books,

monographs, and Ph.D. theses were written across the globe, covering the spatial and

administrative aspect of Islamabad that includes Yakas’s personnel experiences as a

project architect of Islamabad describing the political conditions at the time when

Islamabad was at the design stage, containing clients brief and its regulatory function.

The book also contains first-hand information about his coordination with Doxiadis

(Yakas 2001). Zaheer ud Din Khwaja remained the chief architect of Islamabad had

penned downs his personal experiences with architects and planners who were

involved in the designing of Islamabad. The most prominent among them are

Doxiadis, Yakas, Edward Durrell Stone, Louis Kahn, and Ponti. He also criticized the

C.D.A. management’s obsession with the formal aspect of Islamic Architecture

(Khwaja 1998). Furthermore, Islamabad’s socio-political condition and vision for the

creation of new capital by then President Ayyub Khan (Khan 1967), the role of

bureaucracy, government, and documentation in shaping up the urban life as a parallel

instrument to modernity (Hull 2012), and the analysis of the design and development

of Islamabad with the political role of the international funding agencies (Daechsel

2015) are also studied.

A couple of Ph.D. dissertations that contain a comprehensive discussion on Islamabad

include Ahmed Khan’s dissertation that highlights the politics of place-making,

evolution and norms of the historiography of Islamabad (Mahsud 2008). Furthermore,

34

Moatasim’s dissertation on the architectural anomalies and non-conforming spaces

that evolved over the period of times within different sectors of Islamabad (Moatasim

2015) and the discussion on Islamabad concerning the modern architecture and its role

in the making of the third world are also reviewed. Kreutzman explains the limitation

imposed by the interest of different stakeholders and development of squatter

settlement within the limits of the planned city which in returns challenges not only

the power relation, but the plan as well (Kreutzmann 2013). Mahsud’s article

highlights the specificity of the architect’s intuition and landscape in “making of the

plan of Islamabad” (Mahsud 2005), the importance of plan as a reflection of Dynapolis

and “transformation of modernist ideas about the city “and framework that contains

the agenda of evolution (Mahsud 2010), a critique on the entangled agendas of states,

the axial plans and hidden symbolism within the plan (Mahsud 2013). A comparison

between the intended and actual city through analysing the city 33 years after its

construction (Botka 1995), a critique on the architecture of Doxiadis and associate

with reference to “regional symbolism, Islamic iconography and technological

Modernism” (Karim 2016).

Islamic architecture and urbanism is a multi-layered, complex phenomenon which is

difficult to comprehend. Nazer Al Sayyad’s article provides an excellent overview of

the city development in Muslim communities across different geographies (Al Sayyad

1996). Hillenbrand also provides an analysis of spatial construction and society

through a detailed description of public architecture (Hillenbrand 2004). Jairazbhoy

provides an outline of Islamic Architecture. According to him, Islamic spatial

development is a subject which can be best understood within a specific geography.

In this reference, Jairazbhoy provides a wonderful example of Islamic architecture

reinforced with drawings and clarification of conceptual terminologies (Jairazbhoy

2004). Furthermore, Batuman provides a detailed account of the interaction between

political Islam and urban environment by discussing and analysing buildings

constructed in central Asia and Turkey. This study provides a framework for analysing

the spatial construction of Islamabad (Batuman 2017).Doxiadis himself has written

35

extensively on the subject. Several research papers and books written by him

encompasses his general system of ideas and how these ideas should be implemented.

According to the scope of this dissertation the seven books, as recommended by

Doxiadis (Doxiadis 1968) were reviewed to grasp his philosophy and develop a spatial

analysis of Islamabad. According to Doxiadis these books, “Provide the reader with a

general system of ideas and examples of how these ideas can be implemented in

particular cases (Doxiadis 1968).”Reinforced by the statistical data the first book

provides detail information about Ekistics: The Science of Human Settlements. The

book is divided into four sections: subject, facts, theory and action. It provides in-

depth knowledge about fundamental terms like Ekistics, Dynapolis, Megapolis and

Ecumenopolis (Doxiadis 1968). Book two provides detailed information about

Ecumenopolis, the inevitable city of the future. It provides an account for the

Doxiadian city of future and comprehensive study of settlements of the past and

present (Doxiadis 1974). This book is relevant to the subject of the dissertation, as

Islamabad was also envisioned as the city of future. The third book is a report on the

urban renewal explicitly written for the American city. In line with Mumford’s ideas,

Doxiadis provides valuable information about the scale of the city and prefer to make

a “human city” instead of “dead city” (Doxiadis 1966). The fourth book defines some

key terms like “cosmos” and “the human scale,” which remained in the mainstream

discussion during the planning of Islamabad (Doxiadis 1965). Doxiadis is generally

known as an urban planner, and the majority of his literature is written with reference

to the urban planning and design. However, the fifth book titled “Architecture in

Transition” provide Doxiadis’ comprehensive views about architecture. The book

highlights the cause of the crisis in architecture and suggests new solutions for new

problems. The sixth book clarifies the terms like “human architecture” and “urban

architecture” (Doxiadis 1985). The last book brings “dystopia” and “utopia” into the

main discussion (Doxiadis 1966).Further to the interpretation of the cities, Doxiadis

himself has written thoroughly about the city and urban development. The approach

of Doxiadis was more pragmatic as compared to Le Corbusier’s Utopia. His

philosophy revolves around the human scale and its interaction with the built urban

36

spaces, which primarily consist of five levels: Anthropos, nature, society, shells, and

networks (Doxiadis 1968).These concepts are thoroughly discussed by Doxiadis and

documented in the form of several articles and books.

37

CHAPTER 2

2. HYBRID MODERNITY & CAPITAL CITIES IN PRE COLONIAL AND

COLONIAL INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

2.1. Introduction

This chapter provides the genealogy of hybrid modernity, and subsequently, works

towards drawing a definition of modernity. The resultant definition then acts as a

baseline for comprehending the planned capital cities in the Indian Subcontinent In

contrast to the popular adjectives like postcolonial and domesticated used for

modernity, the dissertation will appropriate the term “hybrid” for modernity.

Furthermore, by providing a brief discussion about modernity, its operational frame

work and indication of condition for early modernity in Indian-Subcontinent. An

extensive inquiry is lodged for the origin of spatial modernity and its dynamics

through the analysis of the planned capital cities, that were developed from scratch.

Modern planned capital cities at different nodes of modernity would be discussed.

After providing the premises for modernity a detailed analysis of Fatehpur Sikri and

Shahjahanabad the modern planned capital developed under Mughals, and Madras,

Calcutta and New-Delhi, the modern planned capital developed by the British are

thoroughly and critically analysed with reference to the architecture and urban

development. This discussion will also postulate a comprehensive study of the origins

of spatial modernity in the Indian Subcontinent. The study will shift the direction of

the discourse from the eurocentrism to Indian and Pakistani context, as deemed

necessary to evaluate the postcolonial planned cities critically, which in result will

help in developing a comprehensive debate about the postcolonial modern space as it

evolved in the Indian Subcontinent, negating the widespread belief that it was

imported during the British times. Several dates are quoted to depict the origin of

modernity in the west corresponding to significant events that had a substantial impact

38

on the modernization of Europe. Habermas points out the three critical events, “The

discovery of the “new world,” the Renaissance, and the Reformation ----- these three

monumental events around the year 1500 constituted the epochal threshold between

modern times and the middle ages (Habermas 1990).” Habermas’ epistemological

framework constitutes around the period what we generally refer to as early modern

period. Further to Habermas’s classification, Toulmin provides a more detailed outline

of the events that span over a longer period of time. He writes

Some people date the origin of modernity to the year 1436, with

Gutenberg’s adoption of moveable type; some to A.D. 1520, and Luther’s

rebellion against Church authority; others to 1648, and the end of the

thirty years War; others to the American or French revolution of 1776 or

1789; while modern times start for a few only in 1895, with Freud’s

Interpretations of Dreams and the rise of “Modernism” in the fine arts and

literature (Toulmin 1992, 5).

These events also negate the “great divide” between the ancient and modern world

and support the thesis that modernity gradually assimilated in Europe over a period

spanning more than 400 years. The discovery of the “new world” had a significant

impact on the European economic growth as it ensured the inflow of the silver, gold

and other resources stolen from the colonies. These events had constituted in bringing

Europe to the modernity. Western Intelligentsia has made several efforts in cultural

and political realms to define the modernity. Though still, it is hard to present a precise

definition of modernity, the modern can best be understood as not-ancient. “Hegel

used the concept of modernity first of all in historical context, as an epochal concept:

the “new age” is the “modern age.” (Habermas 1990).”

Furthermore, it is also designated as a rupture from the past. The adjective ‘modern’

identifies a new regime, an acceleration, a rupture, a revolution in time (Latour

2012).The rupture as we assume today is theoretically fabricated and does not

correspond to the material conditions. This “rupture” was created by the concealment

39

and thus naive. Dissertation reinforces the idea of “great divide 16” floated by Latour

rejects the presence of a firm division between the tradition and modernity even within

Europe and advocates the constant and connected evolution of modernity (See fig 2.1).

Figure 2.1. Genealogy of Spatial Modernity

(Source: Author).

The dissertation agrees to the presence of different forms of modernity along the

historical timeline but argues that it is present in the form of interconnected nodes,

rather than secluded ages (See Fig 2.2.). These nodes are present throughout the course

of history. Although at a certain level these nodes can be well defined, yet they remain

connected to their predecessors and pave the way for future development. The process

of modernization is a constant process that remained operative throughout the history

of human civilization. All the social formations across the globe undergo the process

of modernization, at their relative pace, by continually assimilating the ideas from

superior civilizations. After a stretch of evolution, the successive modernistic

16 Latour (2012) in his seminal book, claims that we have never been modern states that we have

deceived ourselves into thinking that we are modern and have used this false consciousness to mold our philosophies, exploits, and historiography. We have propagated a great divide between nature and culture that is actually an outgrowth from another chasm separating human from non-human. Latour sees these divides as illusory and moreover misleading and mistaken.

40

development can be distinctively identified. These distinctively identifiable points can

be referred as “nodes of modernity”. These nodes of modernity that appear after the

society attains a certain level of maturity, cannot be homogenously relatable to a single

source but can be linked by connecting different patches to different time periods and

geographical locations. However, this schema is not enough to understand how

modernity was operational, evolved and executed.

Figure 2.2. Schema of different Nodes of Modernity (Source: Author).

In the West, modernity is mostly understood with reference to the works of Karl Marx,

Max Weber, Emile Durkheim and George Simmel who had developed a detailed

study on the relation between modernity and rationality (Weber 1991; Lash and

Whimster 2008), differentiation (Durkheim and Halls 1997), economy (Simmel and

Frisby 1990) and spatial commodification respectively. Kant from the critical analysis

of the “reason” elaborated the fundamental of modernity. He explained two conditions

for apprehending the reasons namely “a priori” (independent of all experience) and

“posteriori” (gained from experience). However, in each of these condition the

knowledge produced is “fabricated” and not absolute (Kant 1999). Nietzsche and

several other post-structural critics had also challenged the “absoluteness” of

modernity and reinforced the fact that modernity is infected historical concealment

(Nietzsche 2003; Latour 2012). Jurgen Habermas, renowned social theorist, describes

“Project of Modernity” as a project which was fabricated by the Enlightenment

Philosophers. He has laid an extensive criticism on the incomplete project of

modernity and its “false program of the negation of culture.” He also criticized the

41

Marxist theorist for not addressing the pivotal questions while romanticizing the

agendas of social movements and “negating philosophy.” For Habermas, the

modernity which is based on reason and democracy is an unfinished project. The final

product of the modernity as narrated by him as, “A fully rational society is that in

which both system and life-world rationality were allowed to express themselves fully

without one destroying the other (Habermas 1997).”Walter Benjamin defines

modernity as “world dominated by its phantasmagorias.”17 Michel Foucault had

observed that a modern “society” in the strict sense must be seen as nothing more than

the effect of the technology in its widest arc, a rubric produced by biopolitical

constructs such the census, hygiene, security apparatuses and so on (Foucault et al.

2009). Harvey defines modernity as “creative destruction. Further to this definition,

Benjamin Schwartz, a historian who describes modernization by referring to Max

Weber as, “The ability of man to gain rational control over his physical and social

environment (Tipps 1973).” Paul Rabinow (Rabinow 1995), who remained the

mastermind behind theorizing the elusive relation between the modernity and spatial

development defines it by bringing the man to the centre of the definition which is

entirely in line with the philosophical ideas of Plato. He writes about man as, “the

measure of all things, of the existence of the things that are and the non-existence of

the things that are not (“Plato, Theaetetus, Section 152” n.d.).” Rabinow further

defines that as the central character of a man is to possess the capacity to invent,

interpret and implement. This definition does not present modernity as the internment

of opposition to the tradition but thrashes the authority of individual traditional

institutes like religion and other modes of production explicitly. According to Tipps,

Modernization, then, becomes a transition, or rather a series of transitions

from primitive, subsistence economies to technology-intensive,

17 “Phantasmagorias” as it is used and interpreted in literature is a complex and plural term and it is

difficult to reduce it to a singular concept. However, the term, originally derived from a show, popular in the nineteenth century that used optical illusion to produce shadows or “Fantomes”, was appropriated by Marx to designate the illusory, reified nature of personnel relationships under capitalism (Rigney and Fokkema 1993, 120).

42

industrialized economies; from subject to participant political cultures;

from closed, ascriptive status systems to open, achievement-oriented

systems; from extended to nuclear kinship units; from religious to secular

ideologies; and so on (Tipps 1973).

Thus conceived, modernization is not merely a process of change, but one, which can

be defined regarding with respect to the desired objectives. This criticism of Western

modernity, on the one hand, challenges its universal position and on the other, open

up the possibility to locate the substantial “truths” away from the Western

universalism. “Reason” not only plays a critical role in the fabrication of modernity,

but it can also act as a tool to view the possibility into the “other’s” modernity.

Logically speaking if the rational societies are regarded as modern in the west than the

Indian society under the reign of Akbar, the great Mughal emperor, where aql or

Reason supersedes to naql, or imitation, and utilized for creating a new world would

stand in par with the west. Interestingly both Akbar and European Modernity had its

origin in the Arabian Peninsula (Ali and Ali 1980). Western modernity was an

extension of reformation that transpired in Arabian Peninsula in tenth and eleventh

century, and the legacy of Mongols who contributed extensively towards the

formation of the new Western world. The modernistic notions borrowed from the

Arabs and Mongols had provided the basis for the early modern period in Europe. Al

Jabri on his account about the development of Arab modernity claims the credits and

highlights the contributions of Arabs for the early European modernity. He writes

When the philosophy of Ibn Rushd was transferred into it (Europe) and

created a revolutionary current of thought that turned the wheel of

evolution in a manner enabling science, afterward to play a historical role

in the modern European Renaissance (Al Jabri 2011, 428).

Unlike the European supremacist (especially the way they were operative in the Indian

Subcontinent), who concealed the non-Western elements from progress and labelling

it as a brainchild of the west, Al Jabri also acknowledges the Greek-Christian

43

traditions for the condition about the early European modernity by claiming that, “the

European Renaissance, which possesses two types of ‘heritage’: the Greek-Christian

heritage on the one hand, and the philosophical and scientific Arab heritage on the

other (Al Jabri 2011, 434).”This ideation, thus, brings the origin of Western European

modernity on crossroads where the Arab and European tradition and reinforcing

towards the upbringing of enlightenment. Weatherford provides a similar anecdote

where he pin-points the relationship between the Mongols and the early European

modernity by providing an interesting account of “three inventions”, as re-counted by

Francis Bacon, which were influential in forming the early European modernity. These

three inventions along with paper were introduced into Europe by the Mongols.

Weatherford writes that

As early as 1620, the English scientist Francis Bacon recognized the

impact that changing technology had produced in Europe. He designated

printing, gunpowder, and the compass as three technological innovation

on which the modern world was built…Under the widespread influences

from the paper and printing, gunpowder and firearms, and the spread of

navigational compass and other maritime equipment, Europeans

experienced a renaissance, literally a rebirth, but it was not the ancient

world of Greece and Rome being reborn: it was the Mongol Empire,

picked up, transferred, and adapted by the Europeans to their own need

and culture (Weatherford 2005).

The lack of the clarity whether printing was imported in Europe or originated in

Europe still prevails as neither Francis Bacon nor any other historian had provided any

authentic information about this issue, but the Paper, Gunpowder, and Compass were

authentic Mongol and Chinese exports. In addition to the tangible influences, the non-

tangible conditions produced by the transformation due to the global socio-political

changes. The key examples in this regard is the conquest of Constantinople (c.1453)

by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, which forced the Europeans to the find the new world as

their sole connection to India. When Columbus reached America in 1492, he was

44

intended on a mission to find a sea route to India; undoubtedly, he called the native

Americans as “red-Indians.” It is important to note that, in the early age of modernity,

these foreign influences were not imposed on the mainland Europe, but Europe learned

these trades to remain in par with the established powers of their times. Almost a

similar agenda was followed by the postcolonial rulers of India and Pakistan while

inviting the great architects of the west to design the capitals cities in their respective

countries. (Chapter three and four will further elaborate on this idea). The dissertation

also reinforces the argument that the modernity throughout history is formulated

through contextualization of foreign impressions using the local resources. In fact, the

“alien” influence spell a new soul into civilization and restrain it from becoming

stagnant. This argument is also reinforced by Indian Prime Minister Nehru and

Jairazbhoy. Nehru had stated that, “A society which ceases to change, ceases to go

ahead, necessarily becomes weak and it is an extraordinary thing how that weakness

comes out in all forms of creative activity (Prakash 2002a, 9)18.” Similarly,

Jairazbhoy also provides in detail the explanation regarding the importance of the

foreign influences as

Conservatism is a root characteristic of ancient cultures. Once the

techniques of civilization have been learned or fashioned for the first time,

once an idiom had been formed by the native craftsman from the limited

horizons within his purview, there follows a period of entrenchment and

assimilation. If after this there should be no further impetus from outside,

no further contact with a world of different values, then there is a process

of hardening in which innovation gives way to repetition and elaboration

is preferred to the invention (Jairazbhoy 1963).

The very reason for bringing the foreign influences that were seminal to the formation

of European modernity, into the discussion, is to comprehend the hybrid nature of

18 On another instance while addressing a gathering in Madras Mr. Nehru Said, “The moment you

individual or as a nation, think that you are doomed. You stop growing. That was what happened to India, China and the whole of Asia and we suffered from it (Nehru 1953).”

45

modernity. The plurality indebted within the structure of modernity provides a clear

direction that emphasizes the importance of foreign influences. The brief explanation

thus paved a path towards the objective discussion about modernity in the Indian

Subcontinent. As the importance of the amalgamation of exogenous and endogenous

forces was negated to establish the British supremacy, in the canonical texts written

on the “British Indian modernity” and was highly criticized and misread concerning

the “postcolonial Indian (India and Pakistani) modernity.” From the above discussion,

we can thus conclude that modernity, despite being a universal phenomenon weaved

through impressions borrowed from the different geographies, was aided through the

theoretical concealments and historical biases that acted as a catalyst for the

abandonment of the non-European traditions in Western modernity. A

2.1.1. Eurocentric Theoretical Camouflage and Misreading of India

Marx, like his teacher Hegel, is one of the prominent philosophers of Western

modernity. His historical perspective becomes vital in the course of this dissertation

as he was the first sociologist who had written about the destruction of traditional

societies that, in return, had provided a condition for the rise of modernity (Antonio

2003). This point of view is entirely in line with the Hegel’s earlier conception where

he narrated that certain social formations are binding, destroying and constructing the

society (Browning 2011). Marx from his study of historical materialism and

indigenous societies has indicated that the modernity is an outcome of the change of

mode of production particularly emphasizing the capitalist mode of productions.

Further to the critique of the mode of production he also emphasized the idea that the

modernity was growing out from historical development and class conflicts and

reflected itself on the horizon of the world. According to the study on the “Marx and

modernity” Feng and Xing narrated that, “the logic of capital, the historical viewpoint,

the theory of contradiction and a global perspective are fundamental in Marx's analysis

of the problems of modernity (Feng and Xing 2006).” Marx’s theory of modernity

remained pivotal in theorizing it in the west. Quite unlikely, when it comes to the

Indian Subcontinent, Marx also misread the Indian social conditions. He grounded his

46

analysis on the biasedly and miswritten information provided by the Hegel and other

Europeans. Following Hegel’s hateful comment that Africa has no history at all, Marx

floated the same idea about India. He had written that, “Indian society has no history

at all, at least no known history (Marx 1853).” Unlike Hegel, Marx displayed his

knowledge about the different religion and practices that helped in envisioning India,

however, he failed to recognize the early changes in Indian society. He referred to

History before the Britons as, “all the civil wars, invasions, revolutions, conquests,

famines, strangely complex, rapid, and destructive as the successive action in

Hindostan may appear, did not go deeper than its surface (Marx 1853).” For Marx, the

traditional Hindu culture remained the main force behind the social formation in India

as it was for the Britons.

England has broken down the entire framework of Indian society, without

any symptoms of reconstitution yet appearing. This loss of his old world,

with no gain of a new one, imparts a particular kind of melancholy to the

present misery of the Hindoo, and separates Hindostan, ruled by Britain,

from all its ancient traditions, and from the whole of its history (Marx

1853).

This viewpoint not only discards the early condition of modernity in India, but also

provides a foundation to the modern European discourse and canonical literature

which strengthen the fact, that how harsh it may be for the Indian, the modernity came

to India with the British. Quite surprisingly, a philosopher like Marx failed to

acknowledge the fruits of the encounter of Islam and Hinduism on the Indian land.

Similarly, he also failed to comprehend the transformation in the Indian society due

to an early Industrialization resulting in the formation of Industrial towns and urban

centres. These urban centres along with the Mansabdari system, the tax reforms, had

significantly affected the mythical self-sufficient Indian communes. In fact, Mughal

tax reforms were deteriorated by the British for their political gains when they started

giving ownership of the land which could be transferred through inheritance to their

local governors, unlike Mughals whose governors were only allowed to collect the

47

taxes from the assigned land with no ownership of the land. The economy was shifted

from the barter system to money due to the influx of gold bullions and silver from

Europe in exchange for spices and cotton. This inflow of the precious material was a

result that India, not so heavily mechanized, was labelled as an “industrial society,”

sharing 25 percent of the world’s Industrial production in 1750 A.D. (McClellan and

Dorn 2006). The abundance of gold is described by Marx as

Whose love of finery is so great that even the lowest class, those who go

about nearly naked, have commonly a pair of golden earrings and a gold

ornament of some kind hung round their necks. Rings on the fingers and

toes have also been common. Women, as well as children, frequently wore

massive bracelets and anklets of gold or silver, and statuettes of divinities

in gold and silver were met within the households (Marx 1853).

Marx made another generalization by bringing the deserts of Sahara, Arabia and

Africa in comparison to the fertile soil of India. He criticizes that due to lack of a

proper irrigation system before British, the land was turning into “barren and desert”

plains. Accordingly, he portrayed the reason for the desertification as the lack of an

artificial irrigation system due to the negligence of government, as he has written that

in India “civilization was too low and the territorial extent too vast (Marx 1853).”

Mughals were known to create the landmark Building include the Taj Mahal, Shalimar

Gardens and numerous tombs and tomb garden across India. These buildings were

constructed from the surplus they collected in the form of tax on agriculture. The

steady construction of these buildings depicts that there was a continuous production

of agriculture which, of course, was not possible without the artificial irrigation.

Secondly, the source of revenue for the Mughals was the export of cotton; an

agriculture yield. Thus Mughal governments from the very start provided extensive

funding for building the irrigation system (Schmidt 1995). The Mughal dynasty ruled

over India for almost 300 years among which the first 200 years have seen a

tremendous growth in the Empire which also indicates a stable economy mainly

comprising of agricultural incomes. Mughals had also developed the control over

48

artificial irrigation and integrated water supply in their garden and buildings. Their

water technology was more advanced as they developed planned canals and banked

the rivers as compared to the traditional Sultans of Bengal who were limited to making

water storage ponds (Kamal 2006). Several authors have provided extensive details

about the Mughal irrigation system as

Muslim rule brought improved irrigation and hydraulic technology to

North Indian agriculture, including the use of artificial lakes. The great

Moghul emperor Akbar (1556–1605) established a special government

canal department, and at the height of the Moghul empire, fully one-third

of the water used for irrigation flowed in manmade canals (McClellan and

Dorn 2006, 149).

Furthermore, a similar anecdote is provided by Kausar et. al. as, “Lahore once the

capital of Mughal Empires was known as the city of Garden and the famous terraced

Shalamar Garden developed on the flat land reflects the irrigation skill of the Mughal’s

Craftsman (Kausar, Brand, and Wescoat 1990).” The concealment of the early nodes

of Indian modernity get worsened with the time of the arrival of the British. The biases

and generalization by the British Historian had not only concealed the advancement

made by Mughal, but also tried to hold Europe for all the advancement. For example

in his seminal book Fergusson regards the architecture of Ghaznavid Period as a

“stepping stone” through which the architecture of the West was introduced into India

(Fergusson 1899, 491). Fergusson’s was not alone. In a letter, written to the Times

magazine, Baker claims that

The high domed portal arch, so prominent in Mughal architecture, had it

“prototype” in the Roman baths, while the “pride of Indian architecture,”

the dome, could be “traced through Constantinople and the Byzantine

Empire” and had, in any case, “its highest manifestation in St. Paul’s.” He

later speculated that even pierced-stone jaali screen might have been

derived from the chancel screen and pierced masonry window of Rome.

49

(Metcalf 2002).

The story was not limited to the basic elements of architecture; several absurd claims

are being made to glorify Italian architect Veroneo as the man who designed the Taj

Mahal (Carroll and Division 1973, 57). Modernity, as envisioned in the west, was not

only fabricated by the philosophers, but it was fabricated to establish the European

supremacy over the rest of the world. Continuing this tradition, the British

historiographers had later exploited the “stem power” to it fullest to establish the

supremacy of Raj in India. An overview of the discourse of modernity in Europe not

only makes one aware of the problematic in the discourse, but also makes it evident

that it was the values of “reason,”” truth” and “freedom” that was lying at the very

foundation of Western modernity. The rationalization following the celebration of

reason also provides us with a clue for excavating the Indian modernity before the

arrival of the British. To summarise the significant theoretical deficiencies in the

works of Hegel and Marx, the subsequent lines will provide in-depth information

about the early modern condition in the Indian Subcontinent. It was because of this

misinterpretation in the British historiography and the theoretical concealments that

even the common Indian in the postcolonial era tend to believe everything before the

British era was not modern. Prakash surfaces the antagonism between Indian and

modern prevails in India. Although his focus resides only in India, the same logic

implies for the entire Subcontinent. He writes

In postcolonial India, “Indian” and “modern” are considered to be

opposites and exclusive of each other... modernity is not, of course, the

exclusive preserve of the West, but it is a legacy of the colonial

distribution of the Western epistemic universe that only things that are

precolonial are considered “Indian.” This is not only forestalled India’s

autonomous advent into modernity, but also made anything that was

modern in India into something that was Western (Prakash 2002).

Further to the misinterpretation, concealment and the colonial biases, it was the

50

“commodification” of modernity under the capitalist mode of production that drew a

rigid identifiable line between modern and not modern. Humans were subjected under

a constant evolution from the very start, as King writes that “ no one living in stone

age ever thought he was living in the stone age”(King 2004, 65), it was the rise of

Western capitalism that marginalized India as an exotic place that was disconnected

from world history, which in result acted as a catalyst to establish the European

supremacy. India was also marginalized from some of the canonical text written on

the historical connection and early modern period (Subrahmanyam 1997). Later, the

modernization theory and Americanization of the urban space and architecture had

also reinforced the earlier ambiguities.

2.2. Early Nodes of Modernity in India

One major question that becomes the centre of argument in this case, is whether

modernity prevailed in India before the arrival of the British. In the light of the

discussion above, it can be concluded that the conceptualization of modernity varies

between the countries and geographies (for example, for some, it was the emergence

of Taimur in central Asia for others it was the discovery of sea routes) and a unified

image of modernity is non-comprehendible. Subrahmanyam also criticizes the

homogenous image of modernity and suggest a way forward to decipher the notion of

modernity. He writes

To delink the notion of 'modernity' from a particular European trajectory

(Greece, classical Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and thus

'modernity'...), and to argue that it represents a more-or-less global shift,

with many different sources and roots, and-inevitably-many different

forms and meanings depending on which society we look at from

(Subrahmanyam 1997).

We can search for the “early nodes of Indian modernity,” which can be used as a

critical tool owing to latest research in the academic circles (Chatterjee 1997; Richards

1997; Subrahmanyam 1997, 2001; Hosagrahar 2005; Fernée 2014; Ganeri 2014). In

51

this regard, Chatterjee’s narration is seminal, as he emphasizes on, “applying the

methods of reasons” to identify or invent the specific technologies of modernity that

are appropriated for our purposes that can lead towards “our modernity.” The “nodes”

of our modernity are the apex point of that particular modernity. This section will

analyse the period of the Mughal Emperor Akbar where a transition, towards the

supremacy of the reason, that provides the first visible clue for emergences of

recognizable nodes of modernity. The society under Akbar was shifting from the

traditional values towards rationality and socio-political reforms, that was also the

baseline attributes for the early European modernity. These early modern spatial

developments are crucially linked with the postcolonial modern capital cities as they

had, not only inspired Le Corbusier and Doxiadis (The designers of the postcolonial

capital cities of Chandigarh and Islamabad), but also provide the earliest traces of

spatial modernity in the Indian Subcontinent. Pertaining to the subject of the

dissertation two capital cities developed by Mughals namely, Shahjahanabad and

Fatehpur Sikri are analysed to highlight the salient modernistic feature. These cities

were built with the help of best possible technology, planning concepts “of their time”

and the best possible materials19. Further to this discussion, the following early

modern planned cities in the Indian Subcontinent helps in deciphering the social

formation by comprehending the complex relationship between the Indian society and

spatial construction. It will also bring the planning concepts into the discussion that

later influenced the planning and design of the postcolonial modern city planning. This

exercise will, in return, free the postcolonial modern capital cities from the harsh

criticism of being a sole product of West and acknowledges the fact that the foreign

influences are a mandatory condition for upbringing the modernity as it restricts the

civilization for becoming frozen in time. The contextualization of the borrowed

foreign impression in the presence of the local resources, result in upbringing

modernity. The first part of this chapter will provide an overview of the socio-political

conditions under which the early modern conditions were traced before the arrival of

19 Mughal have also utilized Lahore and Agra as their capital cities, but according to Vale’s definition they fall under the category of evolved capitals hence not discussed in detail.

52

colonizers in the Indian Subcontinent, as the origin of modernity. The first clue in this

regard was provided by the first Indian Prime Minister Nehru while speaking at the

seminar on architecture in 1957. He said

In fact, without being very accurate or precise, architecturally considered,

for the last few hundred years, India was static and the great buildings

which we admire really date back to a considerable time. Even before the

British came, we had become static. In fact, the British came because we

are static (Prakash 2002, 9).

Hence, why India became static is the seminal question. After the death of the

Aurangzeb Alamgir in 1707, India underwent a considerable period of turmoil which

includes the civil uprising by the local Ameers and foreign invasion by Portuguese,

French and the British. It was this period of unrest that stripped India of its glory and

acted as a catalyst to conceal the past. Later, the British historiography project in the

Indian Subcontinent, that focused on the glorification of the British and the rejection

on Indian tradition, acted as pivotal for the concealment.

2.2.1. Akbar’s Sulh-i-Kul and Modernity in Indian Subcontinent

India is a land of multiple religions and ethnicities. Three of the world’s largest

religions Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism were born and evolved from this land,

and the Indian Subcontinent (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) hosts 30 percent of the

world Muslim population. The emergence of these new religious movements depicts

a constant dialogue within the society and its receptivity towards the new ideas.

Diversity is inherited in Indian-Subcontinent. It is a land comprising of multiple

religions ethnicities and languages20. For most of the period in the known history, this

land was divided among numerous small kingdoms and states that kept on fighting

with each other. In due course of time, several emperors tried to unite the Indian

20 Total languages spoken in Indian Subcontinent exceeds 550. Which include 448 languages spoked in

present day India (“India” 2018), and 74 languages spoken in Pakistan 74 (“Pakistan” 2018) and 42 languages spoken in Bangladesh (“Bangladesh” 2018).

53

Subcontinent by establishing political control over the region. The first significant

effort in this regard was made under Chandragupta Maurya, the ruler of the Mauryan

empire, around 250 B.C.E. (See Figure 2.3).

Figure 2.3. Indian Subcontinent under Mauryan, Ghaznavid & Mughal Empires. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN41DJLQmPk&feature=share).

. Last visited on June 2018.

Later, Ghaznavids, an Afghan tribe, established the Sultanate-e-Delhi (Empire of

Delhi) in 1000 A.D. The Sultans, that is the Kings – as the rulers of the Sultanate

called themselves, eventually established their control over the entire Indian

Subcontinent. They ruled India for almost three hundred years and the empire reached

its climax under the Tughlaq dynasty (See Fig 2.4).

Figure 2.4. Evolution of Sultanate Period Dynasties. (Source: http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/India/xdelhisult.html). Last visited on June 2018.

However, their rule was short lived due to shifting of power amongst different tribes

and hence, did not have a great influence on coming generations. Finally, it was the

reign of the great Mughals spanning over almost 350 years. Established under Babur

in 1525 A.D., the empire reached its zenith from the emperors Akbar (reigned from

54

1556 to 1607) to Aurangzeb (reigned from 1658 to 1707), who not only united India,

but made several social and political reforms which the dissertation will claim as the

“new age” or emergence of the “early nodes of Indian modernity.” (For a map of India

during the peak of Mughal Empire, see figure 2.3, to understand the evolution of

Mughal Empire see fig. 2.5.). Akbar inherited the throne of India from his father

Humayun (reign 1530 to 1540, 1555-1556), who successfully revived the Mughal

dynasty in India in 1555 after remaining in exile for eleven years because of the attack

of the Afghan King Sher Shah Suri.

Figure 2.5. Evolution of the Mughal Empire from 1565 to 1772. (Source: http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/India/xmughalempire.html). Last visited on June 2018.

Hence, Mughals are the ruler who consolidated India almost 1700 years after Maurya.

During these 1700 years, the segregation in India was reinforced with the introduction

of a new religion, new caste system and new ethnicities. According to Richards, the

formation of the large and stable state in Indian Subcontinent depicts India’s transition

into the early modern era as it is one of the integral features of the early modern age

in Europe and the rest of the world (Richards 1997). According to Dale’s explanation

about the early modern Western states, Mughal Empire can be designated to be at the

apex point of the early modern period. He writes, that “It was the final moment in the

transition phase from the steppe empires of the preceding centuries to the more highly

structured and, to varying degrees, increasingly bureaucratic states of the early modern

period (Dale 2004).”It is important to note that the Akbar’s reign (1556-1607) parallels

with Suleman the Magnificent (1520-1566) of Ottoman and origins of Tsars of Russia

(1547-1598), which reflects that the emergences of early modernity was a global

phenomenon which was fully functional outside the mainland Europe. The large and

stable government, under a vigilant administration, guaranteed the economic boost. It

55

was the blessing of this stable economy that India was a “major centre in the early

modern world economy” (Parthasarathi 2011). This was also the time in India when

the new administrative system Mansabdari had spearheaded the tradition Jajmani

system. In addition to the unification of India, Emperor Akbar also initiated the

implementation of his philosophy “Sulh-i-kul” (Literally mean peace for all) where he

preferred Aql (reason) over Naql (intimation). In his seminal book on the subject,

Fernee matches the Akbar’s reform to the European Enlightenment. He writes

In the 16th-century Mughal state under emperor Akbar (reigned 1556-

1605) — conterminous with Philip II’s (reigned (1556-1598) Inquisitional

campaign of catholic purification in Spain — we find a political

experiment defined by ideological percepts significantly comparable to

the spirit of later European Enlightenment yet it was derived from local

cultures resources in response to new global conditions of early

modernity… it also showed surprising intellectual innovations suggesting

the emergence of a secular rationalist worldview (Fernée 2014).

Comparing an indigenous Indian philosophy to the enlightenment seems like an

overstatement especially when the blockade created by the discourse of the colonizer

and children of enlightenment was fully operational. However, Fernee’s text examines

this embargo through a detailed analysis of the philosophy of Sulh-i Kul and its

implication on the Indian society, particularly in terms of social and religious reforms

that made Akbar a rebellion to the tradition.21

2.2.2. Emergence of Mercantile Capitalism and Flexible Industry

During the times of Akbar, India’s share of global manufacturing was estimated to be

around 25 percent. Goods manufactured in India were famous across the world and

hence they resulted in the flow of silver and gold bullion from around the globe into

21 This section is intended to provide an overview about the Akbar reformist period to Establish that it had all the ingredients of Early modernity as defined in Europe and elsewhere (Mubarak 1873; Chandra 1992; Fernée 2014; Lane-Poole 2018).

56

India. The renowned silk route passed through India and was the sole connection of

China and India with Europe. It was after the fall of Constantinople and closure of silk

route by Ottomans, that Europe felt the urge to find alternate routes to reach India.

Table 2.1. Reforms in the Indian Society under Akbar

No Reform Description

1 Administrative

Reforms Transformation towards the “Mansabdari system” from the traditional “Jajmani system22.”

2 Religious Reforms Akbar’s New Religion, “Din-e-Elahi.” The emergence of the religious reform movement as “Bakht23” in Hinduism and “Sufis” in Islam

3 Social Reforms under

Akbar A major wave of humanitarian measure came after 1579 in the second phase of Akbar’s reign following the onset of Sulh-i-Kul with the abolition of slavery (1582), forced labour (1597), the decree concerning monogamy (1587), forbidding of child marriage (1595) and the outlawing of sati or widow immolation as a duty of wife (1583). (27) (Fernée 2014).

That is why when Columbus reached the shore of America, he labelled the indigenous

Americans as red Indians as he thought that he had arrived in India. The urge of the

new routes had resulted in the new voyages that later developed the European

supremacy and control over the seas. For India, on the one hand, the European

22 Derived from the orthodox Hindoo mythologies, the followers were divided into four major social groups, that are, Brahmins (The religious leaders), Khistaryas (The Warriors), Veshnu (The Peasants) and the Shudras (The Untouchables or lower castes). These castes were organized under the Jajmani system within a self-sufficient commune.

23 The Bhakti reform movement in Hinduism originated in India in 6th and 7th century B.C., but after the arrival of Islam it gained a momentum to cope up with the teachings of Islam such as believe in one God, equality to all humans and inherited liberty. For a detail discussion on the Bhakti

movement and its teachings. Bhakti movement started as a resistance to the status quo of Hinduism for a detailed information about Bhakti movement, its relation with Islam and its social context see (Pande 1987; Pande 1985) and for relation between Bhakti and Sufi movements see (Singh 2014).

57

superiority had restricted the sea movement of Mughal ships, and on the other hand,

facilitated the transportation of the goods produced, by early manufacturing industry

in India, to the rest of the world. The early manufacturing could not be equated to

European Industrialization in the later modern stage, but it can be comprehended using

Seth’s following explanation, that is, “the root of the word manufacture is two Latin

words, manu and facers. Here ‘manu’ means hand and ‘facers’ means ‘to make.’ This

signifies that manufacturing in the earlier times was associated with the handicrafts

(Seth 2017).”In traditional Indian society, which is discussed at full length in the

following section, artisans and craftsmen did not choose the profession by choice,

however, it was a result of the rigid caste system that was an integral part of the

traditional agrarian economy. The social organization of the villages, under the

Jajmani system, did not allow the mediated market economy. Consequently, with the

emergence of the towns in India under the Mughals, considerable freedom was

imparted to the craftsmen. These people then settled in small towns thus providing a

basis for the emergence of mercantile capitalism in India. The major administrative,

religious and social reforms that transformed the Indian society from a traditional to

modern are summarized in the table 2.1.

2.3. From Modernity to Hybrid Modernity

From seventeenth century until the present times the term “modern” has provided a

framework to understand the “evolutionary present” in Indian Subcontinent (Hvattum

and Hermansen 2004). The contextual understanding of modernity can lead us towards

formulating a new paradigm of architectural and urban development in the modern

South Asian capitals. Partha Chatterjee provides an interesting anecdote about the

perception of “modern” and “new” in Bengal. He writes

The word adhunik, in the sense in which we now use it in Bengali to mean

‘modern,’ was not in use in the nineteenth century. The word then used

was nabya (new): the ‘new’ was that which was inextricably linked to

Western education and thought the other word that was much in use was

58

unnati, an equivalent of the nineteenth-century European concept of

‘improvement’ or ‘progress’(Chatterjee 1997).

The first effort to literary translate the word modern was made by a British named

Platts, while he was formulating an “Urdu, Classical Hindi and English Dictionary”

that was published in 1884. This effort is significant because a British was trying to

appropriate the word modern, borrowed from their English experience into the Indian

Subcontinent. According to him the word “Apracin (अूा चीन)” is the Sanskrit synonym

for the word “modern” or “recent”. “Apracin” is also used to refer to “ victory” and

“invincibleness”(Platts 1884). The word “Apracin” is also used to refer “non-Eastern”,

“Western”, “not old”, and “recent” as noted in the spoken Sanskrit dictionary (Sanskrit

2018). The above efforts are successful in appropriating the “modern “as used by the

Western intelligentsia, in Indian Subcontinent. However, in the century to come, some

of the synonyms of the modern like “non-Eastern” were read in reference to the

Imperialism and anti-modern is elevated as a slogan of revolution in the lingua franca.

This plurality in the understanding of modern as “progression” or “non-Eastern” not

only created new class divisions (for example the defender and negators), but also

affect the character of the space and will act as the guide for the architectural

development. In the Western model, modernity is understood as a rejection of the past

by creating a rupture or starting something from scratch, but this model is not enough

for comprehending the modernity in India. India’s modernity as it evolved doesn’t

intend to reject the past, but it was progressing giving respect to it. Thus it yields a

new model for comprehending the modernity (Ganeri 2014). This model is also in-

line with the Islamic communities, which utilized the term “political Islam” often used

to mark the delineation from traditional Islam without negating it. In case of the early

modern period the old text did not remain the authority, but it was thoroughly utilized

as a source of information, the excavation of which can lead us to the “Truth.” Thus,

we can conclude towards a model of India modernity where the past was not rejected,

but appropriated and the present was the reorientation of the appropriated past (Ganeri

2014). Figure below depicts the hybrid modernity which evolves due to the

59

contextualization of foreign and indigenous impressions. Thus, the resulting

commodity is neither foreign nor indigenous, but possess the definitive characteristics

of its own.

Figure 2.6. Evolution of Hybrid Modernity (Source: Author).

The same stands true for the British spatial modernity where the children of

enlightenment will all their “steam generated might” and blessing of industrialization

ended up appropriating the local architecture by formulating, what we know today as

“Indo-Saracenic” style. Similarly, during the postcolonial period, an era which

inherently beholds the anti-colonial sentiment, the spatial construct developed without

any visible opposition to the colonial ethos.

2.3.1. Classification of “Modern Space” in Indian Subcontinent

From the above discussion, we can conclude that the essence of modernity was

present before the arrival of the British. Thus, to evaluate the genealogical

60

development of the modernistic urban space in Indian-Subcontinent, we can point

visible nodes of modernity across the historical timeline.

Figure 2.7. Reference Points for the Three Phases of Modernity. (Source: Author).

Certain nodes with close resemblance to each other can be grouped under a phase.

However, a distinctive start and end dates for each stage are almost impossible to mark

as they inseparably diffuse into each other, thus adding plurality to the material

conditions (See Fig 2.7.). In order to provide a holistic understanding of modern space,

a significant historical event can be marked as the reference point for each phase/node.

For example, 1556 marks the year when Emperor. Akbar came to power in India. The

year 1857 had witnessed the Indian war of Independence (often referred to as the

Indian Mutiny by the British scholars), the British victory in the war had made them

the sovereign power in the Indian Subcontinent. Similarly, 1947 was the year when

two new nations India and Pakistan came into being following the partition of British

India. Although these events had a significant impact on the social formation in the

61

Indian Subcontinent yet they don’t reinforce any abrupt change in material conditions

of the particular phase in the Indian Subcontinent, but rather signify the culmination

point of the process that originates long before these events and reached its climax

during this phase. These apex point of these formulation would, as already explained,

be referred as nodes of modernity (see Fig. 2.2). To impart clarity and retrieve these

terminologies from cultural romanticism a carefully sampled planned capital cities

would be analysed in connection with history, the socio-political condition of

production, urban morphology and spatial construct, relations of productions

emphasizing active and passive ties and their genealogical development, public and

private ownership and monumental qualities of cities, for example, scale, material and

design inspirations.

2.4. Pre-Colonial Planned Capital Cities

The early modern condition in the Indian Subcontinent was reflected in the material

domain after monumental buildings and cities were erected by consuming the surplus

accumulated from the agriculture and exports of agricultural goods. Harvey

emphasizes the importance of agricultural surplus which is “necessary for the

emergence of city forms”(Harvey 2009, 216). These buildings in the early modern

period reflect the Timurid / Persian influences, which was mixed with the local

vocabulary to produce the hybrids. A number of historical accounts provide an in-

depth analysis of this early modern urbanization in India (Spodek 1980; Sinopoli

1994; Hambly 2004; Misra 2013; Ray 2016). The early modern urbanization,

especially in the Mughal period, took its material form in the shape of small industrial

towns, administrative centres meant to host the local administration and military

cantonments. Eraly writes about the importance of these towns as, “the towns made

possible the manufacture of muskets and guns, providing the new military basis for

political and military domination over the countryside and the means to effective

revenue collection. (Eraly 2000).” Iftikhar provides a detailed account of these cities

and categorizes them into three main categories as shown below. Pertaining to the

subject of dissertation this section will analyse the spatial development in the planned

62

capital cities, that were, developed from scratch during the early modern period. These

cities include Fatehpur Sikri and Shahjahanabad (commonly known as Old-Delhi).

Mughals have also utilized Lahore and Agra as their capitals and developed the

magnificent forts, Palaces, and mosques, but these capital cities were evolved over the

period and can be classified as “evolved capital” following Vale’s classification and

hence subtracted from this dissertation which focuses on the planned capital cities in

the Indian Subcontinent (Vale 1992).

Table 2.2. Three types of towns in the Indian Subcontinent.

No Type Description

1 Coastal Towns These towns started appearing under the early colonization by Portuguese, French, and British who became the principal buyers of the ships made to cope up with the local conditions by the indigenous people.

2 Industrial Towns Centre for the flexible industries that saw progression during the early modern period with the rise of the local industry.

3 Administrative Centres The centres of power that are established to affirm the political control over the numerous small states.

The major reason for the not including the evolved capitals, is that it does not reflect

the purest form of Mughal town planning developed in the early modern period.

Fatehpur Sikri, though developed from the scratch, only hosts the Mughal imperial

buildings, hence the discussion on the Shahjahanabad would provide an in-depth

understanding of the spatial development in the early modern period. Furthermore,

Shahjahanabad which was consumed by colonizers as their capital and later attained

the status of the national capital of the Republic of India, after independence provides

an excellent account of spatial transformation during three phases of modernity. It is

also important to note that on several occasion two cities serve as the capital of the

63

Mughal Empire, like Delhi and Agra, and Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, and hence were

designed accordingly (Bernier 1916). A parallel can be drawn between the failed

experiment undertook by the Government of Pakistan, for hosting the national capital

of Pakistan in both Ayyub Nagar, Dhaka (designed by Louis Khan) and Islamabad

(designed by Doxiadis), in order to create the equilibrium of power between the East

and West Pakistan.

2.4.1. Fatehpur Sikri: The First Modern Planned Capital in India

Fatehpur Sikri which literally means “the city of victory” was constructed between

1571-1573 A.D., as the capital of Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great (Blake 2002). The

splendour of the city can be understood from the Englishman Ralph Fitch’s account,

who designates that Fatehpur was larger than London (Ryley and Fitch 1998). The

city was designed to reflect Akbar’s social ideology into architecture and urban space.

The city fulfils the Akbar’s agenda and had overtones of his political and social

ambitions. Akbar wanted to make his city the most beautiful on earth, for this reason,

the craftsmen was invited from across the country. Most of the craftsmen involved in

the city building were Hindu and specialized in the Hindu temple buildings (Srivastava

1964; Nath 1982). Thus, the indigenous tones to the imperial buildings was evident.

The Persian inspiration was evident in the design of the city, though one can also view

the presence of several motives that were indigenous to India. In general, the city was

planned according to the Indian principles24 while the buildings were extruded along

Indian and Persian principles25. Appreciated the rigor of the local craftsmen and the

attributes of the indigenous architecture, Hurlimann quotes Reuther as

How an Indian, following his own ideas, solved the problem of building

a Palace for a Moslem ruler’, and this is in such a comprehensive manner

24 For a detailed discussion on how the plan of the Fatehpur Sikri follows the 9 square rule, that it in

close association with the sacred mandala (Davar 1975). 25 These indigenous tones of the imperial building also generate a controversy that Fatehpur-Sikri firstly

established as a Hindu city that was later transformed by Akbar, into an imperial capital. This point of view mainly propagated by the Hansraj Bhatia of Institute of re-writing Indian history, still to the date was unable to present authentic proof to support his argument and hence subtracted from the main discussion (Bhatia 1969).

64

that ‘a veritable cross-section of domestic architecture in various styles

arose (Hurlimann 1965, 113).

Developed on the edge of an artificial lake, Fatehpur Sikri was designed on the square

geometric plan. Fatehpur Sikri was the earliest example of the planned city in the

region which beholds all the residential, administrative, religious and public buildings

the quarter for the army and other associates (UNESCO 1986). The geometrical

interplay within the plan of the city was not only seen as the Mughals control and

precision which they have exerted over the space, but it was equated to a basic concept

of post-war Western modernity by Tyrwhitt.

Figure 2.8. Stone Carver’s Mosque, Centric Mosque with Wall of Fatehpur Sikri. (Source: Redrawn by Author from the original plan (Davar 1975)).

According to Liscombe, “She (Tyrwhitt) discerned in the arrangement of the

sixteenth-century city of Fatehpur Sikri, an equivalent for the modernist rejection of

Cartesian space (Liscombe 2006).” The town’s plan was based on the geometric

composition connected along the imaginary axes. The first major axis coincides with

the location of Kaaba, with is locus on the tomb of Khwaja Moin ud Din Chishti, the

spiritual guide of Akbar. While the second major axis aligned with the central bazaar.

65

Akbar’s palace was the center of the city which was connected with the Bazaar, Jamia

and Centric Mosques (see Fig. 2.9).

The secular outlook of the city26 is in line with Akbar’s ideology of the universal

peace, which is evident from the fact that it beholds the magnificent tomb of the Sheikh

Salim Chishti and an inscription of Jesus on the Gate of Victory.27

Figure 2.9. Major Axis and Squares on the Plan of Fatehpur Sikri. (Source: Author).

The site selection is the result of a spiritual reason rather than the rational. It was

reported that none of Akbar’s wives was able to produce an offspring that can become

the heir to his throne. Akbar went to the tomb of famous Sufi saint Khawaja Moin-ud-

26 Akbar the Great tried to unify India, in this regard he made several efforts to translate the Hindu

scripture and development of a cultural coherence. The most striking step taking by Akbar pertaining to his theory of Indianization is formation of a new religion “Din-e-Elahi”. (Arjomand 2017).

27 The Persian inscription of the Gate of Victory reads “Isa (Jesus), son of Mary said: 'The world is a Bridge, pass over it, but build no houses upon it. He who hopes for a day may hope for eternity, but the World endures. Spend it in prayer for the rest is unseen (Hurlimann 1965, 115).”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus

66

Din Chishti28 and vowing that he will walk barefooted from “Agra to Ajmer if his

wish is fulfilled. In the upcoming year Akbar’s wife gets pregnant and she is sent to

Sikri, to seek the blessing from Khawaja Saleem Chishti who was the famous disciple

of the Khawaja Moin-ud-Din Chishti. Akbar’s son Jahangir was born in 1569, it was

the time when Akbar planned to move his capital from Agra to a remote site of Sikri.

he named his capital Fatehpur, the Town of Victory29(Brand and Lowry 1985).The

site of the capital was located on the hill approximately forty kilometres southwest of

the earlier capital Agra. Agra was the first capital, after the arrivals of Muslims. that

was not located on the grand trunk (G.T.) road that connects Afghanistan with Delhi.

The primary reason for the relocation of the capital was the utmost respect Akbar had

for Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chishti. However, Sinopoli provides a political account for

the transfer of Akbar’s new capital

The city has been viewed as a power run amok or "Akbar's whim" and,

more convincingly, as both a strategic fortress in which potentially

recalcitrant nobles could be isolated from the sources of wealth and power

in Agra and other economic centres of the empire (Sinopoli 1994).

According to Hurlimann, the central city was located on the quadrangular site made

from stone. The quadrangle was approximately fifteen hundred yards broad and three-

thousand-yards long. The town was fortified with an approximately ten-kilometre long

wall, encircling its three sides.

Due to the short life of the city, the boundary wall was never constructed completely

(Hurlimann 1965). The central citadel was in the highest part of the city having both

public and private buildings. It also contains a number of schools, caravanserai, public

baths and Havelis (Grand Houses) of the noble. The major buildings were strongly

28 Sufi saint Khawaja Moin-ud-Din Chishti used to pray in a cave near a small town of Sikri. The Stone

Carver’s working in the nearby quarry made a small mosque in honour of the Moin-ud- Din Chishti. Akbar used to visit this mosque following a path on which he erected Agra Gate. Akbar placed his grand mosque behind the Chishti’s Mosque (Davar 1975).

29 It is important to note and as discussed in earlier, the Sanskrit word for the modernity is “Apracin”, which also used as a synonym to Victory.”

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influenced by the grand mosque and its orientation towards Qibla. Further to the

direction of the Qibla, the Mosque was placed adjacent to the stone-carvers mosque

made by the quarry labour in honour of Moin-ud-Din Chishti. Akbar first came to this

mosque in Sikri. There was an approximately 1.5-kilometer, long bazaar with the

merchandises from across the country and abroad. The bazaar also provided for the

local artisan and craftsman to trade their products.

Figure 2.10. Plan of Fateh Pur Sikri (01). (Source: (Smith 1917)).

As already explained in the traditional Indian society this freedom was not vested upon

the craftsman who had to abide by the rigid structure of society. The early urbanism

in Indian Subcontinent through its bazaar, acted as phase changer and provided a

footing for the emergence of mercantile capitalism. The shops are present on both

sides of the road and are double storied. Several impressive features were added to

enhance the spatial qualities of the bazaar. The most prominent is the installation of a

dome-like structure on the crossroads.

68

Figure 2.11. Plan of Fateh Pur Sikri (02) (Source: Originally Drawn by Attilio Pettrucioli. Text by Author).

69

Following a Persian tradition, a significant “Maydan30” ground was made in the

Fatehpur Sikri where the emperor uses to hold the polo matches, religious festivals,

public appearances and greet the ambassadors. There was not a natural source of water

nearby, so in order to cope with the problem of scarcity of water, the Emperor ordered

to build a 3km long dam. In 1585, due to the heavy monsoons, the artificial lake that

used to supply the water to the city broke away. As a result, the lower portion of the

city was flooded causing the damage to the properties and resulting in several

causalities. The major problem arising from the destruction of the Dam was that it

also cut down the water supply of the city thus leaving the inhabitants of the city with

the permanent problem of water shortage. As a consequence, Akbar left the city in

1585 (Bennison and Gascoigne 2007). The city mainly consists of the two parts; the

citadel and the town. The Citadel contains the Grand Mosque, King's Palaces,

administration buildings, the house of the queens, treasury mint and house of

commons. The town in this way developed in the early Mughal tradition where the

administration and royal function are separated from the public. The grand mosque is

the most spectacular and grand building of the city (see Fig. 2.11).

Keeping Akbar’s secular orientation in view, the only reason for building the great

mosque would be to commemorate the memory of Sheikh Moin-ud-Din Chishti, the

spiritual leader for Akbar, who was buried in the courtyard of the mosque. While

praising the stone buildings, Fergusson writes, “All the architecture, properly so

called, is in style invented, or at least introduced by the Pathans and brought to

perfection under Akbar (Fergusson 1899).”Another landmark building in Fatehpur

Sikri was the Ibadat Khana. Just like the “workers club”’; the particular expression of

Soviet’s new social function, developed by breaking the status quo of the elite

gathering places, with no precedent in the history; the “Ibadat Khana,” the religious

30 “Maydan” was designed to be utilized as a communal space in the tradition Muslim communities that

is used as a meeting point and hosting public events. In the modern history that “Maydan” is also used as a place for the resistance against the Government and acted as a focal point for the revolution, for example, “Maydan-e-Jaleh” in Tehran and “Maydan-e-Tehreer” in Cairo (Babaie and Grigor 2015).

70

congregation places for Akbar’s religion was invented in early modern India.

Although the exact location, architecture, and plan of Ibadat Khana are still debatable.

Fernee points out a basic structure of it as, “the Ibadat Khana, a large rectangular

building, built around the cell of a Sufi saint, was opened for theological consultations

or discussions in 1575 (Fernée 2014). Eraly describes the building as more like a

Christian cross but having different function altogether. He explains that

It had four wings and that the participants in the discussion there (a small

number of special Invitees) were segregated into four groups: on the

Eastern side were the great Amirs; Sayyids the descendants of Prophet

Muhammad, occupied the Western wing; the ulema were in the south; and

“sheiks and men of ecstasy” were in the south (Eraly 2000, 188).

The plan of the Ibadat Khana is a straightforward reflection of the function and was

made to challenge the orthodox religious authorities. The building is meant to lead the

society towards more humanistic and rational worldview.

Figure 2.12. Plan of Ibadat Khana. (Source: Akbar's "House of Worship," or 'Ibadat-Khana (Smith 1917)).

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Though Akbar wanted to hold the non-violent debates among the religions,

unfortunately, the vigorous debates between the religious scholars had led Akbar to

abandon the Ibadat Khana. From the limited data available about the Ibadat Khana

does not confirm its exact position in Fatehpur Sikri, but it is evident that there was

only one building of its kind. Smith writes that it was the building located in one of

the Gardens of the Palace (Smith 1917). The successors of Akbar did not show any

interest in the Akbar’s religion and the religious building. In the meanwhile, the Sufis

and Bakht, the softer interpretation of Islam and Hinduism respectively became more

popularized, thus leaving no space for the Akbar’s drastically different religion to

grow. The building is lost in time, but it truly reflects Akbar’s effort to rationalize the

religion. Though created as a symbolic capital with a powerful political expression by

Akbar while he was expanding the empire, Fatehpur Sikri was a short-lived capital.

The city was constructed with the red sandstone, and the buildings were erected and

decorated based on the Persian principles (Sinopoli 1994). Richards view the inclusion

of the Persian elements as Akbar’s effort to impress and impose the political control

over the courtiers, the majority of whom were native Hindustani (Indians) (Richards

1997).

2.4.2. Shahjahan Abad: The Sovereign Planned Capital

In one of the first account written about Shahjahan Abad, Hearn mentions the city of

Shahjahanabad as modern Delhi. Old Delhi remained the seat of political power for

almost 336 years before Shahjahan developed his “eighth paradise” on earth. The only

reason Shahjahan was able to develop this city lies in the socio-political condition of

India under the Mughal Empire. Mughal Emperors had brought the political stability

to the country that was once an arena of war between numerous small kingdoms. The

strong Mughal army also stopped the danger of any foreign invasion on the country.

Delhi, the city, remained the capital of the empires starting from the Sultans of Delhi

to Mughals and finally to the British (see Table 2.3.). The present-day Delhi

metropolitan contains several small towns that were once the seat of power of different

dynasties in due course of history. The first extensive account for Delhi was written

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in 1906, five years before the development of Imperial (New Delhi), by Gordon Hearn

who provides a detailed description of Delhi and the seven cities located within. Hearn

not only praises Delhi as comparable with Rome by bringing in comparison the seven

hills of Rome with seven cities of Delhi. .

Table 2.3. The Cities of Delhi.

No Name of City Building Dynasty Date of

Const.

1 Lal Kot Anang Pal Tomar Rajputs

c.1052

2 Qila Rai Pathora Prithviraj (1170 - 1192) Chauhan Rajputs

c.1180

3 Siri Ala al-Din Khalji (1296 - 1316)

Khalji Turks c.1303

4 Tughlaqabad Ghiyas Al-Din Tughluq (1321-1325)

Tughluq Turks

c.1321

5 Jahanpanah Muhammad ibn Tughluq (1325-1351)

Tughluq Turks

c.1325

6 Firuzabad Firuz Shah Tuqhluq (1351 - 1388)

Tughluq Turks

c.1354

7 Din Panah Humayun (1530 - 1555) Mughals c.1533 8 Shergarh Sher Shah (1540 - 1545) Sur Afghans c.1540 9 Shahjahan Abad Shahjahan (1628 - 1658) Mughals c.1639 10 New Delhi Lord Hardinge (1910 -

1916) British c.1911

However, he criticized the haphazard urban sprawl of the city and wrote that Delhi’s

seven cities are difficult to be distinguished from each other in a similar way as

Rome’s seven mountains, due to a number of buildings constructed across the cities

(Hearn 1928). The area presently comprised of Delhi is known to hold “Seven

Imperial Cities” before the New-Delhi (see Fig. 2.13).31

31 In addition to these seven cities, Ibn-e-batuta the famous Arab traveler mentioned about the other

capital cities (“Qila rai Pathora”, “Siri”, “Tuqhlaqabad” and “Jahanpanah”) which over the course of the time are merged into one (Rajagopalan 2017).

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Figure 2.13. Map of Cities of Delhi. (Source: J. Burton-Page, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, 'Dihli’).

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In 1639 Shahjahan ordered his architects, engineers, and astrologers to find a new site

that is appropriate for establishing the new capital of India somewhere towards north

between Agra and Lahore (Asiatic Society Of Bengal Calcutta 1927). Shahjahan

wanted to make a Heaven on Earth (Iizuka 1991). According to Blake, the city was

conceived as the centre of the world following the Hindu planning concept. The

selected site was in the area that remains the centre of different dynasties prior to the

Mughals and also holds an important position for Muslims due to a large number of

tombs of Muslim saints. The most prominent among them was Hazrat Khawaja

Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 - 1325 A.D.).

Figure 2.14. Plan of Delhi (Shahjahan Abad) (Source: http://scroll.in/article/748570/heres-what-Indias-biggest-cities-looked-like-centuries-ago).

Last visited on June 2018.).

http://scroll.in/article/748570/heres-what-indias-biggest-cities-looked-like-centuries-ago

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The work for the development of the capital pursued with the full rigor. In 1648

Shahjahan held a big celebration to inaugurate the city. The city, except the citadel,

grew organically within the outer walls of the city. These walls also serve to the city,

had twenty-seven watchtowers and seven main gates. The design was inspired by both

Indian and Muslim traditions. Blake writes that

The plan of Shahjahanabad reflects both Hindu and Islamic influences.

The street plan seems to have followed a design from the ancient Hindu

texts on architecture, the Vastu Sastras (rules for architecture). These texts

contain directions for constructing buildings, and for laying out and

dividing settlements of different kinds. The Manasara, a Vastu Sastra

dating to about A.D. 400-600, includes a semielliptical design called

karmuka or bow for a site fronting a river or seashore. This design seems

to have influenced Shahjahan's architects and engineers (Blake 2002).

Figure 2.15. Plan of Shahjahanabad with Two Axes (Source: (Clark 2011)).

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The plan of the Delhi is organic, developed along a strong central axis known as

“Chandni Chowk.” This axis connects the citadel and Fathepuri mosque to the city.

The shops located on both sides of the axis and opened towards the central axis. A

second less obvious axis connects the citadel with the Delhi Gate. In addition to the

great mosque, located on the second axis some other mosques were constructed,

within the periphery of the town by the Emperor and his entourage (See Fig 2.1.5.).

The plan of the city is like the earlier Mughal capitals with the imperial residences and

important administrative building are separated from the main city and located inside

the main citadels. The citadels hold all the administrative building, for example,

offices and mansions including the Daulat Khana-e-Khas (Hall of the Important

people), Daulat Khana-e-Aam (Hall of ordinary citizens), Moti Masjid, Jehanara

Begum’s mansion, Imtiaz Mahal, Naqqar Khana (Hall of musicians), Hayat Baksh

(life-giving) Garden and Mehtab (Rose) Garden. The garden inside the citadel known

as “Charbagh” (literally means four gardens), is designed following the idea in the

Islamic tradition of the gardens of heaven. The concept was derived directly from

Quran and had its material precedence in “Charbagh” of Persia [for a comprehensive

discussion about the Islamic Garden traditions (Clark 2011).

While the city, in addition to the residential buildings, contained religious places

mosques, church and temple. The central mosque was dominant among all the

buildings in the city. Furthermore, the bazaar, customs house, the banking house,

magazine and storage house were accommodated in the city. Unlike the imperial

buildings which were designed following a rigid geometry, the city of the

Shahjahanabad lacked planning. The city grew organically after the local nawabs and

governors had started building their houses outside the citadel within the city walls.

The major buildings in the citadel were made from the white marble. The use of white

marble also marks a shift in the use of material, since the “red sandstone” was the

frequently used material in the earlier monumental buildings and capital built by

Mughals. The white marble was acquired from a quarry near Rajputana.

Shahjahanabad is also distinguished from the predecessor capital city as it was

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completed under the reign of single monarch. Thus, all building are intimately

connected to each other regarding outlook (Iizuka 1991).The design of the buildings

follows a hybrid pattern with both local and foreign impression. In Shahjahan Abad,

the foreign influences stretched far beyond Persian and Afghanistan gaining the fruits

of the European classicism. Hurlimann connect the Mughal intricacies with the

Versailles and contribution of European classicism as

Mason worked on the marble slabs, carving delicate flower patterns in low

relief. Valuable stones of many colors were collected, to be painstakingly

worked into the surface of marble (pietra dura); especially rich decoration

of this kind was used for the imperial bath, which at the Moghul court

played a similar role to the bed of state in Versailles at the king’s levee…

the classicism beginning to arise in Europe also made its contribution to

the marble splendor of this highest achievement of oriental building craft,

which combines Persian and Indian elements into such an elegant simple

form (Hurlimann 1965, 42).

The old Delhi or Shahjahanabad was a perfect example of Mughal city with a

magnificent fort that is the most prominent building in the city. Other than fort, some

mosques helped in integrating the element of Islamic semiology into the city’s urban

fabric (see Fig. 2.16). King, in his essay on Delhi, interprets modernity concerning the

capital city of India and classify three stage of modernity. He writes in “Transnational

Delhi revisited: The Spatial Language of Three Modernities” that, “The three types of

modernity of my title, therefore, are indigenous Shahjahan Abad, colonial New Delhi,

and postcolonial DLF City.(King 2004, 142).” Lastly, it is the extensive planning and

monumental structures of the city that withstand the harshness of times and remained

usable till the last Mughal prince was sent to exile from his Palace in Shahjahan Abad.

Labelling “Shahjahan Abad” as a modern indigenous city contradicts his earlier claim

where he emphasized the “transnational” character of these cities.” I shall argue that

the most recent three have all been essentially ‘transnational’ settlements or, if not

exactly transnational, at least (King 2004).”

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In his statement quoted above, King describes Shahjahanabad as having the minimal

transnational character. The negation of the foreign character of Shahjahanabad by the

King is in contradiction with the several authors who authenticated the foreign origin

of the Mughal Architecture. Most notable among them are Jayapalan and Fergusson

who provides a detailed commentary of foreign linkages found in the Mughal

architecture (Fergusson 1876, 569:572; Jairazbhoy 1963; Jayapalan 2001, 191; Blake

2002).

Figure 2.16. Bird's Eye view of Shahjahanabad, 1857. (Source: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00maplinks/colonial/delhiview1857/

delhiview1857.html). Last visited on June 2018.

Fergusson also argues that the Mughal Architecture as a whole is of foreign origin

with visible influences like “bulbous domes” imported from Samarkand, a City of

Taimur (A Turk and grandfather of the Baburshah, the founder of the Mughal empire)

who was “possessed of true Turki love for noble architecture (Fergusson 1876).”

Several city elements like Harem, Covered Bazaars, Hammam, Centrally Located

Mosque, Paradise Garden and division of living quarters were imported and not native

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to India. While describing the covered Bazaar, Stephen Blake quotes Muhammad

Salih (The writer of Aml-e-Salih) as

The source for these ideas, as for most of the other arts of the Indo-Islamic

style, was Persia. In painting, poetry, music, and dance as well as in

architecture and city planning the Persian influences were predominant.

The Emperor Humayun, the father of Akbar, spent twelve years (1543-

55) in exile in Iran and was heavily exposed to Shi'ism and the Safavid

court (Blake 2002, 33).

Although roofed bazaars were usual in Iran and West Asia, they were rare

in India. A building like the covered bazaar, which the people of

Hindustan had never before seen, was a new idea produced by the ruler of

the seven lands with effortless attention and unique building talent (Blake

2002, 43).

At the same time, Shahjahan was also influenced by the native ideas and following

the indigenous traditions he invited the astrologers to the select the time for its

construction,

The plan of Shahjahanabad reflects both Hindu and Islamic influences.

The street plan seems to have followed a design from the ancient Hindu

texts on architecture, the Vastu Sastras (rules for architecture). These texts

contain directions for constructing buildings, and for laying out and

dividing settlements of different kinds. The Manasara, a vastu sastra

dating to about A.D. 400-600, contains a semi elliptical design called

karmuka or bow for a site fronting a river or seashore. This design seems

to have influenced Shahjahan's architects and engineers (Blake 2002, 32).

The above discussion reinforces the stance that the Shahjahanabad was not only a

modern city, but also a transnational hybrid in character. Shahjahan adhered to the

policy of Indianizing, propagated by his father Akbar, yet at the same time borrowing

influences from its surrounding, that is, as described by Jairazbhoy, is a symbol of a

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progressive society. In short, we can say that the spatial development in the early

modern period comprises of monumental structures that fulfil the political agendas of

its builders. The city design was limited to the royal citadel and the imperial building.

The Citadel and the Main mosque remained the pivotal point of the city and can be

viewed from almost every corner of the city. In the case of Shahjahan Abad, a splendid

main boulevard drawn along the central axis of the city was meant to emphasize the

imperial movement within the city. Although the bazaar on both side of this axis also

served as the economic centre of the city, the city outside the citadel was not planned

and evolved following an organic pattern. In general, the buildings and city were

developed following the exogenous and endogenous inspiration, and the Mughal

emperors did not compromise on the grandeur of the new buildings. Further to the

natural inspiration that was coming from Persian and Samarkand the craftwork “Petra

dura” was also sought after from as far as Italy.

2.5. Colonialism: The Emergence of the New Modernity

Mughal and Europeans arrived in India at the same time. Babur Shah, the founder of

the Mughal Empire, had killed the emperor of India, Ibrahim Lodhi, in a decisive battle

of Panipat, approximately hundred kilometres north of Delhi in 1526. The battle had

opened the doors for Babur to establish his mighty empire in the Indian Subcontinent.

Approximately thirty years before this battle, Vasco Da Gama Portuguese Sailor

reached Calicut in India on 20 May 1498. He returned to India in 1502 with a fleet of

warships to take the revenge of Portuguese traders killed by local rulers. His last

voyage to India was in 1524, when he was sent as the viceroy of India, but fell ill

during the expedition and died in Cochin (History.com 2010). The arrival of Vasco

Da Gama had opened the Indian Subcontinent to the European trading companies. In

the upcoming century, after the death of Vasco Da Gama, six European nations had

opened their trading posts in Indian Subcontinent (See Table 3.4. & Fig 3.17) . The

most influential among them were the British and French. British, in addition to the

trading, tried to establish their own empire in the Indian subcontinent that is commonly

81

knowns as British India.

Table 2.4. List of European Trading Companies in India

No. Name of Trading Company Year of Estd.

1 British East India Company 1600 2 Dutch East India Company 1602 3 Danish East India Company 1616 4 Portuguese East India Company 1628 5 French East India Company 1664 6 Swedish East India Company 1731

Figure 2.17. European Settlements in the Indian Subcontinent. (Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:European_settlements_in_India_from_1498-

1739.PNG). Last visited on June 2018.

The French, in contrast, helped the local rulers to agitate against the British, but they

failed miserably resulting in the eradication of their major trading posts from India.

British had developed their Empire in Indian Subcontinent following almost 150 years

of wars and political unrest. They intended to British-ize the India (which is generally

misread as modernization of India), by implementing the educational, religious and

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political reforms. Envisioned by the Enlightenment and powered by the steam,

British’s agenda was to exploit Indian condition for their benefits. They transformed

the infrastructure in Indian Subcontinent by laying the railway tracks and building the

cities (Capital cities, port cities, trade towns and cantonment, etc.) at a scale which

India had never seen before. These projects brought an “urban revolution” in India

which resulted in the complete destruction of the traditional communities. Like

Mughals, British rule also influenced several reformist movements in India, most

notable among them were the education reforms and political reforms. The above-

mentioned reforms along with large-scale excavation projects and historiography of

India by British, also steered the advent and evolution of Indian national sentiments,

that resulted in the creation of Republic of India and Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

2.6. Raj and Urban Space

The British Raj had made a very less effort to improve the condition of the local

people, however, to strengthen their political control and meet their trade expectations

they developed new cities. These cities were the honest reflections of their socio-

political and economic intentions. Spodek found the port-cities32 in India developed

by colonizers, strikingly different from the ancient Hindu and Muslim cities in the

organization (Spodek 1980). In addition to the difference between the early colonial

settlement and the Indigenous cities, Desai highlights the emergences of the unique

urban forms as the civil lines (residing place for British Civilians), the cantonment

(British military settlements) and the hill station (the places developed to keep British

administration in cool place during harsh Indian summers) (Desai 1995). In general,

British had developed five major urban centres, which are listed below in Table 3.5.

32 The following lines would explain that how political ambition of Britishers had transformed the urban

pattern of the settlement developed by them, from the early port cities (developed by the east Indian company which was mainly a trading company) to New Delhi (developed under the patronage of Viceroy of British India). The Transformation had helped in developing a discourse that brought the New-Delhi, the last imperial city much closer to the indigenous settlements in India.

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Table 2.5. Towns Developed by British in India

No Type User Attributes Inhabitant

(Ethnicity)

1 Cantonment for Housing army e.g. Lahore Cantonment, Chaklala Cantonment, Peshawar Cantonment etc.

Design following Grid Iron, strict mechanism of command and control was in place

British Army Officer

2 Civil Lines British administrative staff and their families

Design following Grid Iron

British

3 Small Towns Mainly develop as the trade centre for agriculture Layall Pur (Faisalabad) Campbell Pur (Attock), Montgomery (Sahiwal) and Abbottabad etc.

The rigid and organized plan was the trademark of these projects

Indian / British

4 Railway/Trade Towns

An immense development has been viewed in the villages where the railway station is being made

Organic Plans, however, the Bazaar are planned near the railway station

Native Inhabitants

5 Capital Cities Madras, Calcutta, New Delhi etc.

Indian / British

The British developed these new settlements for their personal benefits and were

designed away from the indigenous cities. The common pattern the plan of these cities

follows was grid-iron. The Grid-iron was carefully selected for the planning of these

cities as it can be utilized to exercise a rigid control, which can also facilitate in

acquiring political control over the space. As Mumford says, “the standard gridiron

plan in fact was an essential part of the kit of tools a colonist brought with him for

84

immediate use (Mumford 1989, 192).” Furthermore, these cities were divided into the

black towns and white towns by creating a barricade through utilizing a wall, major

road, railway track or the canal. Lahore Cantonment is one of the examples of the

colonizer's urban agendas which was designed at a distance from the old Lahore and

separated using a canal and road (Glover 2007).Capital cities developed by British

from scratch includes Madras (The administrative centre of the British East India

Company), Calcutta (The First Imperial Capital) (Datta 2012), New-Delhi (The Last

Imperial Capital)(Johnson and Watson 2015) and Simla (Summer Capital). The

further study also takes into consideration the urban design projects developed by the

British, by retrofitting the existing cities. These include the capital cities and

administration centres mentioned in the Table 3.6.

Table 2.6. Capital Cities and Administrative Centres Developed by British

No Region Name of City

1 Northern Region Dalhousie, Kasauli, Kulu/Manali, Murre, Mussoorie, Naini Tal

2 North-Eastern Region Darjeeling, Shillong 3 West Poona, Mahabaleshwar 4 Southern Region Connor, Octamund, Kodaikanal 5 Provincial Capital Puna, Connor

2.6.1. Madras: A Case of Apartheid Urbanism

The centre point of the present day Madras (now Chennai) is the Fort Saint George. It

was the first erected on the site after the land was acquired from a local Nawab, though

the site did not receive much appreciation from the British and it was labelled as the

worst possible site for the city. Madras was much smaller in size as compared to its

predecessor and successor capital cities. It was merely an administrative centre and

trade post of the British East India Company. Due to political instability resulting from

the rivalries with the local Nawabs and French East India Company, the founders of

the city were the “gold hunters” who were not sure about the future of British in India.

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The sole focus of the British is to gain maximum profit from the trade in the shortest

possible time and they were not interested in establishing a permanent British

settlement in Indian Subcontinent. Saint George Fort was the focal point of the city.

The internal planning was not as elaborate as the capitals of Mughals like Fatehpur

Sikri and Shahjahan Abad. Several sources depict the contradictory representation

regarding the shape of the fort, but most sources refer to the citadel as an elongated

rectangle with the star-shaped fortification around it.

Figure 2.18. Plan of Madras (01), 1726. (Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/

Plan_of_Fort_St_George_and_the_City_of_Madras_1726.jpg). Last visited on June 2018.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/

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The Governor’s House is located in the centre of the fort at a commanding position.

The status of the Governor’s House was further elaborated by the use of Palladian

columns, on its façade. Further to the Governor’s House the fort complex generally

knowns as the “white town” contains storage warehouses, guard house and carpenter

yard. The important public buildings include the mint, new hospital and English and

Portuguese Churches. The major building corresponds to the economic and trading

activity of the city was a “factory” and “mercantile yards.” Norma Evenson provides

an overview of the extension of East India company’s business as

In the early days of Madras, all company business was transacted within

the fort. In 1798, however, the second Lord Clive established the

Collectorate of Customs on a site along the beach north of the Fort. This

provided the nucleus for a district of mercantile development along the

water (Evenson 1989).

In case of Shahjahanabad and Fatehpur Sikri, it was the rise of mercantile capitalism

through the development of bazaars, marketplaces, that provided the artisan and

workmen with an opportunity to trade free and hence break the natural bond imposed

through rigid castes system. This in turns weakens the self-sufficient village commune

and supports urbanization. According to Lanchester, these economic basis lies in the

core of the Empire’s urbanization project, which is in contradiction with the

indigenous Indian cities. He writes

Speculating about the differences between Indian and European cities,

Lanchester considered European cities to have been more stable and long

life. He believed the European urbanization had arisen from an essentially

economic base, while cities in India had often been founded at whim by

reigning princes (Evenson 1989, 118).

The statement is valid in terms of the European cities, but it is indeed a misreading of

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Indian cities. Apart from the Fatehpur Sikri the capital of Akbar, the rest of all the

cities were also thriving capitals of trade as well.

Figure 2.19. Plan of Madras (02)

(Source: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00maplinks/mughal/bellinmadras/

madrasmax.jpg). Last visited on June 2018.

Initially, British developed their houses inside the citadel, but with the passage of time,

several townhouses started appearing outside the citadel along with open grounds and

stables. The outside settlement remained under the threat of attack from French and

local Nawabs and was burnt down a couple of times. Due to political conditions, the

Fort Complex did not host any indigenous Indian. As the trade flourished in Madras a

new class of Hindu businessmen emerged, who got settled in the area planned

according to a grid-iron pattern, next to the citadel. This area where the local Indian

inhabited was popularly known as the black town. The streets of the black town

crossed each other at ninety degrees. The black town (later named as George Town)

had moat on its three sides and surrounded by the sea from the fourth side. The town

inside the moat is compactly packed, but as the town grew several new settlements

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start emerging outside the moat which were more spacious in outlook with gardens

and open spaces. Most notable among these settlements were the settlement by the

Pardesi Jew merchants namely “Antonio do Porto,” “Pedro Pereira” and “Fernando

Mendes Henriques”. The settlement also contains a large tomb of Rodrigues, a

Portuguese Jew, which stood as the landmark for Madras till its destruction. Although

the scale of the town was not comparable to the earlier and later capital cities

developed in India, it reflects the ambitions of the East India company. The living

quarter of the British and Indians were rigidly separated thus restricting any sort of

connection except those related to the trade. As a result, the town was an alien

installation without any impression from Indian Subcontinent.

2.6.2. Calcutta: From a Trading Post to Capital City

Calcutta was developed as a small port, at the farthest possible side of Indian ocean.

The first British settlement comprises a small fort with clearly distinctive white and

black towns, as they were present in Madras. The initial plan is a simple mimicry of

the Shahjahanabad with the fort being placed at the bank of the sea (In Shahjahan

Abad the fort was located at the bank of river). A central axis running straight through

the centre of the city connects the citadel to the protective moat. The moat was

developed as a security measure to protect the city from the attacks of Maratha and

known as Maratha Ditch. The city outside the citadel was organically developed

following the existing road in the area. The organically developed city corresponds to

the earlier cities in Indian Subcontinent, but it was criticized by the contemporary

British. Evenson had disapproved the city in the following words, “those schooled in

eighteenth-century aesthetics had learned to prize regularity and order, and in this

respect, Calcutta seemed to violate all rule of urban design (Evenson 1989, 20).” The

plan of the city includes the residence of Governor, churches, town halls, gardens, and

monuments. Bengalis themselves were keen to modernize society and language. It was

Calcutta where the first reformer of Hinduism Ram Mohan Roy ( See Appendix N.)

had opened the “Hindu College.”

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Figure 2.20. Plan of Old Fort Williams, Calcutta. (Source: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00maplinks/mughal/bellinmadras/

madrasmax.jpg). Last visited on June 2018.

From 1883-1890 a massive development has started in Calcutta which included

increasing the size of the port, laying the railway lines, construction of a big shed and

beginning of industrialization (Chattopadhyay 2005). Samite Gupta writes about the

evolution of the city as

Two distinct sectors of the economy emerged, as well as two distinct

physical forms. As headquarter of the great managing agencies, Calcutta’s

European sector developed a modern Institutional Economy and

International connections. Yet the networks of markets in the city

integrated it into the traditional bazaar economy of the surrounding

regions (Gupta 1993).

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Figure 2.21. Calcutta before the Construction of New Fort. (Source: https://rajgire.wordpress.com/tag/kolkata-old-map/).

Last visited on June 2018.

In addition to black and white towns, the city’s districts were further subdivided into

the rich and poor areas. The wealthy British quarter was located towards the south of

the city close to the citadel while the rest of the British reside in the quarter in the

central Calcutta or more closed to the black town. Several streets like Lal Bazaar and

Dharamtola hold the specialty shop which sells the imported goods. The wealthy

British reside in the spacious three-story building with the big verandah and large

compounds while the rest of the British lived in the two-story buildings connected to

each other. The inhabitant in these districts were mostly Christians. The condition of

black towns was much more vulnerable. A British visitor of that era writes that

Black Town is as complete a contrast to this as can well be conceived. Its

street are narrow and dirty; the houses, of two stories, occasionally brick,

but generally mud, and thatched, perfectly resembling the cabins of the

poorest class in Ireland (Kippis, Godwin, and Robinson 1810, 117).

One of the major reasons for the difference between the black and white town was the

population density. The white town had deficient population while the black town was

over congested. The primary reason for this population congestion was the

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immigration of people to Calcutta from their native villages in search of job and trade

opportunities since Calcutta was a thriving centre for the trade and merchandising.

Figure 2.22. Calcutta City and Environs. (Source: https://rajgire.wordpress.com/tag/kolkata-old-map/).

Last visited on June 2018.

The British Calcutta also provides precedence of private land ownership in Indian

Subcontinent. Due to the constantly increasing population of Calcutta, the landowners

in the Calcutta found it quite profitable to lease their lands to the people who are

interested in building small huts on the land. The citadel was neither strong like the

one in Shahjahan Abad, nor planned extensively. The main citadel was smaller in size

as compared to the city and hosted the government house and some warehouses. While

describing the interior of the old Fort Curzon writes

The Factory building itself was two stories in height, all the main

apartments being upon the upper floor... The Governor’s apartments were

situated in the South-east wing but were of no great size, and in the later

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years, before 1756, were rarely occupied by him, being in all probability

used as offices alone (Curzon of Kedleston 1925).

Figure 2.23. Detail Plan of the New Fort Williams (Source: Mapping Calcutta. The Collection of Maps at the Visual Archives of the Centre for Studies

in Social Sciences, Calcutta by Keya Dasgupta)

Nawab Siraj-ud- Daula, native Muslim ruler of a nearby state Oudh, attacked Calcutta

in 1756 overthrowing British from their foothold in Bengal. However British were

able to recapture the city next year under the leadership of Lord Curzon. The victory

in the battle of Plassey in 1757 had marked the start of the era of the British

Imperialism, which also influenced the town plan of Calcutta. In order to minimize

the possibility of any future attacks, the British planned a new, detached and stronger

fort in Calcutta. The new fort in Calcutta was completed in 1773 and was located south

of the existing British residences. The event of 1757 had left a horrible impact on the

memory of the British, hence, the new fort erected later was secluded from the rest of

the town with thirteen hundred acres vacant space around it. This surrounding vacant

space was planned to be used as a field of fire in case of any invasion. The new fort

was designed in a polygonal shape with the extra protective measures including star

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shape multiple level bastions and a moat that surrounded it from all sides. By 1803 the

city of Calcutta was transformed from a small trading post to a colonial city. The new

status also brought with them some new (modern) buildings types which do not have

any precedence in Indian capital. These include buildings like town halls and

legislative assembly.

Figure 2.24. Detail of Old Fort in Calcutta (Source: https://nostalgiakolkata.blogspot.com/2016/05/views-of-Calcutta-part-1-1690-1757.html).

Last visited on June 2018.)

2.6.2.1. Critique on Architecture

Calcutta was a new classical city which the British viewed as their invention. The use

of the neo-classical elements was the result of the fact that the British saw themselves

as the heir of the Greeks and the Romans, and accordingly, the new-classical style in

their opinion continues the Greek-roman legacy. Furthermore, the British by all means

wanted to establish their supremacy on the indigenous people using architecture. In

the changing political spectrum of India, British intended to highlight their

architectural authority which might help for subduing the effects of embarrassing

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defeat of 1756 and downplaying the rich tradition of the indigenous Architecture in

India. Chattopadhyay writes

It was this relationship that was proudly invoked in discussing neo-

classical architecture as representative of British power in India. The

distinctive European vocabulary enabled one to recognize the space

occupied by colonizers, setting out in observable material terms

distinctions between the rulers and the ruled (Chattopadhyay 2005, 29).

Figure 2.25. Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, England (Source: https://mcid.mcah.columbia.edu/record/r/field_record_id_value/1415_Middleton

_002?width=90%25&height=90%25&iframe=true). Last visited on June 2018.

Figure 2.26. Government House Calcutta. (Source: http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/India/29c.jpg). Last visited on June 2018).

Material distinction or the urban apartheid was evident in almost every town British

developed before New-Delhi. The white towns were secluded, protected and kept

away from the black towns. In general, white towns are less congested, had more open

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/29c.jpg

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houses and equipped with the infrastructure facility also distinguish them from the

overcrowded black towns with the crooked streets. One of the most important

buildings in Calcutta was the Government house. It remained the seat of imperial

power until the capital of the Raj finally shifted to New-Delhi in 1911.

Figure 2.27. (Left) Plan of Kedleston and (Right) Government House, Calcutta. (Source: British Government in India by Lord Curzon).

The political importance of the building signifies that its material conception would

have a long-lasting impact on the upcoming building project in British India. Dutta

writes that the Government house became a benchmark for the future Imperial

buildings in India through its “ deliberate flaunting of imperial aspiration and its new

classical architecture (Dutta 2003). The design of the Government House (Raj

Bhavan) was inspired from the Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, England (Curzon of

Kedleston 1925; Hoiberg 2000). The reasons for the design imitation was provided by

Lord Curzon, then Governor General of India and the first man to inhabit the

government house as

Captain Wyatt’s design was adapted from the plan of my own home,

Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, which was built for my great-great

grandfather, the first Lord Scarsdale, by the famous architect Robert

Adam, in the years 1759-1770 (Curzon of Kedleston 1925).

The above-mentioned explanation yields from Curzon’s personal choice. As

compared to Akbar, who also reminiscent the architecture of his forefathers in

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Samarkand and Afghanistan and produced their hybrids in India, Curzon’s intended

to produce a carbon copy of his ancestral home without considering much about the

indigenous conditions of Indian Subcontinent. A study of plan and elevation reveals

that the spacious and huge central block with the symbolic dome over it was connected

to the four corner blocks through circular wings. The principal entrance has a portico

which highlights the entrance to the building. All the four blocks at their front facing

facade had neo-classical columns. All the window had semi-circular or triangular

lintels, which had no precedence in the indigenous architecture of India. The selection

of an alien style for the design of one of the prominent building depicts the British

insensitivity towards India, but it also highlights a general condition in Bengal where

the architecture was not treated as high art as compared to the music, painting, etc.

According to Bach, the architecture in Bengal was produced with the sole purpose to

house the functional requirement (Bach 2006). Bach further provides an anecdote

about the condition of architecture in Bengal.

Like other cultures like China, Once Bengali architecture found its

vocabulary, it settled own and did not boldly evolve further. Poetry,

literature, music, painting, philosophy – there are the foci of the Bengali

culture. Architecture is expected to house them, but not necessarily

influence them. As a philosophical entity, Calcutta is perhaps an

aberration, and its architecture is not important (Bach 2006, 17).

The city of Calcutta grew from a small port and fortified town to the full-fledged

capital. The design development of Calcutta was steered by the British insecurities,

apartheid, and pride of inheritance from the higher civilization. During the early phase

of Empire, the British did not care about a vision for an image of India nor they ever

thought that one day they would rule over the whole India. They were more interested

in getting wealthy and going back. Moreover, during the early age of the empire,

British were more oriented towards establishing political control over India thus

architectural survey and documentation of indigenous architecture was not on the

priority list. In contrast to Madras, the boundary line drawn by British between the

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white town and black town was diminished over the passage of time, that resulted in

integration of the European and Indian inhabitants within the city’s fabric. This,

consequently, created trouble for the British administration during the rise of Bengalis

nationalism (c. 1900 onwards) resulting in the partition of Bengal Province in 1905.

The political insecurity of British and unmanageable population33 acted as a catalyst

for the relocation of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi (Chattopadhyay 2005). In short,

the development of Calcutta was steered and affected by the two main factors, that

are, ephemeral development and rapid urbanization. The Indian administrator of the

British East Indian company 34 had no intention and vision to produce a permanent

British town on Indian soil. Secondly, the rapid growth of these port towns resulted in

need of mass housing, for which these cities were not designed. As a result, this caused

the unplanned and uncontrolled development of the city (Mitter 1986).

2.6.3. New Delhi: The Dichotomy of East and West

To cope with the political problems that arose from the partition of Bengal province

and post-1900 uprising of Indian nationalism, the British administration in India with

the consent from British Parliament decided to shift the capital from Calcutta to Delhi.

The decision was announced on December 12, 1911, at a Darbar (Imperial court)

organized to celebrate his coronation of the king of England. The shifting of the capital

of British India was motivated by both political and administrative ambitions. It was

the time when the British had also planned to exercise their influence on India’s past

and start posturing them as the indigenous rulers of India. Lord Harding’s statement

that he penned down in favour of Delhi depicts the legitimacy of the city, not only for

the Empire, but for Hindus and Muslim as well. He writes

Delhi is still a name to conjure with it is intimately associated in the minds

of the Hindus with sacred legends which go back even beyond the dawn

33 The population of combine Bengal was twice as much as the population of Punjab 34 It is also important to note the before establishing an Empire in the Indian Subcontinent the British

were working under the East Indian company, a trading organization who sole objective is to establish the factories in India and maximize the profit (Mitter 1986).

https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/ephemeral

98

of history … To the Mohammedans, It would be a source of unbounded

gratification to see the ancient capital of the Moguls restored to its proud

position as the seat of the Empire (Metcalf 2002, 211).

A faction within the British Indian empire foresees New Delhi as a city that can help

in bridging the Empire’s relation with indigenous Indians. While the other factions

were debating on several contradictory models ranging from “legitimization of Indo-

Saracenic” to “the appropriation of European classicism.” Regarding the prevailing

debates about the design of the new city, the major challenge for the British

administration was the material conception of the city. The Shahjahanabad (regarded

as old-Delhi after the construction of British Delhi) once the magnificent city of the

great Mughal resides in the near vicinity of the site selected for the new city, but the

years of the destruction and wars had left it to ruins. Although the principal

monuments like the citadel and Jamia mosque still stand firm on the ground, they were

by no means, equipped to hold the imperial administration. The architecture and urban

development of the new city posed a challenge for the imperial administration. King

George V’s had admired the Mughal Shahjahanabad (old Delhi) and indicated his

desire to make the new city on par with it. He said at the Delhi Darbar that

It is my desire that the planning and designing of the public buildings to

be erected will be considered with the greatest deliberation and care, so

that the new creation may be in every way worthy of this ancient and

beautiful city (Metcalf 2002, 212).

The King George’s statement does not explicitly define the type or style of the

buildings to be constructed in the city and hence it remained debatable.

The rise of nationalistic movements that started in the Bengal, after Lord Curzon has

decided to divide it also forced British to relocate the capital from the Calcutta, which

was also the state capital of Bengal, to Delhi (Joardar 2006). This strategy was

reinforced with the fact that the British also want to utilize the shifting of capital as an

opportunity to strengthen their control over the central and northern India. British were

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aware of the strategic importance of Delhi and already held royal Darbars (Court) here

in 1977 and 1911. As described earlier, the area around Delhi remained the capital of

different dynasties, since the start of the Sultanate period (1206). Shahjahanabad (old

Delhi) was the last capital of the Mughal Empire before British took over. The site

was selected very carefully, as the British wanted to make a city that overshadowed

the old historic centres of Delhi in grandeur and spatial arrangement thus establishing

the British supremacy over its predecessors. In addition to the fact that Delhi lies in

the heart of India, the site was selected because

Infrastructure such as Road and Railway lines made the proposed city

accessible almost from every major town of British India.

The Strong presence of British Military and Civil lines to cope with any

unwanted uprising or resistance from the indigenous people.

The site was located on terrain between a ridge and river thus providing an

excellent drainage system.

The site was located in Punjab hence the crops and agriculture were in

abundance.

Although for four months in summers Delhi’s weather becomes unbearable for

the British, they could run the state function from a hill station near Shimla.

For designing the city and its building, one of the top British Architects, Edwin Lutyen

was hired (Irving 1982). Lutyen along with Herbert Baker designed the master plan

and different buildings in the new imperial capital. King George V and Queen laid the

foundation of the new city in the temporary structure called as “Shahjahani Tomb,”

with an intention to justify British as the heir of the Mughals. The extensive planning

and development process of the capital took 20 years, and the new capital was

inaugurated in February 1931. The new capital was designed to make British the

permanent ruler of India, but due to the fluctuating political situation, between the two

great wars, British had to leave India 16 years after the completion of the capital city.

Hardinge had envisioned a link between the historic district of Shahjahanabad the new

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city. He intended to connect the old city and new Delhi through views and vistas

generated from the placement of prominent buildings that in return aim to establish

the British supremacy over the Shahjahan Abad. Lutyen and Baker, on the other hand,

followed a contrasting approach and showed no sensitivity towards the historic district

of the city.

Figure 2.28. Edwin Lutyens' Official Master Plan for New Delhi. (Source: http://scroll.in/article/748570/heres-what-Indias-biggest-cities-looked-like-centuries-

ago).Last visited on June 2018.).



101

In fact, they wanted to develop an imperial and European city following a baroque

scheme, which would follow the rigid geometrical planning with strong axes with the

tree-loaded boulevards. Hardinge’s ambitious conceptualization to connect the old and

new city was nullified, when Lutyen, owing to the price of land acquisition, had to

reorient the central axis away from the old city. The plan of the New-Delhi bears a

resemblance with the plan of Washington DC. It shares the same vocabulary like a

strong central axis, geometric plan, prominent boulevards and special emphasis was

laid on integrating the green areas. The symbolism is imparted in the city through the

strategically placed buildings and monuments. The Viceroy’s Palace that was inspired

from the Greek Acropolis was placed on the hilltop of “Raisina Hill.” This placement

also brought it in an elevated position with reference to Shahjahan’s mosque. The city

plan was developed as an effort to unify the diverse Indian Subcontinent through the

Britain materialistic supremacy (Irving 1981). The plan is divided into three main

zones, that are, administrative, residential and economic district. The administrative

sector is planned at the centre of the city. The central boulevard was named as King’s

way, with Viceroy’s Palace (now known as Rashtrapati Bhavan) is located at the one

end and Arch of Triumph is located on its other end. The government Secretariat

offices were designed to be placed on both sides of the King’s way. In the final plan,

the administrative zone contains the Viceroy’s House, two blocks of Secretariat

buildings, legislative Assembly Building, and record offices. The houses and

bungalows in residential areas of New Delhi were designed according to the status of

its inhabitants. In general, the bungalows were designed to have colonnades visible on

its façade, supported with large gardens. Connaught Palace, the city’s shopping mall,

is also placed strategically within the residential district. Lord Curzon, Viceroy of

India’s residence is almost equal in size as compared to the old residence in the

cantonment town (King 2012).In the sheer contrast to the Shahjahan Abad, the city is

well planned and organized into small manageable segments. The city is also loaded

with the vast green spaces lined with trees. The only legitimate effort to connect the

city with the indigenous Indian people is the “India Gate,” a triumph arch constructed

to the commemorate the Indian soldiers, who died in the world war one while fighting

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on behalf of the British. The arch lies on the central axis of the city, opposite to the

Viceroy’s Palace. The New-Delhi was constructed almost at the same time when the

Canberra, the capital of colonial Australia, was under construction. Apart from the

empire’s fading political control in India and its proclaimed agenda to make a city that

would connect the indigenous Indians to British, the design of New Delhi was “forced

from above,” which was in stark contrast to Canberra. In New-Delhi, the Viceroy’s

House holds the commanding position on the central axis, within the heart of the city

on the Raisina Hill, while in Canberra the Parliament house occupies a nearly similar

position. This placement truly reflects the Empire’s different political decorum that it

wanted to maintain in both colonies. The presence of a broad central axis in New-

Delhi is harshly criticized by architects and urban designers. Blakes writes in this

regard that

Much scarier are certain single-use patterns that have literally demolished

the cities upon which they were imposed. One of the most interesting

examples of this abuse is New Delhi, whose incredible, bombastic central

avenue - the Raj Path - was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the great

architect of the declining years of the British Empire (Blake 1977, 118).

In contrast to the King’s way, Blake praises the “Chandni Chowk,” the central axis of

Shahjahanabad and states that although no one designed it, it is chaotic and frenzied,

and nothing works here except “life.” (Blake 1977, 119). In India, after the 1919

reforms, Baker designed the Indian Parliament building and placed it within the

administrative sector, but, as can be seen clearly, it was an afterthought and was not

part of the original plan.

2.6.3.1. Architecture of New Delhi

The announcement to develop new Delhi had also resulted in the eruption of debates

about the formal orientation of the architecture of the new capital city. The participants

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of these debates belong to all spheres of life. However, the main contributors were the

British Indian officers and British posted in India to perform various duties. In short,

these debates can be funneled down into three major categories namely, the Indo-

Saracenic style, the Indic style, and the Orientalization of European Classicism. For

most of the conceptual issues, there was a consensus among the exponents of the Indo-

Saracenic style and the Indic style. The advocates of Indo-Saracenic style believe in

acquiring the direct inspiration from the Mughal buildings. They see the creation of

the new capital at Delhi as an opportunity for the British to emulate their Mughal

successors. The group backing the Indo-Saracenic style saw the buildings of the new

capitals produced by the contribution of the local artisan and craftsman. While the

proponents of Indic style, were advocating the involvement of the Indian craftsmen,

under the supervision of the European architects. The focal point of the debate (Indo-

Saracenic style) was E. B. Havell who was the ex-principal of Calcutta college of Art.

He saw the construction of Delhi as an opportunity that could surpass the “shoddy

imitation” of Western architecture in Calcutta which included the “bastard Gothic”

and “emasculated Italian Renaissance.”(Metcalf 2002). He advised the government of

India to take the direct inspiration from the lost Mughal monuments that were located

nearby the proposed site. Favouring the Indic style of architecture, he, in spite of

opposition from Lord Curzon and Herbert Baker, suggested that retrofitting the

Palaces and buildings at Fatehpur Sikri and Agra, according to the British

administrative needs, would be much easier than the problem Greeks faced while

converting old Greek Palaces for the secular requirement of modern Europe. For

Havell, the incorporation of traditional Indian buildings would not only impart

legitimacy to the British empire in India, rather it would also help in its progress.

Metcalf re-quotes Havell as

A Delhi built by Indian craftsmen working under British supervision

“would prove that Indian and British imperial interests were not

antagonistic, but really and truly identical.” In this way, Britain would

“give India of her best” and at the same time “use both for her own and

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India’s advancement, all the resources of Indian culture and practical

experience. “From such a “reconciliation between Eastern and Western

ideals.” could spring, indeed, not only a revitalized Raj, but “a greater

Renaissance that the world has ever known. A “message of hope for

India,” New Delhi would stand as a lasting challenge at once to the

“Europeanized” nationalism of India’s elites and the degradation” of

modern capitalism (Metcalf 2002, 214).

Just like Gandhi and Ruskin, Havell also advocated the preservation of the village

economy in India, but in striking contrast to Gandhi, he interpreted the concept of

preservation from a British centric perspective. Metcalf writes that Havell has,

“accepted the concept of “traditional” India, (which is) in need of British guidance,

that underlay the late Victorian view of empire (Metcalf 2002, 214).” The people who

were actively supporting Havell’s point of view include Sanderson (an officer in the

archaeological survey of India), John Begg (Consulting Architect for the government

of India) and F.O. Oretel (Superintendent Engineer of Allahabad municipality). For

them, Akbar’s Fatehpur Sikri and Agra were the key examples from where the Indian

administration could take inspiration to build New Delhi. Metcalf writes that Oertel

was inspired from the harmony that Akbar bought by uniting Hindu and Muslim

architecture to carve the purest form of “Indian architecture.” He quotes Oertels as

“Akbar had created,” Oertel said, expressing the longstanding British

view of that Emperor’s building, a “truly Indian style, bringing into happy

union both Hindu and Muhammad forms.” Now that we “are establishing

our capital at the seat of the old Moghal Empire,” urged Oertel, “: let us

endeavour to follow in the footsteps of Akbar.” (Metcalf 2002, 216).

In short, the advocates of the Indic style of architecture were inspired from the

changing philosophy of the later Victorian era where they wanted to build as the

indigenous rulers of India, rather than the foreign invaders who built Calcutta. They

105

wanted to objectively address the problem of the architecture of the new capital and

were in favour of adopting an architecture that suited India in general, rather than the

personal tastes of a group. They were determined to reconcile the “east” and “west”

through architecture and exhibit massive respect to India’s tradition, especially the

buildings developed by Akbar. In general, the Indian administrators could feel the

strong vibes, within the British Indian circles, to revive the traditional Indian

architecture. The reason for this inclination was that firstly, in contrast to the

administration at Calcutta, more Indians were part of administration while Delhi was

in the planning and development phase and secondly, the British Empire after 1900,

in the wake of rising nationalist movements, was losing its control over India. The

group reinforcing the idea that Empire’s authority should be established through

architecture also include Lord Hardinge. Being the Governor General of India, he was

the supreme authority in India. His intention for the new Delhi can be understood from

the following statement, that is, “building in the plains of Delhi a purely Western

Town …must be imbued with the spirit of the East such as will appeal to Orientals as

well as to Europeans.” (Metcalf 2002, 219).” He was in favour of developing a

Western town, but due to the political conditions he was forced to include the “spirit

of the East”, as British Empire was losing its grip on India. He wanted to impart to

indigenous Indian with a sense of pride by including the “Indian spirit” into the

building of the new capital. At the start, Hardinge had no idea how to Orientalize the

European buildings in India, especially when his dislike for the Moghul and Hindu

buildings was quite evident. He criticized the Mughal buildings for over decoration

and believed that these buildings were inspired from Hindu buildings. To Orientalize

the European buildings in India, he found inspiration in “Pathan style35” in contrast

to the other groups whose focus were the buildings developed by Mughals. In a

descriptive conceptualization of his ideas about Orientalizing the European

architecture, he writes about Pathan style as

35 Pathans originated from Afghanistan and were the rulers of India before the Mughals. Hardinge

believed the the Pathan style is “far purer” than Mughal style.

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With it rectangular or hexagonal columns, its breadth of treatment with

big walls, buttresses, flat domes and few windows would lend itself to a

composition with Italian architecture and would inspire beauty, solidity,

and originality (Metcalf 2002, 220).

Hardinge’s search for the simple and aesthetically pleasing architecture had led him

to Mandu, which became the new imperial inspiration instead of Akbar’s Fatehpur

Sikri. Hardinge was cautious about the changing political times and didn’t want to

imitate the Western classicism as the British East India Company had previously did

in Calcutta. In fact, he wanted to produce a hybrid that was mutually acceptable to

both Indians and British. This ideology of amalgamation of east and west had forced

him to contact Herbert Baker, who had already worked on the composite building in

South Africa. Baker had never been to India before this assignment, however, his

scepticism about Indian architecture reflected from the following statement regarding

Indo-Saracenic style. “It does not have the constructive and geometrical qualities

necessary to embody the idea of law and order, and have been produced out of chaos

by the British administration (Metcalf 2002, 222).” Herbert Baker also wanted to

create a city that should have the stamp of “British sovereignty” and a city which

“must not be Indian. nor English, nor Roman, but it must be Imperial.” Baker like

most of the British historiographer was concerned with establishing the British

supremacy and was less aware of the history of India. The recipe that Baker proposed

to Lord Hardinge for creating the authentic Indian architecture consisted of three

primary ingredients, that were, Orientalized European classical architecture,

consideration for weather, and Indian material conditions. The Orientalization of the

classical architecture was done by incorporating the Chajja (Wide cantilevered shade),

Jali (stone screen), Chattri (literally means umbrella refer to the freestanding canopied

structure) into the European style architecture. Hardinge’s stress on the insertion of

the four centred pointed Mughal arch had resulted in the differences between

Baker/Lutyens and Hardinge. Baker and Lutyen want to integrate the circular arch

borrowed from the Western classical tradition and regarded Mughal arch as an

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eccentric for the architecture of the new city. Baker wants to integrate only specific

features from Indian architecture that relates to the function of the buildings. He writes

that, “to weave into the fabric of the more elemental and universal forms of

architecture the thread of such Indian traditional shape and features as may be

compatible with the nature and use of the building (Baker 1926).”Hardinge, however,

rejected their stance and their persistence admiration of the “circular arch” finally let

them leave the project. The Baker’s philosophy as described by himself does not

correspond with the Hardinge’s intentions but reinforce the hybridity of modernity as

it prevails under colonizer.

2.7. Conclusion

The early phase of Indian modernity is marginalized from the canonical literature

written in the west, especially by the influential philosophers of modernity like Hegel

and Marx. It was the tradition of misrepresentation that was carried forward by the

colonizers and through their derogatory and biased texts, that had almost nullified the

possibility of the pre-colonial modernity. The analysis of Akbar’s reign and the

postcolonial criticism (especially that is posed by Richards, Fernee, Seth, Chatterjee,

and Appadurai) provides a solid footing for the theorization of early Indian spatial

modernity. Akbar’s intention of rationalizing the society, his socio-political reforms,

administration reforms brings the Indian in par with the European society. However,

it should not be gauged or evaluated based on the values established in the west.

The Indian modernity is best understood through “reorientation” rather than a

“rupture” from tradition. The “reorientation” towards the modern is driven by the

contextualization of both exogenous and endogenous forces. These forces resulted in

the production of hybrid models which can be related to the Indian Subcontinent. It is

important to note that the process of the “contextualization” is gradual and cannot be

read from building to building developed immediately after each other. Though, it

becomes distinguishable at a mature stage of evolution, which in the case of this

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dissertation is Shahjahan Abad, the early modern capital and New-Delhi, the colonial

capital. In case of the Early modern period in India, the buildings were inspired from

the Samarkand built by Timur, the great-great grandfather of the Mughals and Isfahan

the capital of Shah Tahmasp, where Humayun, father of Akbar remained in exile for

ten years. These external influences which include the Chattris, onion-shaped domes,

pointed arches, geometrical plans, double story structures, along with a rich

indigenous tradition of construction, assimilated into the buildings through the local

craftsman, had defined what we can now term as early modern spatial development.

In addition to the Mughal affiliation with Samarkand and Isfahan, it was the similar

weather that had helped in the construction of almost similar buildings in India; a

quality which nullifies the claim of the Europeans that architecture in India belongs to

Europe. The Mughal capital cities, on the one hand, contain the well-planned

monumental building erected with geometric precision and on the other hand tells the

story of an organic city, outside the walls of the citadel. The early urbanization also

helped in the breaking the traditional self-sufficient commune and opens up the new

vistas for the artisan and craftsman for freely trading their manufactured goods.

The British colonial modernity can be gauged on the hybrid model. Loaded with the

spirit of enlightenment, steam power and Greek traditions British buildings were

hybridized by the elements borrowed from the Great Moghuls. One can visibly see the

transition in development from alien city (Madras and Calcutta) to a more Indianized

(New Delhi) one. Furthermore, the scale and impact of the British were much greater

than that of the Moghuls, which destroyed the traditional self-sufficient commune in

India. The destruction of commune owes to two factors, firstly the British agendas of

destroying the traditional economy by completely dilapidating the industry established

under the early modern period for their political gains. Secondly, the massive

industrialization, military campaigns, and infrastructure projects had opened new

trades and job for the local Indian, which lead them to settle in the urban areas rather

than a traditional commune. At the start, the British spatial modernity in the Madras

and Calcutta was reciprocated based on the Western ideals. The main reason was that

https://www.google.com.tr/search?q=Shah+Tahmasp&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjoqsba57nbAhVGDCwKHZwbBfoQkeECCCYoAA

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at the point of time the British trading company was more interested in earning profit

rather than developing the ideal cities. However, there is gradually shift in the British

discourse of city planning and architecture from the mere replication of the European

ideals to the production of Indianized buildings, summed up as Indo-Saracenic style.

The transition in the discourse was not limited to the New-Delhi, but it assimilated

within the material fabric of the towns including Calcutta and Madras that were made

in the British taste. For example, the Victoria memorial in Madras built in 1909

resembles the Buland Darwaza of Fatehpur Sikri (Fergusson 1899). The reasons for

this shift in the discourse was political as British were trying to legitimize themselves

as the indigenous owner and for them establishing a link with the Mughal serves as a

connection to India’s past (Metcalf 2002). British initially labelled Indians as

uneducated and uncivilized, but with the passage of time intellectuals within the

British circles had emphasized on incorporating the Indian elements and admired the

vision of Muslim kings especially Akbar which was reflected in the architecture of

Fatehpur Sikri. Apart from all the biases of Lord Curzon and his entourage, they were

not able to transcend Akbar’s vision of an Indian city while developing New-Delhi.

From the above analysis, one can conclude that during the early modern period in

India, planning was limited to the citadel and boundary wall and the city grows

following an organic part. While in the British modern period the planned grid

gradually emerged, which reached its culmination point in New-Delhi. The urban

critics generally praise the planned city over the organic city, due to obvious reasons,

but draw an un-natural comparison between the early modern India and later modern

England. The dissertation argues that this criticism is not fair as the planned

town started appearing in England during the late modern period.36 During early modern

36 The criticism was based on the fact that in Western theory there was a strong discourse of planned city. However, the British critics were unaware of the Indian tradition of Vastu Shastra and the remains of the first planned city found in Indus valley civilization.

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England, town plan was based on the similar organic pattern as that of India37. For a

complete discussion on the subject, see (Pevsner 1972; Pevsner and Cherry 1973;

Sharpe 1997; Morris 2013). The fact, however, was that the Mughal cities were

developed over the passage of time, according to the growing needs of the new time.

Mughals never had the complete image of the whole city at the start. People either

walk or use horses for transportation within the Mughal cities, therefore organically

planned street doesn’t hinder their movement. The British era, however, has seen a

rise in the use of horse-driven carts and later motor vehicles which requires wider and

straight streets for mobility. Which is one of the main reasons for prioritizing more

rigidly geometric planning over organic planning, in addition to exercising the

political control over space.

37 It is important to note that for executing a planned city one requires political stability and a central

planning authority, which was not present in Early Modern Period (whether it is England or India) hence the town generally grow following an organic pattern (Sharpe 1997). In England and Wales first Statutory control of land use was made in 1909 (Megarry, 1962).

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CHAPTER 3

3. CONCEPTION OF PROMISED LAND

3.1. Introduction

The chapter will address the production of hybrid modernity in the urban spatial

construct as it was articulated in the establishment and development of plans for the

postcolonial / post-independence capital cities, Chandigarh and Islamabad, in the

Indian Subcontinent. The “hybrid”, earlier discussed in chapter two, is an entity

produced as a result of amalgamation of exogenous and endogenous impressions

under the prevailing socio-political conditions and hence, it favours heterogeneity

over homogeneity and plurality over singularity. The endogenous impressions in the

case of Indian Subcontinent encompass both external and internal domains. The

external or material domain, in the case of the postcolonial spatial construct, includes

the hereditary material traditions that were once alien to this part of the world and

were appropriated during the early modern and British modern period. On the other

hand, the inner domain, which was seemingly less affected by the colonizers, includes

the social aspects like religion, culture and non-material conditions which added to

the plurality to the univocal Western modernity during the process of contextualization

(Chatterjee 1997). Hence, this chapter will seek to address in detail the role of “less

affected” internal or spiritual domain38 and the external or material domain39 in the

formation of the postcolonial capital cities (Chatterjee 1997). Material domain defined

38 Chatterjee shows how anti-colonialist nationalists produced their own domain of sovereignty within

colonial society well before beginning their political battle with the imperial power. Chatterjee names this domain as the inner or spiritual domain “bearing the essential marks of cultural identity.” This domain consists of spiritual sphere, represented by religion, caste, women and the family, and peasants (Chatterjee 1993).

39 Material domain defined by the Chatterjee is the external domain consist of science and technology, statecraft and economy where the British colonizer had a proven expertise and were superior to the Indians (Chatterjee 1993).

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by the Chatterjee is the external domain consist of science and technology, statecraft

and economy where the British colonizer had a proven expertise and were superior to

the Indians (Chatterjee 1993).

Figure 3.1. Schema of Postcolonial Architecture and Urban Production (Source: Author)

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Foreign impressions, their source of origin and process of contextualization were

studied along with the dynamics of perceived space40 and conceived space41 in the

postcolonial cities. In this regard, Leferbvian cohesion between the perceived and

conceived space would be studied, in lieu of the prevailing ideologies of nationalism

(Lefebvre 1991). Through an in-depth commentary of how the exogenous and

endogenous ideas were contextualized owing to the economic, social and geographical

conditions of the newly formed country, the role of the modernistic urban design

reinforced by the authoritarian contribution of the state, was analysed.

Figure 3.2. Structure of Chapter 03. (Source: Author)

40 “Perceived space” a termed coined by Lefebvre can be narrated as the material reflection of the social

relation present within a society. It represents the existing condition of living. The term corresponds to the Lefebvre’s “spatial practices” which can be identified by specific characteristics embedded within a position in a society (Lefebvre 1991). For Chatterjee it is this material domain which was more affected by the British colonizers.

41 “Conceived Space” is connected to the. relations of production and to the ‘order’ which those relations impose, and hence to knowledge, to signs, to codes, and to ‘frontal’ relations.” (Lefebvre 1991, 33). Conceived space is “the space of scientists, planners, urbanists…(who) identify what is lived and what is perceived with what is conceived… (it is the) dominant space in any society (or mode of production)(Lefebvre 1991, 38:39).”

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The exercise in result yields towards rewriting the urban history. Interestingly, both

the cities shared a common history, however, the nationalistic discourses that

overshadowed the objective history have resulted in embedment of paradoxes and

myths within the plan of these capital cities. Hence creation of the socio-political

condition which can be termed as the “aesthetic of erasure” whereby the modernist

development in Chandigarh and Islamabad served as an agency to re-appropriate the

past. Furthermore, through a comprehensive comparison of salient features, paradoxes

and hidden agendas concealed in the plan of Islamabad and Chandigarh, this study

seeks to interpret the reflection of these ideations on the production of spatial

configuration in the postcolonial Indian cities. The chapter concludes by discussing

that modern postcolonial capitals in the Indian Subcontinent, Islamabad and

Chandigarh, should not be regarded as mere replication of the modern Western cities.

These are complexly hybridized cities reinvented by the architects under the enforced

conditions and constraints posed by the indigenous conditions.

3.1.1. Nationalist Ethos, Contradictions and Postcolonial Space

On the midnight of 14th and 15th August 1947, British India was divided into two self-

governing dominions, India and Pakistan. This un-natural territorialisation of space

resulted in a vacuum owing to several political, social and economic problems, one of

the main reasons being the unequal distribution of the natural and material resources.

Furthermore, the new countries also suffered the loss of capital cities. To concentrate

power and cope with the administrative deficiency that resulted from the loss of the

capital cities, Lahore and New Delhi, both Indian and Pakistani governments

conceived the idea of development of new capital cities. Hence, Chandigarh (the

capital of Eastern Punjab in India) and Islamabad (the capital of Pakistan) came into

being. This historicism that lies at the core of the national movement of both the

countries was clearly reflected in the planning of these capital cities and nurtured them

as “hybrid modern” capitals. The hybridity resulted from the historical connectivity,

makes them different from the other planned capital cities of the twentieth century.

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The percentage of historicity, agenda of the respective governments and political

ambitions bring both these capital in striking contrast to each other. These hybrid cities

also challenged the very notion of Marxian conception of the city whereby he

designates the city as a moment in the history that marks the transition from the

feudalism to the capitalist mode of production. Chandoke writes about the difference

between the European and postcolonial cities as

The city in the European historical experience represents a break; a point

of transition from one mode of production to another. In the postcolonial

world, the city is a historical subject because it is a manifestation of the

articulation; the symbiosis of the non-capitalist modes of production42

and the dominant capitalist mode (Chandoke 1991).

It is important to note that Marx presented his thesis concerning the early modern

conditions in Europe, while Indian Subcontinent never completely shifted from the

feudal economy to the capitalist mode of production, even today, both these go

together in hand with each other. Chandoke explained that this shift was not the

eradication of one mode of production for the survival of other, but it was the

consolidation of “non-capitalist mode of production” and “dominant capitalist mode”

(Chandoke 1991). This “shift from one mode [of production] to another must entail

the production of new space (Lefebvre 1991, 46).” Chandigarh was the brainchild of

modernist Nehru that he envisioned as “unfettered by the traditions of the past”43 44

while Islamabad, as the name clearly indicates, was developed as a city of Islam. Both

these cities, in general, are linked to the earliest echoes of nationalistic space, voiced

during the formative years of the Indian independence movement, the collective

42 Marx presented his idea of “Asiatic Mode of Production”, which is the most relevant non-capitalist

mode of productions with reference to the Indian Subcontinent. It is important to note that Marx never gave an elaborate view of the Asiatic mode of production. Another major problem about comprehending this point of views is “comments on the Asiatic mode are scattered throughout his writings” (Taylor 1979).

43 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-12-2-002, Subject: “Notes of Meeting between Le Corbusier and Nehru on Date June 26th, 1957, from Le Corbusier’s Diary.”

44 The possible confusion in the holistic understanding of tradition in India discussed later in detail in section 3.3.1.

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memory of Indian renaissance in the early modern period’s spatial development, the

legacy of colonizers and foreign impressions were Indianized by Le Corbusier and

Doxiadis.45 This is unlike other postcolonial cities, e.g. Brasilia, where modernity,

“…proposes architecture and city planning as instruments of social change and

management (Holston 1989, 12).” Urban design of both cities reveals a strong

connection, not only with the early modern capital cities, but also with their immediate

predecessors, New Delhi; the last imperial capital of the British India. The reflection

of the colonial cities can be seen in the development of housing and residential areas

that were divided according to the pay-scale and grade of the government employees,

thus enhancing and formalizing the class antagonism through reflection on material

world yielding to spatial practices. Consequently, in the conception of the postcolonial

space in the Indian Subcontinent, the “Gandhi’s Sawaraj46” and the “Muslim

nationalism47” were schematically infused with the conception of space within India

and Pakistan. The conception of space as a tool for control has been argued by

45 Chatterjee argues that the middle-class elites had firstly “imagined the nation into being in this

spiritual dimension and then readied it for political contest, all the while "normalizing" the aspirations of the various marginal groups that typify the spiritual sphere.” Hence once the Pakistani and Indian nationalisms are formulated, thesis on the spatial reflection of nationalism was floated by Ch. Rehmat Ali (Ali 1933) and Gandhi respectively. The most important place was the mimicry of historicism in the conception of space where on one hand Ch Rahmat Ali connects the spatial demarcation with the roots of Islam and on the other hand Gandhi present his thesis on the traditional revivalism on Indian Subcontinent.

46 “Hind Sawaraj” or “Indian home Rule” was the title of the book written by Ramdas Mohan Chand Gandhi, founding Father of India. The book reflects his traditionalist ideologies and probable sketch of Indian society after independence. Although his thesis was based on the revival of the traditional Indian society, he acknowledges the English and want an “English rule without the Englishman” in post-independence India. He further explains this statement as “English Parliament be the Mother of Parliaments, I certainly think that we should copy the English people”, but to an extent where they cannot over rule the Indian traditions (Gandhi 1909).

47 Muslim Nationalistic ideologies gained its momentum following the two-nation theory with Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s (founding father of Pakistan) as its flag bearer. The two-nation theory was the soul of “Pakistan resolution” passed on the annual convention of All-India Muslim League on Mar 23, 1940. The Two Nation theory emphasizes on the fact that Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent are a distinct nation, whose way of life, social customs, philosophies and religious practices and not only different, but contradictory with the Hindus, thus they require a separate country to dwell, without getting in to a dispute with the majority Hindus (Khan 1985; Hoveyda 2010, 43:47). Within the popular streams of “ethnic” and “civic” nationalism, religious nationalism is a lesser known stream with Pakistan and Israel being only two countries created following this ideology. The theory was highly criticized specially after the separation of Muslim Majority Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) from West Pakistani.

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Yiftachel, where he stresses planners to acknowledge that, the progressive potential

of planning is accompanied by a sinister side in which planning may function as a tool

of social control in the interests of power (Yiftachel 1998), consequently this idea is

quite contrary to the beliefs on the basis of which postcolonial independent states were

formed. For example, in the case of Chandigarh, there is a clear contradiction with

reference to Jawahar Lal Nehru’s urge for a “democratic” plan. Despite Corbusier’s

utmost plea, Nehru ordered the removal of the Governor’s Palace from the plan of

Chandigarh, owing to its “imitating imperial outlook” bestowed by its location on the

plan.48 However, in case of the residential area planning, he was “greatly interested in

the quarters being built for staff of all grades.”49 Subsequently, the class-based

residential quarters resulted in the social alienation and strongly reinforced the class

antagonism within the plan. The physical segregation of the rich and poor classes

reminds one of the black and white towns; a salient feature of the colonial capitals

(that are, Madras and Calcutta). It is also important to note that although contradictory

with the constitution of India, the class based system is well protected in Hinduism,

who adopted this system from the Aryans who conquered India and established there

empire in 1500 BCE. This ideology fundamentally contradicts the constitution of

India, which guarantees equal rights for the citizens, and the promises made by

Western modernity50, but align them with the cities of British colonizers. Le Corbusier

also unwinds the benefits of monetization through space planning in a meeting with

the high-level advisory committee of Chandigarh project. He states that “the good

48 In a Letter to Mr. Nehru, Le Corbusier writes that “India is greatly appreciated as since the highest

ages she has inspired architectural works and cultivated spiritual, intellectual and poetical values. Chandigarh excites everybody’s interest. It is your country which is “poor as Job” which has built Chandigarh. If you cut off the head of Chandigarh it shall be said:” The have not been able to carry out their enterprise. Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-13-48-004, “Letter from Le Corbusier to Mr. Nehru (Page 02), Date June 26th, 1957.”

49 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-8-38-004, “Camp: “The Retreat”. Mashobra”. Main Title: Housing. Written by Jawahar Lal Nehru on Apr 04, 1952.

50 Since Renaissance treatises on the nature of architecture and the city and the Laws of the Indies of 1573 regulating the discovery and settlement of the New World, architecture and city planning have been prominent among those modern techniques of government that address what the order of society should be and how it should be maintained (Holston 1989).

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urbanism makes money; the bad urbanism loses money!”51. This was not the first

times when Le Corbusier encouraged the Punjab Government’s official to utilize the

speculation. In the progress report for the Assembly Building he writes

Town hall should not be constructed on the privileged places, but

precisely at the heart of the city centre. It was a financial point of view to

give values to the depreciated land and in turn a super value to the land

along the avenues. That is making money. Now the authority (the board)

must reap the harvest, selling the plots at high prices. This is urbanism.

The Chandigarh boards is assured to create big money in this manner.52

This fact was also confirmed by Doxiadis who, during his visit to Chandigarh, has

written that the Government of India was selling the land to the buyers at 20,000-

50,000 Indian rupees per acre, which it bought for 1500 Indian rupees per acre.53In

case of Islamabad, the first Muslim planned city developed under a unified authority,

the material conception of the city is borrowed from the discourse developed by

colonizers rather than prevailing theory of Islamic architecture. The central idea is to

locate the origins for development within the motherland. The emphasis of British

Historian on the formal aspect of the architecture, inherited by the British trained

administration of Pakistan and it kept on haunting the foreign architects hired to

produced Islamic building in the Capital ( For a detailed discussion on the subject see

51 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P3-8-71-008, “Attached Document to the Letter to the

High-Level Advisory Committee of the Capital Project Control Board, Chandigarh from Mr. Le Corbusier” (Title: Statue of the Land, City of Chandigarh) (Page 06). This is not the first time Corbusier revealed the money-making potential of urbanism. In a swiss colony in Paris he told his closes friends, “To urbanize means to increase value…To urbanize is not to spend money, but to earn money, to make money.” This assertion thus revealed the original character of his Highrise fever, which was anything, but revolutionary. Thus idea city was in fact ideal city of capitalism (Moos 2009, 119).

52 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-8-104-001, “copy of notes given by Le Corbusier for consideration in the first meeting Chandigarh capital project control”. on Apr 04, 1952.

53 Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Document Number: DOX-PP (77-84) Pakistan Diaries and Reports, DOX-PP (77-84), Jan-Mar 1956 (Page 2).

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section 4.2.).The British discourse on Indian architecture was politically motivated

that reduced the Islamic architecture to a mere formal statement. For a brief discussion

on the subject see section 3.2.1 & 3.2.2.

3.2. Chandigarh: The Modern Experiment in India

Mao’s Beijing or, in different circumstance,

Nehru’s Chandigarh owe their present spatial

form to a combination of both ‘external’ and

‘internal’ ideas as well as the everyday

activities of their inhabitants (King 2004).

The following section of the dissertation will critically analyse the design evolution

of Chandigarh, the planned capital city that was developed from scratch after the

independence of Indian. It also reinforces the argument that Chandigarh was modern

city re-invented on Indian soil, and owes its existence not only to Le Corbusier, but to

Nehru, Indian bureaucracy and politicians as well. This point of views the challenges

the tradition idea of architect as a “master build” bearing all the responsibility od

design development. This idea is also reinforced by Perera where he points out that,

“the majority of work approaches the city from a physical standpoint and the discourse

revolves around its designer, marginalizing its residents, political leaders and socio-

political and historical contexts (Perera 2004).” The plan of Chandigarh was based on

the contradictions that were embedded due to techno-economic reasons. These reasons

together with the physical constraints and Corbusier’s anomalous interest in the Indian

culture, led the stubborn architect 54 to produce a plan that also challenged his earlier

conceptions of the city. The city thus presents a case for hybrid modernity, by

54 Stubbornness of Le Corbusier is well known, and he was rigid not only about his ideas, but quite

often praise himself and his work. In a letter written to Nehru he writes that “I have created an important “Plan of the city” … “My Architecture has a universal value (and signification …I have transformed architecture all over the world”. Knowing this fact, it was not less than a miracle that he transformed his earlier ideas about the city planning but made a solution that match the Indian condition upon request of his client. Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-13-95-004.

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/anomalousness

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reminiscing about the local and foreign impression, instead of “bastard55” architectural

production. Furthermore, due to the geographical constraints and impacts the city

should not be viewed as an extension of the Corbusier’s previous work in Europe,56

but rather one should read it as an excellent example of Corbusian skilful

transformation of problematic to Indian condition57 with the help of his entourage.

3.2.1. Deciphering Tradition (From Nehru to Le Corbusier)

During his meeting with Nehru in June 1957, Le Corbusier re-quotes Nehru’s famous

statement and pens down his response as,” Chandigarh - a symbol of the Freedom of

India unfettered by the tradition of the past. Nehru is very solemn.58” Several Western

authors (Morris 1975) have frequently re-quoted this statement, however, the

dissertation will argue that they have misunderstood this statement, due to the lack of

knowledge regarding the political orientation of Nehru. “Nehru’s idea of modernity

was not the simple opposite of traditional, but was constructed within a continuity and

change of tradition (Perera 2004)”. Kalia also reinforces the fact that Nehru wanted to

build community life on a ‘higher’ scale without breaking the old foundations of India

(Kalia 1999). Chatterjee and Kenny also argues that, Nehru’s vision of ‘new’ India

presented the possibility of combining its spiritual heritage with the ‘scientific temper’

of the Western societies (Chatterjee and Kenny 1999). It is important to note that both

55 E. B. Havell who was the ex-principal of Calcutta college of Art. saw the construction of Delhi as an

opportunity that can surpass the “shoddy imitation” of Western architecture in Calcutta which includes “bastard Gothic” and “emasculated Italian Renaissance.” (Metcalf 2002).

56 Le Corbusier earlier work for the city planning in the Europe comprise of “Contemporary city of three million people 1922 (The Ideal City)”, “Plan Voisin for Paris 1925”, “The radiant city 1930 (Villa Radieuse)” (Corbusier 1987, 1933, 1971).

57 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-8-38-004 Attached notes to the letter written by P.S. Thapar letter to Mr. Le Corbusier. Dated Apr 05, 1952. These Notes were written by Nehru where he referring to Le Corbusier writes that “Mr. Corbusier told me an we should definitely investigate what changes we should make to make our buildings conform more to Indian conditions and at the same time have some artistic value. In the past we have paid little attention to architecture or to aesthetics in this respect. … nothing is more horrid than the type of Peons’ or Servants quarters which became the standard pattern in British.”

58 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-12-02-002, “Notes of Meeting between Le Corbusier and Nehru on Date June 26th, 1957, from Le Corbusier’s Diary.”

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Le Corbusier and Nehru had a different perception for the tradition. Le Corbusier, one

of the founding father of the modern movement in architecture had a clear point of

view about rejecting the tradition that yields a rupture. He was the spearhead of the

Modern movement in architecture, the group of people who were translating the

rupture into the built environment leaving behind the tradition. Coming from a person

of the stature of Nehru, who was not only a disciple of Gandhi, but also a forerunner

for the independence of India, reading this statement in line with Corbusier is absurd.

Both Gandhi59 and Nehru shared a vision of India rooted in the past and inspired from

the present. Nehru fell more towards the present, while Gandhi was inclined towards

historicism, but not encaged in historical romanticism. He was also open to

incorporate the English customs for the progress. In his seminal book “Hind Swaraj”

Indian home rule) he writes, “If the English Parliament be the Mother of Parliaments,

I certainly think that we should copy the English people (Gandhi 1909, 25).”However,

his very limited openness towards the English institutions was not widespread and

often marginalized from the canonical literature. The acceptability towards inducing

the foreign influences for the National progress reinforces the baseline idea of

hybridity, discussed in this dissertation. It is due to the marginalization of Gandhi’s

acceptability of Western culture that Doxiadis, while visiting Chandigarh, felt that the

soul of Gandhi was missing from Chandigarh. In the following section with reference

to the plan of Chandigarh, the dissertation will explain the domain in which tradition

was revived within a modernist plan, reinforced by both Nehru and Le Corbusier.

Before pursuing this debate, it is vital to address the question posed in the above

statement, that whether Nehru wanted to create a historical rupture, by negating the

tradition in the European sense or the word “tradition” in the above statement does not

do justice with his ideology regarding unfettering. In his seminal book, “The Search

59 Gandhi was a strong advocate of the revival of Indian traditions especially the self-sufficient

commune, which in his opinion was destroyed by the British colonizer. He lived in the houses that reinforce his belief of traditional revivalism and reincarnation of the self-sufficient commune. In Sabarmati ashram, Gandhi’s house in Ahmedabad there was dedicated space for the living experiments e.g. farming, animal husbandry, cow breeding, Khadi and related constructive activities (National Gandhi Museum 2018).

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of India,” written during his imprisonment days Nehru writes

To some extent, I came to her (India) via the West and looked at her as a

friendly Westerner might have done. I was eager and anxious to change her

outlook and appearance and give her the garb of modernity. And yet doubts

arose within me. Did I know India? (Nehru 1946, 50).

To answer this question, and in search of India, Nehru travelled across India from the

north Western provinces to the Eastern provinces through which he came across

people of different races and religions that helped him in discovering the “vitality” of

India. By ‘vitality’ he refers to the forces that have kept a country of different

ethnicities and religions together in the form of one country (Nehru 1946). He related

this vitality with that of China instead of the United States of America. He proclaimed

that future India (that is post-independence India) will be a product of not only of the

present, but a thousand years of history similar to that of China. He was not only

fascinated by the history of India, but under the tutelage of Gandhi reinforced the idea

of traditional realism. He also displayed his fear as, “I have often wondered that if our

race forgot, the Buddha …It would be uprooted and would lose the basic

characteristics which have clung to it and given it distinction throughout these long

ages. India would cease to be India.60” . He also advocated the idea that “The future

had to be built on the foundations laid in the past and the present. To deny the past and

break with it completely us to uproot ourselves and, sapless and dry up.61” Further to

the above statement Nehru has also written that, “traditions had to be accepted to a

large extent and adapted and transformed to meet new conditions and ways of thought,

and at the same time, new traditions have to be built up (Nehru 1946, 55).” Several

other statements and writing by Nehru reinforce the fact that he wanted to “adopt the

new and harmonize it with the old” (Nehru 1946, 54). Thus one can conclude that

60 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-13-86-006, “India Today and Tomorrow by

Jawaharlal Nehru” in Azad Memorial Lectures (1959), Page 02 & 03. 61 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-13-86-008, “India Today and Tomorrow by

Jawaharlal Nehru” in Azad Memorial Lectures (1959), Page 06 & 07.

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Nehru was not in favour of scrapping the past, but wanted to release it from the dogmas

and ills attached to it. He tried to utilize the tradition for the progress in conjunction

with the foreign impressions (Nehru 1946). This amalgamation, as this dissertation

argues, was not a brainchild of Nehru or Gandhi only. Gandhi, being a traditionalist,

was unable to incorporate the system of the “higher civilization” within his ideology

of tradition. This was, however, the apex point of the practise initiated by Akbar and

carried forward by Ram Mohan Roy and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan for their religious

reform movements during the British Times. Le Corbusier, when landed in India, had

a vision of the city of skyscrapers which was truly represented in his earlier projects.

It was the lack of the socio-political conditions, technology and poor economy of India

that had led him to re-invent not only his city, but also transformed ideas about

tradition. In praise of Indian traditions, Le Corbusier writes that, “You have in your

traditions of life, fundamental functions – respect for nature, love of sky, stars, plants

and animals. This is a thing the west had completely lost.62” It was not the appreciation

alone, but Corbusier had tried to understand the Indian culture and civilization. His

interest is visible through the sketches preserved in his sketchbook titled, “Album

Simla, Punjab, India, Chandigarh Capitol Project” at Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris,

France. However, his detail studies also made him stand in a position where he could

highlight the problems in the vernacular architecture of India. Although he also shared

the same views as that of Nehru, Thapar, and Verma to incorporate the Indian

conditions in the housing, he wanted to re-appropriate them through the lens of

science. In a meeting with Planning Commission of the Capital City Project, he

deliberately suggested to

Bring a scientific spirit in them (while talking about housings) you make

fortresses which belong to the past. (while talking about cost reduction)

Walls are too thick. You like them because it gives coolness. You think

62 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-08-29-006 Minutes of the meeting of the planning

commission held on Apr. 17, 1952 at 9.30 a.m. in the committee room to meet M. Le Corbusier, (Page 06).

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that it stops here. You have not scientifically started in this direction.63

Figure 3.3. (Left) Indian Houses and (Right) Bulls and Peasant Houses. Date March 1951 (Source: Page 20 & 05, Album Simla, Punjab, India, Chandigarh Capitol Project,

Fondation Le Corbusier)

It was Corbusier’s interest in the tradition that according to Avermate led him to work

out a square modular for the city of Chandigarh, with each side equal to 800 meters.

According to Avermate, these dimensions were borrowed from the Mughal Gardens

in Pinjore (Avermaete and Casciato 2014, 134). Earlier in 1950s, Albert Mayer had

also shared a similar intention for Chandigarh. While addressing a symposium of

urban and regional planners in Washington DC, in May 1950, he explained the

framework for his planning aimed at Chandigarh. He said

We are seeking to build a city, not in our idiom, not the city of bold-winged

engineering and cantilevers which India's developed resources do not

63 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-08-29-008. Minutes of the meeting of the planning

commission held on Apr. 17, 1952 at 9.30 a.m. in the committee room to meet M. Le Corbusier (Page 08).

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justify, but a city in the Indian idiom, fused with our own simplicity and

functional honest (Morris 1975).

Blending a functional plan with the indigenous elements, as proposed by Mayer, was

less ambiguous and controversial in terms of retaining Indianness of the project

quintessentially required for the identity building of new nation, than scientizing the

local rudiments in Corbusian way. Corbusier's “worship of science and technology”,

had already provoked his critic Mumford who was quoted saying "from the time I read

the first edition of his Vers une architecture... I knew we were... predestined enemies"

(Fishman 1982, 258). It was not Mumford alone, Foucault (Foucault 1973) and Fabian

(Fabian and Bunzl 1983) also tried to address the problem related to scientizing, in

general. They argue in different ways, that the sciences of society use techniques of

seeing to control and distance their objects in the moment of appropriating them as

scientific-especially which is conceived as or made to become radically other, as the

mad or the primitive. After the loss of Lahore to west Punjab, east Punjab was left

with an only choice, that is, to administer the state from any of the existing cities

(Kudaisya and Yong 2004), but none of the existing towns, within East Punjab had

the capacity to host the administrative functions (Morris 1975). Among the existing

contenders for the capital cities64 “Simla,” the summer capital of the colonial Empire

was shortlisted. While it was more suitable than the rest, yet its small scale and remote

location was a significant hindrance in making it as fully functional capital for the

state. The few of the critical considerations that were kept in mind while selecting the

site of the new capital were

1. Appropriate space for hosting the state’s administration and refugees.

2. Future expansion and growth.

3. Distance from neighbouring Pakistan.

64 To begin with, the government of east Punjab started operating from different cities like Ambala,

Kalka, Dagshai, and Kasauli which of course created many problems for the people and the government itself. These problems had forced the government to most aggressively pursue the development of the new capital (Evenson 1966; Kalia 1999; Prakash 2002).

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4. The city which can be comparable both at the national and international level

and can fill the gap produced by loss of Lahore that commercial and economic hub

of the state.

5. The Government of East Punjab also wanted to accommodate the businessmen

who migrated from West Pakistan (Kalia 1999).

It was unfortunate that no such consideration was kept beforehand to integrate the

economic planning, physical planning and develop a scheme for economic

development at the macro level. Following the widespread beliefs and existing

examples (that are, Brasilia and Ankara), that strengthen the fact that the capital city

should be located at the centre of gravity of the territory, the cities of Amritsar,

Jullundar, Ludhiana, and Ambala were initially shortlisted for the development of the

capital cities. Amritsar was subtracted from the list because it lies on the border next

to Pakistan, and similar security reasons had affected the selection of Jullundar as the

capital of Punjab. Ambala was not selected because of its poor infrastructure

(problems with sanitation and electrical facilities) and military character. Ludhiana's

adverse road connection with the rest of the state, its dominant Muslim population and

its industrial character had affected its selection. The poor sanitation and infrastructure

facilities and undue political pressure from the politicians had made the selection of

the site difficult (Sprague 2013). The politicians and the administrators ran into a

lengthy debate over the location of the capital. It was not decided until Prime Minister

Nehru intervened in the matter which expedited the work for the site selection of the

capital. In the start of 1948 three sites were shortlisted for the capital, that is, the

Chandigarh site, the Ambala site, and the Ludhiana site. After a rigorous analysis of

understanding the pros and cons, the Chandigarh site was shortlisted for the

development of the new capital for Punjab. The site was admired because of it low

possession cost, no dispute of land, accessibility from the rest of the state and its

central location. Nehru also praised the site and during his first visit set the direction

for the future development, “the site chosen is free from the existing encumbrances of

old towns and old traditions. Let it be the first large expression of our creative genius

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flowering on our newly earned freedom (Kalia 1999, 12).”As reported by Kalia, the

Land surveyors Mr. B.R.C. Iyengor and M.R. Sahni also admired the site, owing to

the six reasons stated below

13. The ground stability of the selected site &The appropriate slope for the

groundwater drainage.

14. Potential of the Site for setting up the industry.

15. Abundant water supply from the near vicinity.

16. Presence Limestone (which can help in setting up a reasonable scale

cement factory) and building stones for construction (Kalia 1999).

The rejection of the sites with overriding (military and industrial) character, poor

infrastructure facilities (that are, sanitation, electricity and roads) and with hygiene

problems, depicts Nehru’s intention of moving forward from traditional ills of the old

towns. It also provides a clear direction of the Government of India for the

development of the new capital. The central government’s ambitious plan to make the

new city a symbol of its political expression, that can fill the gap created by the loss

of Lahore, and its intention to represent India at the international level through the

development of the new city, forced the progress of city without giving due

consideration to the economic development of the city. In the long run, the

development of the city that would be based on the industrial capital above the

agriculture land also created massive problems.

3.2.2. The Planning Mantra

Morris provides an interesting anecdote about the site selection of the Chandigarh as

compared to New-Delhi, “The one small difference seems to have been that this time

the site was chosen with the aid of an aeroplane instead of an elephant (Morris 1975).”

Probably it was the aeroplane that gives one freedom to select a site, which can be

praised in Nehru's words as “The site appeared to me as an ideal one from many points

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of view.”65 The location of the Chandigarh site was in fact scenic, it was located in the

bottom of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas with two seasonal rivers “Sukhna Cho”

and “Patiala Rao” flowing east and west of the site. The site was primarily an

agricultural land with mango trees groves covering the area. The site also contains

seventeen existing villages. It was the nature of the land that resulted in the agitation

from agriculturist supported by the socialist and Akalis. Furthermore, the allocation of

the land by Sardar Jaswant Singh Uppal’s decision of allocating the plots to the

government officials and his friends completely ignoring the refugees who were in the

real need of these plots, was objected by Lala Jagat Narain, (the general secretary of

the provincial congress committee). Sikh leaders had also added to the controversy to

the selection of Chandigarh site. They wanted Amritsar or Jullundur, the majority Sikh

population cities, to be selected as the capital to elevate the role of the Sikhs in the

politics of Punjab. The Central Government which had experienced the 1947 partition

based on the religious ground was clearly against taking any such step that could lead

to a repetition of the history (Prakash 2002).The controversy and agitation at one point

reached such a climax that the Provincial Government requested the Central

Government to choose the Ambala site instead and was willing to provide its full

support for any such acquisition. Under such pressures, it was only the iron vision and

concrete support from Nehru that the “Chandigarh” site was chosen to construct the

new capital of Eastern Punjab. The earlier works for the development of the capital

territory were looked after by P. L. Varma chief engineer for the state of Punjab. He

was studying road construction in the U.S. when he was recalled and appointed as the

chief engineer of Punjab. During his stay in the U.S., he was consulting with American

town planners concerning the development of the new capital as directed by the

government of Punjab and P.N. Thapar who was a bureaucrat and was appointed as

the head of the capital city project in 1949 (Evenson 1966).

65 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-8-38-004

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To design Chandigarh, Nehru wanted to negotiate with the planners who were

already working in India at that time before seeking to hire an architect planner from

abroad. This was intended to lower the consultancy fee, as well as help in

incorporating Nehruvian vision concerning the integration of social aspect and

maximum utilization of the local resources. Therefore, under the direction of

Nehru, the east Punjab government started negotiating with Albert Mayer66 and

Otto Konigsberger67 (Nehru 1961). Konigsberger was an employee of the

government of India and was working on the development of Faridabad. It was,

therefore, assumed that the Central Government could transfer his services to

the Provincial Government for the Chandigarh project thus saving the

consultancy fee.68 Mayer came to India during World War Two as an army

engineer for U.S. army after spending an extensive amount of time with the

housing organization and project in the U.S. (see footnote 74 & 75). He was also a

sound critic of both New Delhi and Washington D.C. On one hand, he wanted to

avoid “overscale sterility and stiltedness of New Delhi (McClarence 2017),”

and on the other, he blamed Washington D.C. for its monumentality (Kalia

2004, 126). He wanted to upgrade American planning concepts owing to the

problems that he witnessed in Foley Square (New York), Civic Centre (Chicago)

and in American city planning. In his seminal article titled as “Horse Sense

Planning”(1940), he pointed out 4 main reasons for the failure of an American city,

66 Mayer (1897-1981) was an American architect and town planner who was acquainted with the Indian conditions. He was involved in the up-gradation of a rural development project in united provinces of India and several post-independence town planning projects in India. His most prominent work in India was the initial studies for developing the master plan of the greater Bombay with the N. V. Modak.

67 Otto Koenigsberger (1909–99) was Educated in Germany during the Weimar Republic, but subjected to Nazi persecution, Koenigsberger migrated via Egypt to Bangalore and employed by the Tata Dynasty in 1939. In independent India, he was appointed to Director of Housing in charge of New Town Development across India, including the organization of the Chandigarh commissions (Liscombe 2006).

68 With many shortcomings concerning education and appropriate skills to undertake the project of this scale, Koenigsberger main problem was that he does not have a planning unit of his own. Therefore, while approached by Government to design Chandigarh he advised them to pursue with Mayer for the design of the new capital.

3.2.3. The First Plan: An American Garden City in India

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1. He was very critical about the automobiles in the city and blame them as a

reason for widening the roads in the city centre and in result narrowing the

pedestrian pathways and hinder their circulation by generally “bumping into

them.”

2. He blamed the city planners for not developing and exploiting the potential of

outdoor space where “people meet and dine.”

3. Based on his studies of “Radburn69” and practical engagement with the

American green belt town70, he was a strong advocate of the neighbourhood

that is connected with the shopping, services and recreation activities. He also

proposed that living near the workplace would result in the economically and

socially stable neighbourhood.

4. He was also a strong proponent of providing the green belts and green areas in

the city, on the garden city pattern, which in his opinion limits the uncontrolled

growth of cities.

Mayer wanted to make an Indian city by fusing the functional and beautiful city

concept, but his in-depth analysis of the functional and beautiful city forced him to

reinvent these concepts to be utilized in India. Mayer summed up his philosophy for

Chandigarh as, “our basic purpose (in Chandigarh) is to create a sense of pride in the

citizen not only in this own city, but in India, its past and its potential imminent future

(Kalia 2004, 126).”

69 Clarence Stein grouped with few associates planned the first American garden city. Based on the Weleyn, second garden city he designed a small cul-de-sac community town for Radburn in New Jersey. Which is claimed to be first American Garden city (Morris 1975). It was the product of Regional planning association of America (R.P.A.A.) and was inspired from the garden city movement. It was “well designed and rationally organized (Birch 1980).

70 Henry Wright, (the co-designer of the “Radburn” with Stein, and one of his collaborators for his theoretical New York suburban “Garden City” project), was one of the co-planner of the Green Belt towns. Albert Mayer was a co-architect of one of the ill-fated Green belt towns at New Jersey. Although “Green belt, New Jersey” was abandoned. It provided Mayer with an opportunity to work with Wright and understand the planning rigor behind garden cities of America (Morris 1975).

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Figure 3.4. Albert Mayer’s Plan for Chandigarh. (Source: https://omeka.design.ncsu.edu/omeka/items/show/274). Last visited on June 2018.)

Mayer enthusiastically approached the project as he envisioned it as an opportunity to

upgrade the lives of Indians. However, the widespread publicity in the international

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press and news about his consultancy fees had triggered an international controversy,

especially with Abercrombie71.

Figure 3.5. Albert Mayer Sketch for Chandigarh. (Source: Albert Mayer’s, “The New Capital of Punjab,” Journal of the AIA 15, no. 5 (1950): 168.)

Once again Nehru’s firm stand, and intervention helped Mayer and Government to

pursue the project. Mayer’s city was situated between the two rivers; future expansion

was planned towards the south-west, across the plain. The focus of the plan is on the

Government Centre (High Court and Capitol complex) placed strategically in from of

Mountainous backdrop. The core element of Mayer’s design was "Radburn-type”

residential neighbourhood inspired from the Baldwin Hills (Morris 1975) which

resulted in the creation of a “superblock.” This superblock served as a modular and

formed the basis of the main residential part of the city, organized within a loosely

71 Abercrombie was a well know city planner who was well known for his design and master plan for

the greater London. He was also a teacher of many Indian planners. Upon initial directive from the central government, the Indian Embassy in UK has started the discussion with him about the design of the Chandigarh. Abercrombie had also given his consent for the design of the capital, later on, he was informed that due to financial reason the government of India could no longer work with him.

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structured, quasi-gridiron street pattern that consequently served to bring order and

steer the form of the city. In the planning of Chandigarh, Mayer was very sensitive

about the climate; he wanted to arrange the superblocks in the way that they can

capture breeze thus relieving the inhabitant from the harsh summers. Mayer believed

that such an arrangement would minimize the cost of artificial air conditioning,

ventilation, and heating system. Mayer also wanted the plan of his new city to conform

to future growth. According to Evenson, Mayer’s master plan had three significant

features

01. The site condition, its topography and location were the main agents that

steered the overall character of the city.

02. The plan had carefully incorporated the lifestyle of local people, documented

by Mayer through his deep analysis of Indian society. Hence Mayer gave

utmost importance to the bicycle movement and development of varied types

of schools.

03. The basic planning unit of the city is a residential neighbourhood the main

skeleton of the plan was developed through variation, replication and

integration of this residential neighbourhood (Evenson 1966).

Table 3.1. Classification of Residential Units in Mayer’s Plan for Chandigarh

No Abbreviation Income Groups Population Density(people/acre)

1 U Upper Class 25 2 M Middle Class 50 3 L Lower Class 75

The overall plan was fan-shaped guided by the terrain of the site. Capitol Complex

and the university were planned on the narrower end of the fan. The broader portion

mainly contains the residential units. The residences are divided into three type of the

categories. The lavish bungalows, as he believed that such areas could only be

designated by depriving the poor of the necessary facilities. Furthermore, the

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infrastructure, sanitation, and electrification of private residences required much more

money than creating a compact residence. However, On the outer edge of the city, a

small portion (almost one acre) is marked for the private residences. These residences

were designed as a single story with imparting freedom to the inhabitant who can

develop the first floor if required. The Mayer plan also thrashes an old colonial spatial

practice of providing. The central area of the neighbourhoods was set free to host parks

and other social functions. As a solution to the harsh environment of Chandigarh,

Mayer designed the streets which were narrow at the end and broader at the middle,

so they can facilitate the air circulation. The houses were located at the narrower end

and provided with a verandah/open space. The central open space was designed at a

relatively small scale so it will provide the inhabitants with an opportunity to come

together and interact with each other.(Pinto & Srivastava 2008). Traffic planning was

one of the most challenging tasks in case of the design for an Indian city. In the U.S.

generally, a single mode of transportation (that is, automobiles) exists, that runs at a

uniform speed however in India much variation exists in terms of mode of

transportation. From the bicycles to animal driven carts to motor vehicles all use the

same roads and their varying speed can create a disaster if not adequately planned.

Mayer provided a “threefold” solution for addressing this complex problem.

1. The plan provides separate access to each type of vehicles ranging from the

fast-moving automobiles to bicycles. This ensures the smooth traffic flow and

safety for each type of vehicles.

2. Secondly, the major roads were designed parallel and close to each other, so

they can share the peak hours load.

3. Self-sufficient districts and neighbourhoods were equipped with all the basic

facilities, which restricts the inhabitants to go to other places for their basic

needs, which in result minimizes traffic on the main roads.

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Mayer’s plan was a result of his Indian experiences72, which he acquired during his

stay in India, combined with his American training. He had successfully prepared the

plan and handed it over to the Government. However, on August 31, 1950, Novicki (a

Polish Architect who was Mayer’s Architectural Assistant) died in a plane crash in

Egypt which resulted in Mayer’s dissociation with the project. After Mayer left the

project, Government of Punjab had no choice except to hire a new architect for the

project.

3.2.4. Novicki’s Plan

Before discussing the plans by Le Corbusier, it is eminent to highlight Novicki’s

contribution towards the plan of the Chandigarh which are often marginalized from

the canonical literature. The reason being that his ideas for Chandigarh were never

realized and he was viewed more as Mayer’s architectural assistant than an

independent urban designer.

Table 3.2. Detail of Novicki’s Every day and Holiday Functions

No Function Corresponding features in Plan

1 Everyday Function Residential areas and workplace 2 Holiday Function Recreation

Novicki’s design for Chandigarh was based on his earlier ideas about the cities and

his proposed design for Chandigarh was a beautiful blend of indigenous and foreign

ideas (Kalia 1999). He plans consists of two major functions that were the “everyday

function” and “holiday function.” Evenson writes that though Novicki had

incorporated both the functions in the city on the equal ground, he believed that it was

72 Mayer from his experience in India concluded that all the American and Britisher lived in India had

a sense of self-superiority over Indian. He also criticized the British Indian Government, American Government and Red Cross for creating all American atmosphere in India. He never wants to remain in that American atmosphere. It was his revolt against this atmosphere that he made local Indian friends and one of them connected him with Pandit Nehru in 1945.

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the, “everyday function is responsible for the pattern texture of the city plan (Evenson

1966).” Novicki was very ambitious about restoring the “holiday function” in the plan

of Chandigarh which he believed was confined and minimized in the recent planning

schemes. For Chandigarh, he proposed large inter-connected green areas with the

Capitol hills, public forums and parks. He believed that the holiday function is

dependent on the mass movement of pedestrians, in the similar fashion as everyday

life is dependent on the vehicular movement. To elaborate his planning concept, he

made intricate sketches for the proposed city of Chandigarh. His designs were truly

Indian in the aesthetics and function (Kalia 1999).

Figure 3.6. Novicki’s Leaf Plan (01), Chandigarh, 1950. (Source: Norma Evenson, Chandigarh (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966.)

Novicki gave an artistic touch to Mayer’s plan and simplified it into a “leaf” form. He

symbolized the veins of the leaf as the street system which was connected to the main

frame of primary and the regional road system. The regional roads are connected to

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the streets in a similar way as branches are connected to the leaves. In contradiction

to Mayer’s compact commercial district, Novicki designed the central business district

running from one end of the city to the other end and closing right before the Capital

Complex. He was the first in the series to visualize the city of Chandigarh in the form

of a human body.

Figure 3.7. Novicki’s Leaf Plan (02), Chandigarh, 1950. (Source: Norma Evenson, Chandigarh (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966.)

He designated the Capital Complex and university as the thinking parts of the city and

located them on the top of the plan while industrial areas were designed at the farthest

corners. Novicki was extremely conscious about the future growth of the city and his

sensitivity for this matter is well exhibited in the proposal he prepared for the city of

Warsaw. Accordingly, the city of Chandigarh was also designed to conform to future

challenges. Sprague has summarized Novicki ideology for the future growth of the

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city as, “one must secure the greatest possible flexibility for unpredictable future

changes (Sprague 2013).”Novicki approached the plan from a top-down perspective,

conceiving the city as a whole and left the detailing for future. This approach contrasts

with Mayer's bottom-up approach to the planning. Though the sketch for the leaf-plan

is very basic, yet it provides a complete overview of the city highlighting the relation

between the Capitol and the city, the location of the business and commercial districts

and the university and industrial areas. In Sprague’s view, Novicki’s design approach

was very similar to that of the Giedion. Quoting Giedion, he writes

Civic centres will originate when cities are not regarded as mere

agglomerations of jobs and traffic lights. … Community life is closely

connected with a sense of relaxation… an influence capable of

expanding men’s narrow private existence (Sprague 2013).

Sprague provided a comprehensive analysis of architecture and urban design produced

by Novicki. In his opinion, the Gideon's spirit missing from the plan of Chandigarh as

a rigidly designed network of roadways, will have an adverse effect on the social life

of inhabitants through eradication of streets and amputation of their community life.

However, one can locate the Gideon’s spirit at the micro level, that is at the level of

the superblock, where Novicki’s dexterous designing thus provides a venue to broaden

the narrow and private existence of the urban man.It was an elegantly designed

superblock that came out as Novicki’s reaction to the variedly sized residential blocks

designed by Mayer, which Novicki found incompatible with the future extension of

the city. In contrast to Mayer, Novicki believed that spatial diversity could be achieved

by enhancing the spatial richness through geometrical variation. In this regard,

Novicki preferred the qualitative diversity over the “quantitative one” (Kalia 1999).

The selection for a qualitative diversity was unlike Mayer, as Novicki pursued the

tradition in ordering the cities his contemporaries were obsessed with. Novicki

intended to develop a plan that should be Indian both in spirit and physical form. His

plan for the superblocks beholds many essential features of the Indian communal life.

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Figure 3.8. Matthew Novicki Plan for Three Districts in Chandigarh. (Source: Expressive Structure the Life and Work of Matthew Novicki.)

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Figure 3.9. Novicki’s Bazaar Office Building, Chandigarh, 1950). (Source: Lewis Mumford, “The Life, Teaching, and Architecture of Matthew Novicki,” Architectural

Record 116, no. 3 (September 1954): 153.)

Figure 3.10. Novicki’s Market Space, Chandigarh, 1950. (Source: Lewis Mumford, “The Life, Teaching, and Architecture of Matthew Novicki,” Architectural

Record 116, no. 3 (September 1954): 153.)

For example, he provided the apartment for the shopkeepers, a central temple, nursery

and middle schools, a pedestrian-only shopping area, an open meeting place with an

amphitheatre, space for the street vendors. On the contrary, to the popular urban

schemes of the time that were loaded with the high-rise residential units, Novicki

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proposes a three-story apartment. The buildings were designed to cater for the absence

of elevators and harsh weather in Chandigarh. The intention of producing a city

inspired by the indigenous traditions, Novicki has loaded his new bazaar to cater for

all types of business needs. Ample space is provided for the big businesses while the

shops for the small vendors have the place to sit on the floor and outside areas covered

by the canvass roof.

3.2.5. Corbusier’s Plan: Reinvented City

Chandigarh was often read as a plan produced exclusively by Corbusier (George 1997;

Sagar 1999; Perera 2004, 178) elevating him to the status of the master builder of

ancient times. Without negating or undermining the Corbusier’s role in the

Chandigarh, the following lines would take a contrary route and would bring into the

discussion the role of different agencies including British trained bureaucracy,

Nehru’s vision, and Corbusier’s assistant (who carried over the planning of residential

area once Corbusier had distanced himself from the planning of residential areas73).

The idea can be summarized in Morris’ words as “Le Corbusier deserves neither all

the praise nor all the opprobrium.”(Morris 1975).Corbusier, a staunch critique of the

Ebenezer Howard garden city movement, had accepted Mayer’s plan.74 For Nehru,

the Corbusian straightness of Mayer’s curve would not be able to make a major

difference in the conception of the city. Corbusier chose a “gridiron pattern” to form

the skeleton of the new city. The main feature of this plan was the incorporation of a

system for precise vehicular movement, known as 7 Vs. The strict emphasis on the

segregation and organization the vehicular movement was a result of the vehicular

congestion Le Corbusier experienced in European cities. Corbusier also integrated the

73 The idea was taken forward based on the Lynch’s statement that urban designers contribute to the

built environment through "policies, programs and guidelines rather than by blueprints that specify shape and location in detail (George 1997).” Thus, to strengthen the dissertation’s earlier claim that Chandigarh was a re-invented Le Corbusian city. A more holistic approach is thus required for analysis.

74 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-8-35-001.

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broad passages for pedestrian walking in the plan of the city, after Varma emphasized

that, “Punjabees are fond of walking.”75Le Corbusier wanted to involve the Indian

youth in the development of Chandigarh. For this purpose, Indians were hired to assist

Corbusier, who became the part of the larger enterprise that contains the local and

foreign architect76. The Indians hired for this project were graduates of the local Indian

schools of architecture and had no practical experience before this project. Le

Corbusier saw himself in an elevated position as a “spiritual head” of these students.

According to Kalia, Le Corbusier had outlined the following role for himself:

1. To provide spiritual and technical direction to the enterprise to give it unity

2. To nominate two architects of our spirit, capable devoted and sufficiently

experienced who would fulfil the functions.

3. To appoint three Hindu architects to atelier on the Rue de Sevres to carry out

studies as the work proceeds, to give them an education of the university types.

4. The two foreign architects will be under the control of Le Corbusier and

receive orders on the technical and aesthetic issues (Kalia 1999).

Table 3.3. Human Organs & Corresponding Space in Chandigarh

No Name of Organ Corresponding Spaces in Chandigarh

1 Head Capitol Complex 2 Heart The City Center ( Sector – 17) 3 Lungs Leisure Valley and Open green spaces 4 Intellect Cultural and Educational Institutions 5 Circulatory System Road Network ( 7 V’s) 6 Viscera Industrial Area

75 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-12-14-001/003 (Letter from E.L. Varma to Le

Corbusier, Dated August 11, 1952). 76 The Le Corbusier had a more elaborate vision for the upgradation of the urban condition in India. He

not only proposed several laboratories for the analysis of existing conditions in India. Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number P2-8-29--004. Upon getting the assignment he also wrote a letter to Walter Gropius, head of design school at Harvard asking for a list of students of Indian origin who graduated from Harvard Design school. Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P3-8-183-001, (Letter written by Walter Gropius to Le Corbusier on Dec 15, 1950)

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Just like Mayer and Novicki, Le Corbusier also saw the city as a biological organism.

For him, the system of seven V’s performs the same function as the veins do in the

human body, that is, to keep it alive through transportation of blood. It was not only

the roads that were inspired from an element of the human body, in fact, he had

conceptualized the new city in the form of a human body, where all the functions of

the city correspond to the respective elements of the human body. A study of earlier

Corbusian projects reveals his ambitious planning ideas for vertical development in

the city. Over the period high-rise apartment blocks were marked as his trademark

feature and an integral part of the Corbusian metropolis. It is, however, the economic

and social conditions in India that restricted Le Corbusier in making the Highrise

building in Chandigarh.77 Like Novicki, he was also limited by the absence of an

elevator. Although Chandigarh Planning Commission partially agreed to the idea of

high-rise apartment with fewer amenities, thus, making them more economical to

build, Corbusier rejected the idea by saying that, “the cutting down of amenities like

staircases, baths, W.C.’s, etc to make apartment houses reasonably cheap for poor

class people render them dirty and uncomfortable.”78 Due to the economic conditions,

Corbusier’s team had to design the low-rise residential units for Chandigarh.

Interestingly, the resulting solution that consists of the low-rise residential unit was

more like the garden city, which was criticized by the Le Corbusier. In addition,

Corbusier was clearly annoyed after Chandigarh administration had stopped him for

incorporating high rise apartments in the city, the solution presented by his team,

resulted in distancing him from the design of the city and especially its residential

areas. This in turn divided the city of Chandigarh into two halves, that are, “Corbusian

Capitol complex” and “the residential area of the city.” (Shaw 2009). Corbusier tried

to segregate the Capitol Complex and the city firstly by proposing a moat, that was,

the “Boulevard of water” between them. Joshi writes about the role that the boulevard

of water had played in creating the difference between the two factions of the city as,

“the separate identity of each being reinforced by the ‘Boulevard of Waters’ (Uttar

77 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-8-29-003. 78 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-8-29-003.

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Marg—the North Avenue) between them (Joshi 1999, 30).”.Chandigarh

administration did not approve this idea of “Boulevard of water,” after the disapproval

from management Corbusier proposed an artificial mountain between them.

Corbusier’s dissatisfaction was evident from the fact that he even wanted to cut the

visual connection between the Capitol Complex and the city. Dr. Prakash writes about

Corbusier’s relationship with the city as

He even tried to sever the relationship between Chandigarh’s Capitol

Complex and the residential sectors by establishing artificial hills

between them, thereby “decapitating the ‘head’ from the

‘body”(Prakash 2002, 69).

Figure 3.11. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the City of Chandigarh (01). Date: Mar 17, 1951.The Leisure Valley and Capitol Complex are visible. (Source: Fondation Le

Corbusier)

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As far as the design of the main city is concerned, Le Corbusier restricted himself to

the design of the Capitol Complex leaving the city design to his associates. Thus the

resulting “two segments of Chandigarh varied widely in their scale, groupings of

buildings, use of material and architectural style(Joshi 1999, 30).”

Figure 3.12. Schematics Plans for Chandigarh by Mayer and Le Corbusier. (Source: Author.)

After the unfortunate departure of Mayer from the Chandigarh project, Le Corbusier

was hired to implement the plan developed by Mayer. He acknowledged Mayer’s plan

and keeping it in view developed his own plan by transforming the Mayer’s Garden

city plan into CIAM’s functional city. An overview of both the plan reveals a

connection between the two as expressed by Moos that, “In fact, the result of this

revision was not a new layout, but a slightly regularized version of the existing (and

approved) blueprint by Mayer. Most of the distinctive features of Mayer’s plan were

adopted (Moos 2009).”Nehru also shared a similar view about both the plans. During

a site visit to the Chandigarh project, Nehru expressed, “I had seen the previous plans

made and the general layout of the Capital. This was originally done by Mr. Albert

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Mayer. These plans have now been varied somewhat, though the main approach is the

same.79” Le Corbusier developed the plan by organizing Mayer’s plan within a rigid

gridiron pattern formed by integrating an extensive system of mechanical

transportation known as 7 Vs. Corbusier’s plan was based on a simple concept taking

neighbourhood block as a basic unit for planning. This block was the resultant of a

modular placed within the blank cells of a grid formed by the intersecting roads at a

right angle to produce an ordered city. Corbusier vision for “ordered” and “less chaotic

cities” was criticized by Trystan Edwards as it resulted in an oversimplification of

cities, thus stripping the city from its “traditional aesthetic” and in result produces

socially un-acceptable monotonous town (Evenson 1969, 122). The basic planning

unit of the grid is a modular (sector) of size 800 m x 1200 meter. Keeping in view his

extensive study and analysis of the problems that devastated the European cities,

Corbusier wanted to make his new city free from the traffic congestion, make it

hygienic to live in and integrated it with large open green areas. This vision is evident

from the very first sketch, where Corbusier converted the dry river bed into a green

area running across the city. Avermaete writes that, “This vision allowed Le Corbusier

to integrate the complete urban structure and its landscape into a coherent

compositional whole (Avermaete and Casciato 2014).”The integration of the green

areas within the central fabric of the new city would also help in letting the city escape

from its geometric sturdiness which Le Corbusier observed in New Delhi, while he

was visiting Nehru on Mar 25, 1951.In his opinion, New Delhi was a city that was

built with “extreme care, great talent and with true success.” After all, it was the most

disciplined, ordered city (among the one’s Corbusier visited in India) and can be seen

as a complete painting. Nilsson emphasized the fact that Corbusier's stay in New-Delhi

was a crucial step in bringing Indianness into the plan of Chandigarh. (Nilsson 1973).

Corbusier studied the plan of Delhi, for seeking inspiration for the design of

Chandigarh. He studied Lutyens and his plan in detail and made a detailed sketched


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to compare Chandigarh with New-Delhi. Back in his hometown.

Figure 3.13. Comparative Plan of Chandigarh and New Delhi. (Source: Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number 29051)

He also admired the axiality and bold projections in Haussmann's Paris which in his

opinion cannot be brought to reality without strong willpower. Corbusier made the

first sketch for the city on Mar 17, 1951, few days after he visited the gardens of

Maharaja of Patiala in Haryana, Punjab, India. He initially started working on a

modular with each side comprise of 700 meters, which was inspired from. The Mughal

gardens he had visited earlier.

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Figure 3.14. Sketch of the Capitol Complex by Le Corbusier. . (Source: Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris)

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Figure 3.15. Corbusier’s Sketch for the City of Chandigarh (02) circa, 1951. . (Source: Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris)

Figure 3.16. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the City of Chandigarh (03), circa 1951. Orange colour highlight the city’s administrative functions and their connecting roads. (. (Source:

Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris)

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Figure 3.17. Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh Plan, circa 1951 Note the sector interiors have not yet been designed. (Source: Liverpool University special

collections and archives)

Figure 3.18. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the City of Chandigarh (04), circa, 1951. (Source: Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris)

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Figure 3.19. Development Phases of Chandigarh (01). (Source: Author)

Figure 3.20. Development phases of Chandigarh (02), c. 1976. (Source: Source: Fonds Pierre Jeanneret, CCA, ARCH264766)

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However, the final dimension of the modular was 800 x 1200 meters which was

identical to the dimension Corbusier proposed for the expansion of the residential

areas in Bogota. These dimensions were under a constant process of refinement by

Corbusier and appeared in several projects including Marseille-Sud expansion.

However, it was not before Chandigarh that these “divine” dimensions were fully

implemented. Corbusier gave utmost importance to the city’s administrative function,

and in the one of the sketched circa 1951, he emphasized their relationship through an

orange colour.

Figure 3.21. Initial Master Plan of Chandigarh, 1951. (Source: Source: Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris)

Although Corbusier revised the plan several times, the overall square shape and the

relation between the major elements of the city, that are, the Capitol complex,

commercial centre and cultural centres remained the same. In the start Corbusier

proposed more than one commercial centres for the city. Over the passage of time, he

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brought all administrative offices, transport centre and commercial centre together and

submerged them into a centrally located sector 17. The overall plan of Chandigarh

comprised of residential The sketch also depicts the Corbusier’s intention to develop

a close association among the administration sectors., public, commercial, wholesale

and educational areas. The city is linked with airport, railway station and transport

terminal for the buses. The city gained its overall form in three successive phases as

explained in the table below.

Table 3.4. Chandigarh’s Phases of Development.

No Phase From-To Total

Population

Sectors

Developed

Total Sectors

1 Phase 1 1951-1976 50,000 30 30 2 Phase 2 1960-1985 150,000 17 47 3 Phase 3 1970-Present 1,000,000 9 56

The work on the design of the city started in 1951 and Nehru laid the foundation stone

of the city in 1952. The city grew following a regular pattern; This growth was

hindered at different areas by the already existing villages which were not part of the

Chandigarh. Le Corbusier conceived the plan of Chandigarh as a human body and

placed the sectors according to their corresponding functions with human organs; this

idea is similar to how Corbusier conceived the Ville Radieuse, which had a shoulder,

torso, legs and the head. For example, Capitol was designated as the thinking part of

the city, and symbolized by the head, while the education and cultural activities were

signifying the Intellect. Commercial centre (Sector 17) is the heart. Lake Area and

green spaces were the lungs; the road network was represented by the circulatory

system feeding the city while the industrial area was the abdomen of the city.80 One

can feel a visible inclination of urban designers and planners in 20th-century towards

80 Moos emphasize the fact that this conception was similar to one of the axiomatic visualization for “Villa Radieuse” by Le Corbusier (Moos 2009a, 216).

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incorporating the organic and biological elements into their design. This approach was

criticized at the same time. Malik writes

Chandigarh’s design would imitate the human body: head

(government, judiciary) at the top, stomach (shops) in the middle, lungs

(park) near the shops. Why? Because it spared him the trouble of

thinking any more deeply about the matter? (Malik 1997).

Table 3.5. Functions in the City

No Function Corresponding Areas

1 Living Residential Sectors. 2 Working Industrial areas, Commercial and Educational

Centers and The Capitol Complex. 3 Spirit Green Sectors, Lake and Courtyards in Houses. 4 Circulation Road Network represented by Seven V’s.

The city plan was made to accommodate the four functions that are Living, Working,

Spirit, and Circulation, which corresponds to the primary functions of CIAM. The

residential sector was the living part of the city while the industrial areas, commercial

centre, educational sectors and the Capitol were the working parts, green sectors, lake

& courtyards in the houses was the spirit of the city, while the road network

represented by seven V’s was the circulation system, (later another path V8 was added

for the bicycle commute). city to cater the four primary objectives, that were (1)

decongestion of the city centres, (2) Increase of density, (3) enlargement of the means

of circulation and (4) expansion of the landscape areas (Evenson 1966). His solution

for the problem of congestion, circulation and landscape enhancement were

successfully implemented and remained viable for some time, but he was unable to

increase the density of the housing pertaining to the technological and economic

constraints in India.

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Figure 3.22. Final Master Plan of Chandigarh. (Source: Source: Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris)

3.2.5.1. CIAM, Modular and Grille

The edict of Chandigarh, a message prescribed by Corbusier to the future citizen of

Chandigarh, clearly designate the plan as a physical implementation of CIAM and

Athens’ Charter (Corbusier 1960). The emphasis on the human scale, self-sufficient

sector, rigid transport network, zoning, the truthfulness of materials and enhanced

landscaping coincides with his earlier work especially, Trois Etablissements Human

(1945) (Gans and Corbusier 2006, 218). After 1943, CIAM adopted its sixth feature

monumentality81 as a central subject to be utilized for the planning of the city. The

adoption of the monumentality also challenged the machine aesthetics, earlier

propagated by Le Corbusier. The CIAM’s framework and modular were well reflected

in the primary plan. As Corbusier had distanced himself from the planning of the main

81 The primary function of the city design as defined by CIAM were Dwelling, Work, Recreation, Transportation, Civic Centre (Mumford 2002).

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city, otherwise Chandigarh would be an exemplary project that would have integrated

that level of monumentality in the city planning. Corbusier’s obsession in bringing

order82 to the city was clearly reflected in the plan of Chandigarh where he utilized

the elements like Grille. For Le Corbusier the Grille was “the reply to the present

disorders in the world in the matter of planning … to utilize the grille which is an

international instrument for solving such problems.”83 For integrating different

functions of the city. Chandigarh planning Grille correlates living, working, care of

body and spirit, circulation and miscellaneous on the vertical scale to the environment,

the occupation of the land and constructed volumes.

Figure 3.23. Grille for Chandigarh. (Source: (Avermaete et al. 2014)

3.2.5.2. Road Network and Central Axis

Chandigarh’s plan also reflects a definite hierarchy of the road network starting from

the V1 to V7 as Le Corbusier had kept a close eye on the vehicular movement and

wanted to avoid any vehicular congestion in future84(Nilsson 1973). In continuation

82 Further to this Le Corbusier was a true believer of the “order” in the city. His admiration for the Roman city’s “order, hierarchy, and discipline.” which he had written in the “La- Ville Redisue” contextualizing the city of the Rome was connection leading to his belief.

83 Fondation Le Corbusier Document Number: P2-8-29-005 84 These purpose of these road can be understood in Le Corbusier’s words as Cross continents: the V1,

Arrive in town: the V1, Go to essential public services: the V2, Cross at full speed, without interruption, the territory of the town the V3, Dispose of immediate accesses to daily needs: The V4, Reach the door of his dwellings: The V5 and V6 and finally Send youth to green areas of each sector, where schools and sports grounds are located: the V7 (Evenson 1966; Nilsson 1973; Kalia 1999).

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of the explanation above the V1 represent the regional highways that are bringing the

traffic into the city from outside. The two V1 are connecting the Chandigarh with the

Eastern part of India. The first V1 (Dakshin Marg) leading all the way from the central

business district to Ambala and then New Delhi.

Figure 3.24. Plan of Chandigarh with the Major Roads. (Source: The Sector / Le secteur,” in L’urbanisme des trois etablissements humains, Paris, edictions

de Miniuit, 1959, CCA, NA44. L433.A35 1959)

The second V1 (Madhya Marg) connecting the Chandigarh to the Simla. The V2

constitutes the vertical axis of the city. The three roads Jan Marg, Himalaya Marg and

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Purava Marg, serves the purpose. Though after the partition of Punjab and extension

of the Punjabi side of the Capital, that is, Sahibzada Ajeet Singh Nagar (Mohali) these

V2 are also serving as the roads connecting Chandigarh with Punjab. These roads

connect the Industrial sector with CITY.

Figure 3.25. V2 to V7 in a sector of Chandigarh. (Source: Author)

Furthermore, these roads also run on both sides of the central business district of

Chandigarh. The principal road that forms the pattern of the city is V3. V3 ran on the

periphery of each sector and reserved for the fast-moving traffic. These roads were

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designed as the expressways with the limited access to the residential sectors. The

entrance to the residential sectors was further hindered by the tree lining and the walls

which prohibits the traffic flow, into the sectors, from the undesired point to make sure

that traffic on the main street flows smoothly. It is the result of this traffic management

that all the sectors are planned, looking inward. V4’s run through the sector, bisecting

it half way. As compared to the other roads the V4 were designed asymmetrical and

proposed to be run under the V3 to join the adjacent sectors (However this connection

through underpass was never realized). These roads are also planned as the shopping

street with the shopping areas only on the shaded side of the road to withstand the

weather condition.

Furthermore, this would also prohibit the pedestrian from unnecessarily crossing the

road. These roads were meant for the slow-moving traffic and access to V3 is limited

to 4 entrances. V5 are the roads intersecting the V4 at two points in the sector. This

was planned as a road for the distribution of slow-moving traffic. V6 are the roads that

are leading the traffic to the doorsteps. Thus, fast moving traffic is slowed down

through this network of the rods from V1 to V6. V7 are the roads for the bicycles and

pedestrians which runs all the way across the green areas and open spaces. In the initial

plans, all the V7 are planned to go underneath the major road thus one can experience

the city on foot. The system of 7 Vs was conceived by Le Corbusier keeping in mind

the condition of fast-moving traffic in Europe and America. However, the design was

a bit altered in India to accommodate a different kind of street traffic. The fast-moving

lanes were only meant for the motor vehicles and hence kept straight. However, the

V4 and V5 can also accommodate the slow traffic like bull karts. To ensure the

minimum speed on these roads, the architect had intentionally planned them irregular

to avoid even a chance for over speeding. Moos writes that “(these) avenues, however,

serve as a multifunctional public space, not solely traffic arteries (Moos 2009).” Le

Corbusier also wanted to make these roads identical by their names. He was unhappy

with how the administration of the city had named these roads, but the main reason

for his frustration was due to the fact that he did not understand the Hindi language.

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The administration named these roads according to the function their adjacent space

are performing. For example, the road adjacent to the university was named Vidya

path (the street of knowledge) (Evenson 1966).Inspired by the strong central axial

planning and monumentality of Paris, Corbusier’s first study sketch for the plan of

Chandigarh exhibits the great Capitol Complex and a strikingly visible road piercing

through the city. The monumental axis in Indian planning85 can be read more visibly

in the early modern city plan of Shahjahanabad which was not planned intentionally

but still gained political importance over the period.

Figure 3.26. Aerial View New Delhi c.1920. (Source: www.news18.com). Last visited on June 2018.

Lutyens New Delhi was a plan where the central axis had symbolic and political

connotations attached to it. The central axis directs one towards to the Viceroy’s

85 The axial plan was practiced more religiously in India following the “Manasara Silpa-sastras.” The

cosmic cross as it is called was laid in the centre of the square whose four ends represent the four corners of the world. In contradiction with the ancient Indian mythology, (where the crossings point of the two axes were considered as the auspicious place for the construction of temple and meeting place for elders).

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Palace placed strategically at its end. In the plan of Chandigarh, we can see the

reminiscent of New-Delhi. Moos writes that the replication of King's way into

Chandigarh had appealed the Indian Official, who was part of the colonial

administration a few years earlier (Moos 2009, 216). The integration of these elements

added a sense a pride among the official who believed that through domesticating the

colonial urban heritage, they could announce their authority over the urban space. It

is these analogies that converted Chandigarh into a symbol of National pride. Paris

and its cross-axial planning remained a model for Le Corbusier86, although he

criticized the angular roads as unsuitable for the vehicular movement. Corbusier

designated the Haussman’s thoroughfare which he drew in the heart of Paris as an

“imperative necessity,” and he criticized Napolean for using this boulevard for the

display of military power (Corbusier 1966).

Figure 3.27. Major Axes in Chandigarh. (Source: Bing Maps © 2018. Drawing work by Author)

The city was planned along two central axes bisecting the city at full. From the very

first sketch till the final plan, the basic idea was to capture the space by marking a

square and bisecting it with the vast road system, which in turn will produce the sector

which can host the designated functions. The Capitol Complex was placed on the north

Eastern axis with the mountain in the backdrop. Corbusier took the Capitol away from

86 Just like India, the idea of conceiving the city along axis was not a new in Europe as well. The cross-

axis plan had guided the Romans to form their settlements.

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the centre though he had placed the central business district and local administration

offices on the intersection of the two principal axes, “It is in the emphasis on a

monumental axial composition that the second plan of Chandigarh differs most

noticeably from the initial scheme (Evenson 1966).”

Figure 3.28. Intersection of Two Aaxes Chandigarh. (Source: http://www.acolorfulriot.com/Chandigarh-doesnt-personal-statue-2528/). Last visited on

June 2018.

Corbusier had introduced a principal axis in the middle of the city, crossing it into half

and leading all the way up to the Capitol. The axis was further emphasized by placing

the trees and multi-storey administrative building on both sides of the road.

Furthermore, important building, such as hotels, were also located on this road. The

other major axis with the railway station on one end and Panjab University on the

other was the centre for the commercial activities for depots and head offices of the

business enterprises. The character of this road changes after it intersects the central

axis as parks, open areas and educational institutes are located after the intersection.

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3.2.5.3. Neighbourhood Unit (From Superblock to Sector)

In a solution to the problems he observed in the European cities, Le Corbusier believed

that the Grid-iron is the most feasible pattern and the separation of vehicular and

pedestrian movement is the best strategy for the resolving the functional problem of

the city. This neighbourhood that was formed by the intersecting road also referred to

as a sector and had a dimension of 800 x 1200. According to Le Corbusier, these

dimensions are the result of the studies earlier conducted in “1929, then in 1936, then

in 1939, then in 1949 at Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Sao Paulo, Bogota.” It was the

result of these studies that none of the users of the sectors has to walk more than 10

minutes to reach the centre of the sector (Kalia 1999, 107). The sector was surrounded

by the vehicular roads. However, only four roads were permitted to enter the area

defined by sector. The sector was planned as a self-sufficient unit with the place of

worship, recreation areas, shops, health centre and schools. The green areas of the one

sector are connected to the green areas of the other sector thus forming an expansive

green belt. The community building and schools were in the green areas and were

placed from northeast to southwest. Likewise, the shopping areas of each sector are

also visually connected with the shopping centre of another sector thus forming a

bazaar-like shopping area. Several shops were planned across this shopping street

which runs from south-east to northwest across the sector. Chandigarh commission’s

lack of interest, owing to economic and climatic conditions, towards making the

Residential Highrise units had forced Le Corbusier to leave the planning on Drew.

Kalia writes that Drew was well aware about the Indian condition and he “Considering

the Indian habit of open-air sleeping during summer months” kept “the height of the

structures in sectors was restricted to two or three stories (Kalia 1999, 107).

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Figure 3.29. The Sector (Source: The Sector, Chandigarh / Le secteur,” in L’urbanisme des trois etablissements humains,

Paris, edictions de Miniuit, 1959, CCA, NA44. L433.A35 1959))

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Figure 3.30. Le Corbusier's Sketches for Montevideo and São Paulo, 1929. (Source: Le Corbusier and São Paulo – 1929: Architecture and Landscape). Last visited on June

2018.

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Figure 3.31. Pilot Plan for Bogota by Le Corbusier. (Source: https://revistadiners.com.co/actualidad/34970_le-corbusier-la-bogota-pudo/). Last visited

on June 2018.

Figure 3.32. Sector 22, First Residential Sector Developed in Chandigarh. (Source: RIBA Library and Photographs Collection)

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Talking further about the integration of the Indian condition into the design by Le

Corbusier and his team Lang writes that, “all architects involved are worried about

dealing appropriately with the Indian climate and construction techniques (including

the use of labour-intensive building methods) (Lang 2002).” The space of sector was

also corresponding to the social class of the inhabitants, with major sectors were

designed according to the 25, 50 and 75 people per acre.

Figure 3.33. Chandigarh from Sky. (Source: Better Photography)

A huge variation was also seen in the plot size with the shortest being 114 square

meters and the largest occupies an area of 4500 square meters. Although restricted by

the economic and technological issue Chandigarh administration also wanted to

increase the density of the city. They requested Corbusier through a letter that, “on

your last visit to Chandigarh, you had suggested that density would be increased

within the first phase limit of Chandigarh by building high flats at certain places in

town.87”The administration also sent a plan with the areas marked for the development

of Highrise buildings. Corbusier never replied to the letter.The plan at this point had

lost it democratic spirit, which Prime Minister Nehru had enforced while cutting the

head of the Capitol Complex (that was, the Governor’s Palace). The highspeed roads

passing between them further enhanced this class stratification. The social formation


http://www.betterphotography.in/contest-photo/74-111397/

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reminds one of the New Delhi where the colonizer and local had their own quarters.

Figure 3.34. Layout Plan of Sector 22 Chandigarh (Source: (Jackson 2013))

3.2.5.4. Nature and the City

Le Corbusier was very conscious about strengthening the relationship of nature and

the city. For this purpose, he developed several green areas and retained the natural

periphery around the city. Corbusier exhibited his immense concern when he received

a letter from Jeanneret which stated that military was using Defence ordinance IV,

1962 for the development of “satellite development within five miles periphery of

Chandigarh.”88 The site of the Chandigarh was a fertile land with two rivers flowing

on the two sides of the city. The site already contains the mango trees orchards. This

88 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P1-13-243-001. Letter written by Pierre Jeanneret to Le

Corbusier. Dated Nov 30, 1962.

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gives the architect and landscape designer to the fact that an appropriately selected

tree89 would not only serve the desired function but will grow and add value to the

urban ambiance of the city. Corbusier also wanted to enhance the visual experience of

the user by using the landscape in the city.

Figure 3.35. Plan of Chandigarh with the Highlighted Green Areas. (Source: L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui, October 1956))

The four major landscape areas were identified by the architects are firstly the urban

space, where landscaping would complement the architecture (this include the

89 For the selection of the trees, Le Corbusier developed a GRILLE, that can provide the detail of tree

types ad area where they should be planted. This task was undertaken by M. S. Randhawa the senior landscape architect working for the Chandigarh project.

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commercial areas and the Capitol complex, the roads, the open green spaces and the

parks and Periphery). Secondly, the V2 leading to the Capitol Complex is surrounded

on both sides with the bicycle lanes, footpath and the parking spaces in front of the

commercial areas. To make it more panoramic and differentiating the main roads with

the side road, tall trees were proposed on both sides of the roads. Thirdly, V2 and V3,

in general, are meant to host the fast-moving traffic to support the adequate function

and prevent the roads from the sun rays, the thick foliage was proposed on both sides

of the road. Lastly, for the V4, residential areas and the proposed green areas adjacent

to it the flowering trees were proposed, but the final form of these areas was not

developed according to the plan. Kalia argues that these areas were not developed

owing to the arid environment (where special care is required for the upbringing the

trees) and presence of the animals (that had spoiled and ate the trees) (Kalia 1999).

Unfortunately, the green spaces, as conceived by Corbusier, were ruined due to poor

maintenance by the administration. Although Corbusier was a staunch critique of the

Garden city it reminiscent can be found within Chandigarh. Barnett writes that,

“Enough of the original garden city concept remains that a visitor to Chandigarh is

more conscious of the landscaping of the principal streets that of the generally

mediocre buildings (Barnett 2016).”

Furthermore, Corbusier also utilized the dried river bed which ran through the centre

of the city by converting it into the longitudinal green area labelled as leisure valley.

Manish Chalana argues that, “this network of green spaces in the urban core was meant

to function as the ‘‘lungs of the city’’ in accordance with the ‘‘care of body and spirit’’

principle of CIAM ideology (Chalana 2015).” In addition to the internal green spaces,

Le Corbusier and team marked an area extending five miles in all directions beyond

the edge of Chandigarh’s modernist urban core. This area, which they called the

‘‘Periphery’’, consisted agricultural landscapes of villages, forested areas, and some

farmlands. On recommendation of Corbusier, Punjab Government also passed a new

law, titled as Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act in 1952, which ensures to

preserve this area. In 1962, most probably after Military tried to develop a satellite

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town in the periphery area, the radius of the periphery of Chandigarh was increased to

10 miles from 5 miles.

3.2.5.5. Recreational and Industrial Areas

Le Corbusier also emphasized the importance of providing the recreation and green

space in the city. These areas are meant to provide the leisure and meeting point for

the people living in the city and were termed as the lungs of the city. The most

noticeable of these areas is an artificial lake and attached park formed at the Sukhna

Chao. Le Corbusier wanted this place to be quiet. To achieve this objective all the

kind of vehicular access is prohibited in the area. Furthermore, the area was also

intentionally kept quite dark with only a row of the lamps to lit up it at night. Corbusier

wanted to provide the people of the city with an opportunity to interact with the stars

in the sky and notice their reflection in the water. However, it is important to discuss

that though Corbusier wanted to revive the rural isolation by planning the Lake away

from the city without the vehicular access, it also deprived the people of the city of a

vital leisure point. The industrial area that symbolized the abdomen of the city was

placed in the lower corner of the city segregating it entirely from the residential areas.

The nearby railway station also allowed the industrial transportation to go with ease

without affecting the residential area or producing traffic congestion. The employees

working in the residential areas were living in the sector 28 and 29. A buffer area

between the industrial areas and the residential areas were reinforced with the

provision of fruit trees. These trees can also help some of the manufacturers who were

planning to develop their businesses in the industrial area (Kalia 1999).

The Corbusier plan was a formalization of Mayer’s plan in the shape of famous grid-

iron. Chandigarh was a Corbusian city re-invented according to the Indian conditions

in line with the garden city movement, that he had earlier rejected in Europe. In

comparison, Corbusier’s plan reinforces the class antagonism in contradiction with

Mayer’s plan. Mayer rejected the provision of lavish bungalows, that was once the

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trademark of the colonizers, by providing a socially conscious housing in the similar

way as it was provided in Brasilia. Corbusier’s plan provided 56 type of housing thus

reinforcing the class antagonism, that was in contradiction with the national

aspirations of thousands of people. Nehru was, “Seemingly politically at odds with the

class stratification and paternalistic symbolism of Lutyens’s grandiose early 19th

century "White Raj" urban designing (Morris 1975).”Corbusier lost interest in the

design of the city, after his landmark high-rise residential apartment buildings were

rejected by the state’s government, which in result had left the work for the

development of the residential area on his team.

3.3. Islamabad: The Capital City between a Utopia and Mirage

From the very start of the project the architects and State shared the view that the new

city should imitate the tradition of Islamic cities90, but at the same time, it should have

its distinguishable individuality with reference to the other Islamic cities. The

Government of Pakistan (G.O.P.) also wanted to bring the country in line with the

international agenda of progress, using a capital building project. Moreover, State did

not want a replication of any international image rather they wanted architects to

produce a more eclectic city by the localization. Mahsud argues that the ruling regime

wanted to develop a city that would represent the national ideology and work as a

catalyst for progress in such a manner that the resulting city should be, “A bridge

between the local culture/traditions and the ‘imagined communities’(Mahsud

2013).”‘Imagined communities’ is a term coined by Anderson in his seminal book

with the same title. He argues that “imagined communities,” exists at an abstract level

which requires physical space to come into existence91. In Lefebvre’s words, one can

90 In the case of Islamabad, the State’s focus was the cities developed by the Great Mughals in India, as

they want to retain their individuality even among the Muslim nations of the world. The agenda for the connection was not clear though as a British educated bureaucracy and President Ayyub wants to attain the level of colonizers, due to which certain cross-arguments were made to pursue the traditions set by colonizer for city building projects.

91 In his critical analysis of the nationalism and nation hood Anderson describes the nation as an imagined community, socially constructed by a group of people. (Anderson 1983).

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argue that the abstract communities are the product of a utopian ideology who are

striving to acquire the real space92. This utopia protrudes from socio-political

conditions, and strictly abides by ideology. It steers the people to strive for a real space,

where this ideology can be grounded. Together with the inherited ideas of “freedom,”

“justice” and “happiness” this ideology guarantees the up gradation of a community

and promises them a better opportunity of habiting93. This urge to acquire a mental

space for a community is being desired since the Plato’s Republic, or even before. It

is this urge that provoked the Government of Pakistan to develop a national space in

Pakistan, right after its independence in 1947. A space that can take the burden of

identity and representation as desired by people and rulers. In the case of Islamabad,

one case see that this utopia is often hijacked by the proponents of social and religious

ideologies, thus transforming the utopia into mirage by extracting the essence from it.

The flag bearers of these ideologies intend to gain the benefits for a small group

(generally the elite) of people, in the name of the majority

3.3.1. Islamic City

In a similar way as of Chandigarh, where the urban space had to bear the load of the

contradiction between Gandhi’s Tradition against Nehru’s modernization, Islamabad

had a similar challenge in a different vocabulary. The capital city of a modern Islamic

state94, which by definition had a conflict concealed within its conception, that is, the

paradox for consolidation of modernity and religion. In the prevailing antagonism, the

material conception of the capital city of the modern Islamic republic was problematic.

92 Lefebvre in social production of space, made a distinction between “mental space (the space of the

philosophers) and real space (the physical and social spheres in which we all live)” (Lefebvre 1992). 93 “Habiting” is a key term defined by Lefebvre which can be defined as place where one can “dwell

poetically (Lefebvre 2003). 94 The modern Islamic state refer to two conflicting ideas that are modernity and religion (which is

inheritably traditional and does not support any improvisation thus leaving behind people following the scriptures and practices revealed thousands of years ago. Certain religious reform movements were launched in almost every religion including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Sikhism, but apart from an utmost effort none of them able to disconnect themselves with the roots and those who were somehow able to disengage themselves from the roots were marginalized and declared blasphemous.

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In theory, the Islamic cities are referred to the traditional cities made by Muslims rules

for the Muslim communities which include cities like Fez, Isfahan, Damascus, etc95.

However, the dissertation will argue that this concept curtails a major generalization

and does not have universal meaning due to varying socio-historic conditions. The

biggest challenge for the architects working for G.O.P was that in case of established

Islamic cities, theory comes once the city was developed and inhabited. However, in

the case of the Federal capital of Pakistan, probably the first planned Muslim capital

city developed under a unified authority, the abstract concepts should be theorized

beforehand, that can lead to the development of a modern Islamic city. These ideas

should be rendered in lieu of the prevailing ideologies of nationalism and

representation in Pakistan. In the wake of growing interest in the Nationalism, both

Architecture and the state had to re-examine the Islamic city, to present, “operational

guidelines for building and planning practices (Al Sayyad 1996).”

The Federal capital of Pakistan thus faced a serious challenge owing to the diversity

embedded within the fabric of Islamic cities, from Isfahan to Fez and Jakarta to

Istanbul. The biggest reason for this diversity is that these cities were developed under

different climates, historical background, social conditions and developed by the

Kings who follows a different interpretation of Islam. Gurenbaum’s text had a visibly

subjective tone, he rightly points out that, “neither Mecca nor Baghdad could be

assigned the place of an archetype in a comparable sense …The Islamic town did not

represent a uniform type of civilized life as had the Greek or Roman town (Gruenbaum

1958).”The absence of the archetype also impact the characterization of an Islamic

city. Al Sayyad writes that by 1950, (almost the same time when the Government of

Pakistan had started the search for the new Capital), “Two different models of Muslim

95 Just like the debate of modernity in the first chapter, it is difficult t label any city as Islamic or non-

Islamic due to the historic origin of these settlements.

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urbanism had emerged within Western scholarship.96 Both of these models were not

sufficed to assemble a single image for Islamic city to be utilized by G.O.P.

Furthermore, Rabbat also describes three models for Islamic cities namely Classical,

Oriental and Medieval Model (Rabbat 2010). All of these models reinforces the

importance of historical and political impression on the development of Islamic cities

Alsayyad writes that over the different range of time, urban elements like covered

Bazaar, ethnically segregated living, citadel, public baths and the centrally located

Friday Mosque became the general features of the Islamic cities (Al Sayyad 1996).

The literature on the Islamic city, however, failed to shed light on the material

conception of these urban elements, which not only stands in opposition to each other,

but can be connected with the non-Muslim civilization and architecture. In the above

discussion except for the mosque, all other elements were borrowed from the cities

developed by the historical communities. The absence of “purely Islamic elements97”

in the city also limit the process of characterization. Even, if one formulates a

comprehendible sketch of an Islamic city in the Middle East and Africa, it still

contradicts with the Muslim cities developed by Mughals in the Indian Subcontinent,

due to contestation on a different historical battlefield.

In case of Shahjahan Abad, as discussed in Chapter 02, a mature city developed by

Muslim rulers of India, the relation of the citadel of the city, reminds one of the cities

established by Arabs in Africa or by the colonizers in India. The city had the all the

elements mentioned above, which came to India through Isfahan, with a significant

difference that Grand Mosque’s placement is more symbolic rather than strategic.

96 In his seminal essay on the historiography of the Muslim urbanism. Alsayyad discuss two different

sphere of knowledge, operational for comprehending the Islamic city. First one was based on the analysis of cities developed in North Africa, while the second one whirls around Middle East and Central Asia. Alsayyad pointed out the ambiguity in the conception of Islamic city “Neither of these models, incorporated much about the characteristic institutional structure or social organization of Muslim society”(Al Sayyad 1996).

97 The dissertation had discussed in detailed in the Chapter 2 about the origin of modernity and how it should be seen as an extension of the progress of mankind in general rather than a single group (which in this case is European) takes all credit of it and use as a tool for establishing their supremacy. in the similar way. Al-Sayyed quotes Sauvaget as,“ Muslim cities evolved from pre-Islamic origins (Al Sayyad 1996)”

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Placed at minor axes of the city the Mosque was built after the citadel and city were

made. In the case of Arab Islamic cities, the city grows with the Friday Mosque in its

core, and it is probably the most splendid building related to the other elements

developed in the city. In the case of Shahjahan Abad, the grand mosque was located

at a certain distance from Chandni chawk the central axis and is placed on the minor

axis. The city is centred around the bazaar owing to the emergence of mercantile

capitalism. Kennedy argues that the central location of Bazaar in the Islamic cities is

because of the prominence, Merchants hold within the social structure of the Islamic

communities. This is the one reason Bazaar remained the chief aspiration for the

Muslim geographers.

When Muslim geographers describe a city, they mention the mosque

and their extent, prosperity and the different sorts of goods for them it

is the commerce of the city rather than its monumental buildings which

are the chief source of interest.98

The quest for the national capital of Pakistan gained its momentum due to the

functional reasons, since none of the existing cities had the infrastructure available for

hosting the Capital’s administrative function. From the plan for the upgradation of

Karachi, (that is developed to reflect democratic values) to the Islamabad, the new

capital of Pakistan (developed to reflect an authoritarian rule) a persistent effort to

connect the city to the tradition of Islam was much evident. However, this was a

mammoth task. Batuman argues that the cities that were emerged in a global world,

under the umbrella of the postcolonialism had to deal with their “plural ethnicities,

modernities and Islams at the same time (Batuman 2017).” To cope with problem

98 The Muslim communities are rested on the idea of equality. This equality was established through

the Jurists (Qazi) who came from this merchant class, even Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H and his close allies were all traders and merchants, instead of Military or Government administration. Kennedy writes that thus, “ It was natural then that the design of the city reflected the need of this class and that the Muslim city allowed the commercial consideration to outweigh the dictates of formal planning”(Kennedy 1985).

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MRV in their plan for the master plan of Karachi tried to connect it with Isfahan while

Doxiadis associates tried to “Islamize the Grid.” Kalia also reinforce Doxiadian view

by arguing, while presenting the case of the Grid in connection to his description of

Chandigarh, that, “these ideas appear more suited to the Islamic notions, where

religion exhorts men to walk on a straight line with a purpose, rather than for Hindu

nation having a circular view of life, the concept of samsara (Kalia 1999).”Yakas, the

project architect for Islamabad appointed by the Doxiadis associates, explains that

how they have validated the functional grid plan. He writes whiles discussing reasons

for selecting the grid pattern as

Finally, for cultural reasons, Islamabad, a symbolic city of the Islamic

Republic of Pakistan, could not abstain from the rules of design and

synthesis, which are the main characteristics of Islamic culture. Every large

and important synthesis of Islamic culture is based on pure geometry. The

great mosques and large Palaces with their squares, Fatehpur Sikri and its

synthesis based on the vertical axis, Lahore Fort, all of them remind one

that Islamic culture has always used pure geometrical patterns in the design

of structural works. One may find that geometry sets the pattern even in

the smallest details of Islamic cultures (Yakas 2001, 67).

Yakas explanation reduces the concept of Islamic city to a more abstract and

manageable level. This abstraction not only helped in the conception of Islamabad,

but also binds the cities, discussed earlier in this section, together. This conception

also problematizes the Islamic city and adds further complication to the already

complex phenomenon. Furthermore, the grid was also viewed as an entity that

provides the uniform distribution of the space, which corresponds to the Islamic values

of “equality.” However, this intended equality was nullified after provision of class-

based housing accommodations and strict segregation of ruling elite from the public.

The dissertation argues that from naming the city to the development of “Islamic grid,”

the architects and state had tried to bind opposing ideologies within the proposed space

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forcefully. Islamic city, if it exists, should concern more about social justice and other

fundamental values of Islam rather than negotiating with formal elements.

The Indian Subcontinent was the home of multiple cultural, ethnic and religious

groups. Islam was introduced into India initially through Arab traders and later on by

the Arab invasion of southern India. In the course of history, Muslim rulers had

established some of the great empires on the Indian soil, which include the “Delhi

sultanate” and “Moghuls.” However, these empires were more “political99” in nature

rather than religious one. The evolution of religion as a political entity has affected

the construction of urban space since then. Rulers of these empires were manoeuvring

the religion as a political entity rather than acclimatizing to the framework provided

by the religion.

The architecture produced by them, labelled as “Islamic100”, was against the

fundamental teaching of religion which emphasized on the simplicity. In contrast to

the lavish place making which includes marble pavilions and gardens, within the

collective memory of Muslims, the welfare state of Medina101 was still being

idealized.

Post-1900 have seen aggression in the politics of British India. The formation of “All

India Muslim League,” in 1906, provided a parallel point of view, which was in a

99 The term “political Islam” has been adopted by many scholars in order to identify this seemingly

unprecedented irruption of Islamic religion into the secular domain of politics and thus to distinguish these practices from the forms of personal piety, belief and ritual conventionally subsumed in Western scholarship under the unmarked category “Islam.” (“What Is Political Islam | Middle East Research and Information Project” n.d.)

100 Islamic architecture is a plural term generally refers to the Architecture produced in the Islamic societies. However, a universal consensus about the definition of this architecture is yet to be arrived. it came into the cannons of architectural discussion after 1980s specifically by initiative such as “Aga Khan award for Islamic architecture (Mumtaz 1989).

101 The state of Madinah was established by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) after he emigrate from MECCA. It remained a subject of Inquiry among many well know Arab Historians like “Al Madinah

Al-Fadilah” by Farabi and, “Muqqademah” Ibne Khuldon. However, the modern-day scholar like Nazar Al Sayyad had criticized the concept by narrating that the benefits of small town or generic terms like Medina can be speculated (Al Sayyad 1998).

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striking contradiction with the Indian National Congress’s idea of “United India.” The

idea floated earlier by Ch. Rehmat Ali as the spatial construction of Pak-Nation (Ali

1947) was taken forward, with a slight deviation (see Fig. 3.36), by All India Muslim

League and formulated into “two-nation theory.” It is important to note that the

political thought of Muslims, living in British India, was extraordinarily diverse, but

the majority of Muslims supported Jinnah’s idea of a separate nation for Muslims.

This majority can be located on the central axis of political thought because Muslim

(Leftists and Rightists groups) were not in favor of the partition of India. For Jinnah’s

followers, the country they were striving for would be equivalent to the ideal state of

Madinah, that is, an absolute space the guarantees equality, freedom and justice.

Figure 3.36. (Left) Sketch of Pak Millat & (Right) Indian Subcontinent.. Source: (Nilsson, 1973)

Jinnah led All India Muslim league remained victorious in getting the new country for

the Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent. During the partition of India, in 1947, nearly

hundreds of people on both side of the borders, of the newly formed countries, left

their homes. Moreover, sectarian violence has erupted on both sides of the border.

These riots had led to the killing of 5,00,000 People and urge hundreds of people to

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migrate (Kalia 2011). In the background of this miserable condition, when refugees

were flocking on the streets of the capital city, the utmost need of a very “own”

national space was felt. However, in the presence of prevailing economic instability,

social aspirations, political inclinations and historical ties, the production of national

space was a mammoth task.

Pakistan started its nation-building with the help of foreign experts and funding

agencies (including Ford Foundation and the United States Technical Assistance and

Productivity Program (TAP)). Due to lack of the trained architects and architectural

practices in Pakistan, Government had relied heavily on the foreign architects for the

construction of the monumental project during the first phase of the post-independence

period102. Commenting on the architectural aspiration of the foreign architects

working in Pakistan, Karim states that, “spearheaded and aided by US universities,

architects and TAP, the group embarked on a grand project: forging a hybrid of post-

war reformation spirit, modernization theory and postcolonial Muslim nationalism

(Karim 2016).” In lieu of the prevailing challenges of the hybridization, the work had

started on the design of the national capital of Pakistan. Furthermore, the expected

design is supposed to cater the people’s aspirations and the states’ ambition. In

addition to the historical aspiration, the Government of Pakistan was keen to connect

itself with the other new nation-states of Islamic origin, most prominent among them

were Turkey103 and Indonesia104. Moreover, the experimentation done in the

Chandigarh105, India had developed a sense of competition in neighbouring Pakistan.

102 Pakistan’s post-independence history can be divided into two distinct phases. The first Phase starts

from 1947, when Pakistan came into being and continues till 1971 when following the bloody war Bangladesh (former east-Pakistan) got separated from the union of Pakistan. 1971 onwards can be referred as the second phase.

103Turkish modernization started with the advent of republican era and end of caliphate. Though the political scenario had changed all together at the end of caliphate, but In Pakistan the people’s sentiment for Turkey remained the same (Bozdogan and Kasaba 1997).

104 Indonesia is one of the largest Islamic countries, the process of modernization had started under the leadership of Sukarno, who like Ayyub Khan was a military dictator (Kusno 2000).

105 After partition Government of India has undertaken the development of capital cities for a number of states which include Gandhinagar, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh (Kalia 1990).

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3.3.2. Karachi - A Plan for The Democratic State

Newly created state of Pakistan had to face many difficulties. The imperial capital of

British India, Delhi remained present on the geographical location allotted to India.

To hold the state’s function Government of Pakistan had proposed Karachi as an

interim capital of Pakistan.106Karachi was a city that grew from a small port city in

recent years and was inadequate to hold the state function due to the lack of required

infrastructure. Also, lack of funds, refugee crisis, and settlement problem had

increased the problem.

Figure 3.37. Proposed (Left)“Main Axis”& (Right) “Main Square” for Karachi.

(Source: “Report on Greater Karachi Plan.” Merz Rendel Vatten, 1952)

Karachi was the most significant city and biggest commercial hub in Pakistan. It was

also the only city that had the potential of connecting Eastern and Western wings of

Pakistan. Karachi does not have the buildings that correspond to the new government’s

functional requirement. Hence, in order to host the governmental administrative

106 The main reason behind the selection of Karachi was it location since at the time of partition of India Bangladesh (former east Pakistan) was part of Pakistan.

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functions, existing buildings were retrofitted.107 However, to situate Government’s

full, fledge function much modification in the existing infrastructure was required.

The first step toward this was taken when Merz Rendel Vatten (MRV) a Swedish firm

was hired by the government of Pakistan to develop the master plan for Karachi. MRV

proposed the first master plan for Karachi also known as MRV plan in 1952, see Fig.

3.38-3.41(Malm 1952; Nilsson 1973). From the very start, MRV was cautious and

sensitive about the development of an “Islamic and democratic city” since it directly

corresponds with the sentiments of the millions, who strived for this new homeland.

Figure 3.38. (Left) Plan of Shahjahanabad and (Right) Karachi (MRV 1952). (Source: “Report on Greater Karachi Plan.” Merz Rendel Vatten, 1952)

It was quite a challenging task, since urban fabric in the Muslims communities, which

spread from Malaysia to Turkey and from Tunis to Russia bears many differences,

both symbolic and physical108(Al Jasmi and Mitias 2004; Creswell 1953). These cities

were developed over the centuries and hold the mark of every successive civilization.

It is important to note that the majority of Muslim civilizations, in the beginning, were

107 It is important to note the “State” in the countries created after the end of colonization cannot be

seen in parallel to Plato’s republic or Marx socialist State. It is a more complex phenomenon, since military interventions and fascist attitude of the political government is common thing within these nations. Generally Ruling regimes follow an agenda driven by the background forces (which can be their international allies or the international funding agencies) and show minimal concern for the general wellbeing of their people.

108 The term Islamic architecture hold a lot of controversies and widely debated within the intellectual spheres of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars. Due to diversity of the term, it is difficult to define it as a single stylistic term (Omer 2008).

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feudal. Hence integrating the pagan cities for the modern nation-state by maintaining

its symbolic importance was the key task. MRV presented a detailed analysis of the

historical city and were stringent about the fact that any direct inspiration from these

civilizations to form a new city might not be able to host the capital of the twentieth-

century Democratic Republic adequately. This was the main reason that MRV rejected

the idea of adoption of a plan from an earlier Islamic city, but this rejection was not

enough to normalize the obsession governmental officials had with the “Islamic City.”

MRV plan whirl around the three basic elements derived from cities developed by

Muslims in the past. This trinity, which was originally proposed by E. A. Gutkind’s,

comprises of “cell of the house, the centre of the bazaar and spiritual focus of the

mosque.” Through their historical analysis, MRV shortlisted the “rigid grid-iron

pattern” and “single axis plan with a significant Meydan (meeting place) at the centre

of the city,” as the most significant patterns for the development of the city. However,

they did not favour one over the other and proposed a more blended option. In their

opinion

The elements of different forms of layout, obtained from various

sources, will have to be blended with each other and with newly created

elements to form a whole which, in time, may become significant for

the modes of the living particular to Pakistan (Malm 1952).

Their proposal for the city is a straightforward organization of these functions using a

central axis. The plan is intended to give importance to all the State functions, Grand

mosque and had provided adequate space for public dwellings. The major contrast

concealed within the plan which was in contradiction with the popular urban design

scheme of the era is that the main axis ends at the tomb of Muhamad Ali Jinnah instead

of the Parliament. Use of one major axis for the symbolic development of the city was

not alien to this part of the world. Shahjahanabad that was constructed in 1628-1658

by the Moghul emperor Shahjahan utilized the central axis (Chandni Chowk) for the

functional and symbolic purpose (Blake 2002). The proposed city, in general, can be

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divided into three main zones that are, administrative and commercial areas, industrial

areas and residential area. All of these zones were sensitively planned and designed to

exist in a symbiotic relationship with each other (Newcombe 1960).

Figure 3.39. (Left) The Round City, Baghdad and (Right) Meydan, Isfahan.. (Source: (Left) Histoire Islamique . (Right) http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/isfahan-x1-a-

historical-survey. Last visited on June 2018.

The central square was designed as a forecourt of the nation, which can accommodate

official ceremonies, public meeting, and prayers. The presence of Mausoleum of

Jinnah in the centre added to the symbolic value of the square109. On the periphery

of this square, MRV had placed the house of Parliament, Grand Mosque, Supreme

Court and other cultural and administrative institution. In the schematic design for the

central square “Grand mosque” and “Mausoleum of Jinnah” were highlighted and

given a strategically important place. The idea of Central Square was derived from the

“Meydan” (see Fig 3.39) the most striking feature in the city of Isfahan in Iran

designed as a place for prayer, hosting congregations and represent grandeur. The

strong geometrical form of the square is a reflection of MRV’s in-depth study of cities

which were developed using strict geometrical pattern. One of the critical examples is

Baghdad developed by Al Mansoor, see Fig 3.39 (Mahsud 2013). The capital city was

developed to confine the political power within the central district however in the

MRV’s master plan of Karachi, provisions for the commercial exploitation of the city

109 Monumentality in the urban space was not only present in the historical cities in Indian Subcontinent,

but also became a new motto for the CIAM after the second World War. See the new monumentality in (Frampton and Mumford 2002).

https://histoireislamique.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/la-ville-ronde-abbasside-de-madinat-al-salam-baghdad/



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by providing adequate space for the industrial areas and increased capacity of seaport

were intelligently incorporated.

Figure 3.40. MRV’s Masters Plan of Karachi (Source: “Report on Greater Karachi Plan.” Merz Rendel Vatten, 1952)

An overview of the plan reveals that it was not only a reflection of the promised

democracy, but also accommodate the adequate residential and commercial activities.

The development of the central square, as the forecourt of the nations and its

availability for the people’s congregation and assembly, go in synchronization with

the promised vision of democracy and freedom110.

110 On March 1949, Pakistan constitution assembly had passed the objective resolution, which acted in

the place of constitution. Objective resolution clearly suggest that Pakistan would be an “Islamic” and “Democratic” country. For a detail discussion on the social and historical background of “objective resolution and its future consequences see (Anas Malik 2015).

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Figure 3.41. MRV’s Master Plan for Karachi. (Source: “Report on Greater Karachi Plan.” Merz Rendel Vatten, 1952)

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It is important to note that though this plan was never implemented, however, the

mausoleum of Jinnah remained the starting point of all the major procession and public

protest. MRV considered nine elements as the principal constitutes of the city. These

nine elements were residential areas, community centre, schools, mosque, shops,

means of transport, places of work, sports ground and health centre (see Fig. 3.42).

Special consideration was given on the direct access to schools and places of work

from the residential area.

Figure 3.42. Functional consideration by MRV for the Master Plan of Karachi. (Source: “Report on Greater Karachi Plan.” Merz Rendel Vatten, 1952)

3.3.3. Corbusier’s Sketch for National Capital

After the MRV, the government of Pakistan had first contacted Le Corbusier to design

the national capital. In this regard, Mr. Chaudhary, Charge D’ Affairs at Pakistan

Embassy in Paris had engaged Mr. Ecohard who told Mr. Chaudhary that Corbusier

was excited about the project hence you should contact him directly through a letter

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written on September 30, 1956.111 In a short description present in the letter written to

Corbusier on February 15, 1956, Chaudhary expressed the Government of Pakistan’s

Intention to relocate the federal capital 20 miles south of Karachi in Gadap.

Furthermore, Corbusier was offered to design the National Capital of Pakistan and

Parliament building in East Pakistan. This was the time when Le Corbusier had

already designed the city of Chandigarh in the neighbouring country. In leiu of

prevailing rivalry between the India and Pakistan, Corbusier asked the Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru for his permission which he granted.112 However, because of this

age, he was unable to visit the site apart from several requests made by the

Government of Pakistan.

Figure 3.43. Study Sketch for New Capital of Pakistan by Le Corbusier.

(Source: Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris)

In a sketch present at the Fondation Le Corbusier (see Fig. 3.43), the architect had

supported the idea of moving the Capital outside Karachi and proposed a satellite town

in Clifton, based on his famous grid-iron plan. He might also have thoughts on the

possibility of shifting capital to Dhaka, in the Eastern wing of Pakistan. No further

information is available in this regard Government of Pakistan had later disposed of

111 Letter from Mr. Ecohard to Mr. Chaudhary, written on September 30, 1956. Fondation Le Corbusier. 112 Fondation Le Corbusier

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the site of National Capital at Gadap. Le Corbusier also negates to the design of the

Parliament building in Dhaka, due to the health issues and old age. In his reply to a

Fax sent from Rawalpindi on September 03, 1962 Le Corbusier stated that he does not

have time for the immediate site visit and design of Parliament building.113 The

Parliament building was later designed by Louis Kahn which would be discussed in

Chapter 04, at full length.

3.3.4. Islamabad – The City for Future

In 1958 Military General Ayyub Khan (Khan 1967) overthrew the Government in

Pakistan and came to power through bloodless coup d’état. The change in the

Government not only affected the political condition of the country, but also posed the

question of the status of Karachi as a national capital. In less than three months of

gaining power General Ayyub Khan appointed General Yahya Khan as the head of a

commission for relocating the federal capital. The commission had declared Karachi

unsuitable as the capital of Pakistan and instead proposed a new site near Rawalpindi

in the province of Punjab. President Ayyub Khan announced the location of new

federal capital in October 1959. The change of location, however, left no impact on

the “Islamic” discourse for spatial development. The new city was named

“Islamabad”: the city of Islam. Due to the flourishing relationship between the

Government of Pakistan and United States funding agencies114, former world bank

advisor for the Middle East, Doxiadis was hired to design the new capital.

Doxiadis engagement with Pakistan was not a new one. He was already involved with

several town planning projects in Pakistan was an advisor to the world bank. He also

studied the earlier master plan developed by MRV for the Federal Capital in Karachi

and criticized its planning and growth pattern. Furthermore, he also provided his own

113 Fondation Le Corbusier 114 For a brief discussion about the role of the International funding agencies and Pakistan and United

States relationship see (Karim 2016).

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detailed study about the development of Karachi (see Fig 3.44). The plan he presented

also incorporates his ideology of Dynapolis. In Doxiadis’ opinion, Karachi was a

logical solution for temporary hosting the state’s function but could not be utilized as

a permanent capital owing to its weather.115

Figure 3.44. Doxiadis Sketch for the Greater Karachi,

(Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Doc. No. DOX_PA 77, 183)

In Doxiadis’ opinion, MRV had created a “weak plan” and did not practically address

the basic problems of Karachi. He further writes that plan lacks the transformative

115 Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Report on Preliminary Program and Plan, Islamabad (25). Document

DOX-PA 77 (11-6-60) Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority, Page 01.

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agenda that should be able to convert a port city and a smaller administrative centre

into Federal Capital of Pakistan. He also criticized the effort to preserve the existing

economic centre located in the old part of the city and pinpointed the fact that all the

new centres proposed by MRV are directed towards the old economic centre. Thus

they could increase the load on the centre.116 In a striking contradiction to the

Corbusier’s money-making theory, Doxiadis comprehends that extra importance

given to the city centre would result in the increase of “land value which worked to

the benefit of private persons, since the Government-owned very small plots of the

land within the city.”117The problems identified by Doxiadis in the plan of MRV was

similar to his studies on the growth pattern of the historic towns (see figure 3.45). In

his study, he presented the idea that when a city flourishes it also affects the satellite

towns developed at a distance from the main city. With the growth of the city, the

satellite towns also grow and a time comes when it is difficult to differentiate between

the old city and its satellites. This in turns, hinders the future development of the city

and enhance the load on its centre. Doxiadis initially came to Pakistan with the

assistance of Ford Foundation118. He had an extensive portfolio of development

projects and a well-established theory of Ekistics119. Doxiadis was not interested in

making just a monumental city; rather he was very sensitive about incorporating

human scale to produce a functional city. This approach was in contradiction with the

regime’s vision which wants Federal capital to be in par with Fatehpur Sikri and Delhi,


DOX-PA 77 (11-6-60) Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority. Page 02 (Search for a Better Solution).

117 Doxiadis definitely recalling the failed master plan of Athens which was not able get implemented as the private investor had already bought the land on which government was trying to build the capital city, thus leaving government with no option except to compromise the plan. Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Report on Preliminary Program and Plan, Islamabad (25). Document DOX-PA 77 (11-6-60) Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority. Page 02 (Search for a Better Solution).

118 Karim argues that Doxiadis design strategy was linked with Ford Foundations’ President Paul Hoffman. He further writes that “Ford Foundation identified the cultural and aesthetic sphere as a new battleground, of which architecture was a major component.” (Karim 2016).

119 “Ekistics” is a science of Human settlement devised by Dr. Doxiadis. Dr Mahsud Argues that “Doxiadis conceived of Islamabad as the most elaborate testing ground and conscious application of the Ekistics.” (Mahsud 2013).

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in terms of symbolic and monumental importance. Doxiadis was conscious about the

historicity of newly carved “old nation.”120 In this regard, he made several studies on

ancient Greek cities and historical urban formation in the Indian Subcontinent.

Figure 3.45. The Traditional Pattern of Growth of City.

(Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Doc. No. DOX-PA 77, p.143)


DOX-PA 77 (11-6-60) Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority, Page 01.

193

Karachi was known for its harsh climate, but the main reason for relocation of the

capital was the political ambitions of President Ayyub that finally resulted in the

transfer of the Federal Capital from Karachi to Islamabad. In continuation of the policy

of Britishers, Ayyub’s administration wants to keep the politician and the businessmen

at a distance121. All major businessmen were based in Karachi: the commercial hub of

Pakistan, thus in order to meet the above objective, a site at a fair distance from

Karachi was considered as feasible.

Figure 3.46. Highways for the City of Future

(Source: Source: DOX-PA 77, p. 141-153)

Among all three sites shortlisted for the federal capital Islamabad seems more

favourable for the military establishment as it also lies right next to the military’s

121 President Ayyub wants to secure his power at any cost and his fear was evident when he says

“politician found that they could collect mobs with the help of industrialists and businessmen and bring all kinds of pressure to bear on the government. A time came when one large public meeting attended by a riotous mob could determine the fate of the government (Kudaisya and Yong 2004).

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general headquarter in Rawalpindi. Sir Morris James, the British High commissioner

in Pakistan, recalls,

He (Ayyub Khan) believed that Pakistan should be run from somewhere

else. Moreover, as a general who had made himself the president and who

depended for his continuance in office on the support of the Army, he had

the strongest of motives for keeping in close touch with his colleagues, the

other generals at Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi. What one army

commander and the chief had done some other very senior officer might

one day be tempted to try…To remove himself permanently to a city 900

miles away would be the height of imprudence (James 1993).

Separation between the politician and businessmen was not enough for regime. In

order to further enhance (or elaborate) their strength they advised the technical expert

to form a “super cantonment” (Tan and Kudaisya 2000). Several factions of the society

protested over the decision of relocation especially the politicians from East Pakistan

as this will terminate their direct connection with the capital. In order to calm the

Bengali Politicians, Ayyub’s Government proposed to host the Federal Capital for six

months in Islamabad and six months in Dhaka, East Pakistan122. The Politicians from

the East Pakistan never fully agreed on the recommendation of the Military

administration. For naming the city, Ayyub took the clutches of religion and called

the new city: Islamabad, the city of Islam. In continuation with the two-nation theory

that remained the force behind the Muslim nationalism in the Indian Subcontinent,

Ayyub also viewed religion as a powerful binding force, then physical infrastructure

and connectivity. In support of his vision he declared, “with the two provinces of

122 Ayyub Nagar (now Sher-e-Bangla Naga, literally means ‘The Land for the Lion of Bangladesh’)

was the capital district in the Dhaka, former East Pakistan designed by Louis Kahn to fulfil the purpose. The capital was completed after the Bangladesh gained its independence. Following the Bengali independence Ayyub Nagar was renamed to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar and it was designated as the National Capital of Bangladesh. Due to the reason it is excluded from the main discussion on the capital.

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Pakistan separated as they are, there is a greater need to bring the people to a common

platform (Khan 1967).” For President Ayyub, it was the religion and the city of Islam

that would serve as the common platform for the nation. In the background of these

political makeovers, Doxiadis was appointed to design the new capital of

Pakistan.Doxiadis who was the world acclaimed designer and famous for his science

of human settlement “Ekistics” planned Islamabad as a “city of future.”(Doxiadis

1965). The Doxiadis associates also proposed a plan for the Karachi which bears the

same fate as of MRV’s proposal, but in the case of Islamabad, they were more

successful (Newcombe 1960). He proposed the city as a Dynapolis which will grow

together with the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi and both cities complement each

other in one way or the other, see fig 3.47 (Doxiadis 1965).

Figure 3.47. Dynapolis incorporating Plans of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

(Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens)

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Doxiadis selected the gridiron to provide a framework for the development of the city

of the future. The selection of gridiron served dually, on the one hand, it was an

appropriate element for creating a functional plan and accommodating the future

growth, and on the other hand, as described by famous Pakistan theoretician KKM, it

was “regarded as Islamic because of its geometric design.”(Mumtaz 1990). Doxiadis

planned the city of Islamabad as the Dynapolis, which he termed as the city of future

(Doxiadis 1960). He describes Dynapolis as

The proper name for the city of the future, is Dynapolis, city, which in

contrast to the static city of the past, will possess the of dynamic

development. That is, the freedom to develop freely and a planned and

predetermined (Doxiadis 1960).

Doxiadis also present a schema of the “City of Future” through four basic principles,

that are, to integrate all social and income groups through a comprehensive planning,

the city should have a freedoms to develop “dynamically”, in contrast to the old towns,

thirdly to structure a city by incorporating the internal social forces, fourthly he

emphasized on the different scale of development for the city of future.123 In his city

of Future, Dynapolis Doxiadis main concern was the possibility of expansion of the

city centre and roads. Doxiadis believes that the city centre should not only expand,

but grow in the scale dynamically, so it can accommodate the growing need of the city

(see Fig. 3.48). For the road network of the city, he proposed a triangulation

methodology with major roads penetrating into the city thus producing 30-60

triangles. These roads should be relocated according to the new sectors. Doxiadis was

a staunch believer of integrating the classes into the city. In one of the earlier sketches

proposed for Islamabad, he provided the adequate space according for all incomes

123 Doxiadis was much concerned about the role machines plays in shaping up the city. He explains the

city of past to have a singular scale, that was, human. While the city of the future should incorporate cars, aero planes and rockets (Doxiadis 1960, 1968, 1965).

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groups (see Fig. 3.49).

Figure 3.48. Structure of Dynapolis.

(Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens, Doc. No. DOX PA 77, p 157)

However, it is important to note that such development provides the people from all

wages of life an opportunity to inhabit the city, it by no means count towards the social

integration. As already discussed, this class stratification, which was the major part of

the planning of New Delhi and Chandigarh thus results in the separation of classes

rather than combining them.

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Figure 3.49. Map of Islamabad with the Low, Middle and High-Income Regions

(Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens, DA (1961b, January)

3.3.4.1. “Islamizing” the Grid

The plan of Islamabad was developed along two major axes, making it a bit contrasting

to the single axis plan proposed for Karachi. These two axes are known as “Islamabad

highway” and “Murree highway” (which can also be seen as an extension of the Grand

Trunk road developed by Sher Shah Suri (1486-1545) connecting Kabul with Delhi).

“the main lines of the Landscape which should serve as the axis for the whole capital,

is the line where the Capitols Avenue not runs.124” Also, two more highways were

proposed which bypass the existing town of the Rawalpindi. The four axes together

define the metropolitan area of Islamabad, in the form of a giant square. The Federal

capital commission emphasized the indigenous inspiration for the city. “the

commission insists on ‘indigenous inspiration’ by unfolding an emblematic analysis

of British civil lines and argues for a pattern that can develop ‘respect’ (Mahsud

2013).” The inclination of the British educated administration towards the Britian was

124 Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Document Number: GEN 1003 / 43. Islamabad: A monumental Axis: Attached Department; Entrance to Islamabad.

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not strange, but it should be stated as a paradox that for a city that is going to be the

symbol of the country, that fought its independence from the colonizers.

Figure 3.50. Mohenjo-Daro and Islamabad.


In the case of Chandigarh, Nehru had rejected the construction of the Governor’s

Palace, owing to its position, as it reminds one about the British Viceroy Palace.

However, the Federal Capital Commission also requested the architect to break the

barriers between the administration and the inhabitants (as they were evident in

Madras, Calcutta and New Delhi). Report of federal capital commission states that,

“The civil lines and cantonments induce a type of living which in turn influences the

character of administration. The administration was not contaminated by ‘native

influence. … we, however, do not want out administration completely isolate from the

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rest of the population.”125

Figure 3.51. Four Classical Cities superimposed over the Plan of Islamabad.


125 Capital Development Authority (C.D.A.) Archive Islamabad. Federal Capital Commission report,

“Where there is No Vision”. President’s Secretariat: Government of Pakistan. Page No 31.

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Doxiadis, however, was much fascinated by Ancient Greek Cities, and the Indus

valley civilization existed in the geographic region some 5000 years B.C. In a number

of drawing at the Doxiadis archives, he not only tried to analyse the Indus valley cities,

but also made the comparative studies with a sector of Islamabad (see Fig 3.50 &

3.51). Doxiadis critically evaluated the main features of the Indus valley cities. The

cities of the Indus valley civilization were developed on the grid plan following formal

segregation between public and private areas (Daechsel 2015). In a similar fashion to

the Indus valley and modern urban planning concepts, the plan follows a rigid

geometry, and segregate the governmental buildings from the residential areas. The

plan reflects not only the concern for the vehicular movement, but also depicts the

regime's intention to gain political control over the space. The social areas were

segregated entirely in the plans and can be cordoned off in the case of an emergency

situation (Kenoyer 1998). The size of the sector is carefully worked out by Doxiadis

through a comprehensive study of ancient and early modern cities in Europe and India

(see Fig. 3.50, 3.51, 3.57 &3.58). He carefully organized the function within each

sector of the city, which surpass the problems of disorder and congestion in the ancient

city. It was the result of his studies that one sector in Islamabad was larger than

classical Athens, London, Paris and Renaissance’s Florence.

3.3.4.2. Monumental Axes, States and Religion

The plan of Islamabad was based on two axes. The first axis is the one that runs from

northeast to the south-west of Islamabad which terminates at the Presidential Estate.

The axis was mainly designed for the motor vehicles however a part of it was reserved

for the low-speed vehicles integrated with the pathways to give it a monumental

appearance. The second axis was the natural expansion of historical grand trunk road

that runs all the way from Delhi to Kabul. The Main axis which terminates at the

president’s house is Islamabad truly reflects the intention of the ruling regime who

were looking for a Presidential system, instead of the prevailing Parliamentary

democratic system (see Fig. 3.52). About the central axis, Doxiadis writes that, “This

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axis is not only the natural one, but it has the most natural ending, that is, the hill where

the President’s Palace and the main monumental square are going to be created.”126

Figure 3.52. Axes, Grand Mosque and Presidential Estate in Islamabad.

(Source: Author)

In addition, to acting as a natural boundary between the landscape and city, Doxiadis

elaborated the functional aspect by compelling on the fact that the axis would

terminate at a “proper architectural formation127” in front of Margallah hill. The

placement of the Presidential Estates, in front of the hill, is similar to Corbusier’s

Chandigarh. Furthermore, the idea of a monumental axis in the development of the

capital cities is not new in this region.

The plans of Shahjahan Abad, New Delhi, and Chandigarh all contained the

monumental axis. This one line on the map coincides with Ayyub’s intention. The

plan thus read more like the reflection of an authoritarian Presidential system in

contrast to the MRV’s plan of Karachi, which was based on the values originating

from the democratic Parliamentary system in the country. The axis was also

strategically placed to act as a spine of the Doxiadian Dynapolis. Doxiadis visualized

126 Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Document Number: GEN 1003 / 43. Islamabad: A monumental Axis:

Attached Department; Entrance to Islamabad. Page 02 127 From proper architectural formation Doxiadis was referring to the Presidential Estate and the

monumental square. Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Document Number: GEN 1003 / 43. Islamabad: A monumental Axis: Attached Department; Entrance to Islamabad. Page 02

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that the city of the future would grow along this axis.

Figure 3.53. Principal Axes and Location of Principal monuments in Islamabad.

(Source: Re-drawn by Author over Document Number DOX-PA 88, p 345, Doxiadis Archives)

Doxiadis visualized this axis at two scales, that are, the mechanical and Human. The

major part of the axis was meant to act as a container for the motor-vehicles that will

run at high speeds, in the years to come. Doxiadis purposefully writes that it will not

have “an architectural expression worth its name.”128

The divine distance of 4000 yards from the Islamabad highway to the Presidential

Estate is an area where Doxiadis meant to impart a “meaning.” Doxiadis planned to

reduce the speed of vehicles at this point and introduce the walkways on both sides of

the road so people can experience the city. As envisioned by Doxiadis this part of axis

attained the monumental expression, especially after the Military regime, had started

128 Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Document Number: GEN 1003 / 43. Islamabad: A monumental Axis:

Attached Department; Entrance to Islamabad. Page 02.

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holding the annual Republic day military parades on this area. Seemingly, the idea for

holding the military parade at the monumental axis was inspired from the Red Square

in the Russia and Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China (Gordon 2006).129 The Military

show off, reinforce the power structure and strengthen the military regime’s intention

of reflecting the absolute authority, using the urban space, on its subject which can be

best understood in connection with Foucault’s mechanism of Power-

knowledge.130The second complementary axis for Islamabad is known as Islamabad

highways run from all the way from Grand trunk road to the Margallah hills and cut

the major axis into its “mechanical” and “monumental” halves. The grand National

Mosque which remained a focal point in the earlier Islamic cities does not lie in the

centre of the city. It was planned at the end of the second grand axis thus imparting a

symbolic value to the mosque. Doxiadis writes that

The reason why the main mosque of Islamabad had been proposed in the

extension of the Islamabad highway, as people’s attention has to be drawn

towards the hills up to the point at which they reach Capitol Avenue and

then, if they do not move towards the big symbols, the mosque, they turn

towards the other symbols, the focal point of the administration of the

country.131

Thus, the two major axis that forms the central spine of the city converges on the two

129 In a detailed explanation to human dimensions for the city Doxiadis writes that “it should be

mentioned that even the greatest axes created in cities like Paris and Washington have a length of approximately 2000 yards for the whole axis. this is the case with the Champs-Elysee’in Paris which has a length of about 2000 yards from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde and of a bit more than 3000 yards up to the Palais du Louvre. This is also the case for the great Mall in Washington where the distance between the Capitol and the Washington Monument is about 2000 yards and the distance up to the Lincoln Memorial no more that 4000 yards. Doxiadis Archives Document Number: GEN 1003 / 43. Islamabad: A monumental Axis: Attached Department; Entrance to Islamabad. Page 03.

130 The term ‘Power-Knowledge’ refers to the power structures established in society through the creation, maintenance and existence through established system of knowledge, culture and social norms (Seisun 2012).

131 Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Document Number: GEN 1003 / 43. Islamabad: A monumental Axis: Attached Department; Entrance to Islamabad, Page 07.

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main symbolic building the Presidential Estate and the grand national mosque.

Mahsud argues that by these placements, Doxiadis tried to cope with the problem of

the “ideological dualities” of the state (Mahsud 2013). Further to the symbolic

importance, Doxiadis wanted people to have a focal point while they were entering

the Islamabad thus imparting a sense of orientation to them. Doxiadis had further

reinforced the monumentality and sense of direction by proposing a monumental arch

at the intersection of the two highways and the entrance gate on both the axes. Both

the gateways and monumental arches were never built thus leaving the plan

incomplete.

In Addition to the two major axes, Doxiadis utilized the other major boulevards to

signify the buildings of national importance and places them outside the planned grid.

The placement of monuments also reinforces Doxiadis’ vision of Islamabad as a

monument less city (see Fig. 3.53). Mahsud, through his analysis of urban form, also

concludes that the planned area of Islamabad did not have any place for the

monuments (Mahsud 2008).On assuming power, President Ayyub Khan through a

post-proclamation order removed the word “Islamic” from the name of Pakistan.132

He also suggested substituting a Roman script for Urdu, the national language of

Pakistan (Rizvi 2000, 130). These two efforts confirm the inclination of Sandhurst

educated Ayyub Khan towards more secular Pakistan (that remained the centre of

debate in the British educated ruling elite since the conception of Pakistan),133 against

the one who claims it to be a theocratic state. Ayyub Khan who came into power

following the coup d’état, never publicly expresses his secular vision as he wants to

curtail the religious factions of the society for his political support. The plan of

132 Government of Pakistan, President’s order (post-proclamation) no 1 of 1958, Laws (continuance in

force), Order, 1958 10th October 10 1958,Article 2(1) “Notwithstanding the abrogation of the Constitution of March 23, 1956, hereinafter referred to as the late Constitution, by the Proclamation and subject to any Order of the President or regulation made by the Chief Administrator of Martial Law the Republic, to be known henceforward as Pakistan, shall be governed as nearly as may be in accordance with the late Constitution”

133Although Pakistan was declared an “Islamic state” under the constitution of Pakistan implemented on Mar 23, 1956. It was Jinnah’s speech (Nelson 2012) that was used as a fundamental argument by minority secularists, in opposition to the religious masses.

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Islamabad deciphers an interesting anecdote.134 Doxiadis’ schematic sketch for the

Presidential Estate (see Fig. 3.54) shows a big mosque in front of the Presidential

Estate. However, the mosque was reduced in the size and concealed behind the

Presidential Estate in the final plan developed by Stone. (See chapter 04 – Architecture

of Islamabad for a complete discussion).

Figure 3.54. Doxiadis’ Sketch for the Presidential Estate in Islamabad


The centrality of the National Mosque was also a prominent feature in the MRV’s

master plan for Karachi and coincides with the earlier plan of Islamic cities where the

mosque holds a central place. In the final master plan of the Islamabad Doxiadis had

placed the grand National Mosque and the Presidential Estate on the crossroads, which

are, the two main axes bisecting each other at a right angle. This strategy provides a

material form to the undercover secular ideology of President and Ayyub thus

practically separates the religious symbol from the state, Mahsud argues that,

“Doxiadis tries to provide a symbolic centrality through giving a dual focus by placing

the ‘Capitol complex’ (symbolic of state) and the ‘grand mosque (symbolic of

134 Saikia argues that the struggle of ‘Muslim Becoming’ has been at the heart of Pakistan since its

foundation. The challenges to making Pakistan both a Muslim state and a modern nation were essentially political issues that became ideological. Abul ‘Ala Maudoodi, leader of the religious party,Jama’at-e Islami (founded in 1941), backed the demand to make Pakistan a theocratic state. soon after Jinnah’s demise. Pakistani modernists, such as Professor Fazlur Rahman, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and his wife, Begum Liaquat Ali Khan, were concerned that the use of religion as a state project would empower the ulema (Muslim scholars of Islamic theology) to intervene in politics (Saikia 2014).

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religion) on two separate axes (Mahsud 2013).” This strategic placement can be read

as the plan’s hidden agenda, coinciding with the Ayyub’s concealed vision of the

modern secular state.

3.3.4.3. The Sector

The sector was designed by placing the human being at the centre. Through a detailed

analysis of the historic cities, Doxiadis came up with the “divine dimension” for the

sector. He writes that, “The dimensions of every sector of 6000 ft x 6000 ft. Er 2000

yds. X 2000 yds. are the dimensions which have been given by mankind to all of its

cities for many thousands of years.”135 In a detailed explanation to human dimensions

for the city Doxiadis writes that “it should be mentioned that even the greatest axes

created in cities like Paris and Washington have a length of approximately 2000 yards

for the whole axis. this is the case with the Champs-Elysee’in Paris which has a length

of about 2000 yards from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde and of a

bit more than 3000 yards up to the Palais du Louvre. This is also the case for the Great

Mall in Washington where the distance between the Capitol and the Washington

Monument is about 2000 yards and the distance up to the Lincoln Memorial no more

than 4000 yards. Presenting his analysis Doxiadis concluded that one should not have

any architectural formation beyond 2000 yards. The 2000 yards distance can be further

extended up to 4000 yards provided it is linked using a proper extension. These sectors

thus impart a historical continuity to the development of Sector (Mahsud 2010). In

order to reinforce his study, Doxiadis carefully analysed the development of the

historic Greek cities in order to plan the future growth. He compared Aegina,

Corinthm, Argos, Rhodes, Attica, Arcadia and Laconia (see Fig. 3.56). This study also

helped Doxiadis in accessing the “ideal” dimension for a sector in the Islamabad. The

sector was planned to follow the third principle of Ekistics which is “meant to optimize

135. Doxiadis Archives Document Number: GEN 1003 / 43. Islamabad: A monumental Axis: AttachedDepartment; Entrance to Islamabad, Page 03.

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“man’s protected space.” The principle gave birth to the idea of human scale, and how

it can be incorporated in the development of formal and informal settlements.

Figure 3.55. Schematic Diagram of a Sector in Islamabad

(Source: Authors)

The principle emphasizes the fact that within a settlement man should be able to

connect with the other inhabitants, buildings, and nature without any discomfort

(Doxiades and Papaioannou 1974). The metropolitan areas were subdivided into

different small sectors which were labelled as community’s class 5 (see Fig 3.55, 3.59

& 3.60). Unlike Corbusier, Doxiadis had rejected the idea of Highrise residential Each

sector is designated for a specific income ground and planned to host 20.000- 40.000

people. Each of these sectors were designed to be self-sufficient with all the basic

amenities including markets, hospital and school were placed at a walking distance

for residents. Mahsud argues that this sector was the physical implementation of

Doxiadian Etnopia that, “has transcended capitalism’s cathedrals of commerce and

has become a thick mesh with only community centres, in the midst of the sector,

soaring above everything else (Mahsud 2010).”

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Figure 3.56. Average Size of Ancient Greek cities.

(From Left to Right Aegina, Corinthm Argos, Rhodes, Average city-state, Attica, Arcadia, Laconia


Figure 3.57. Comparison of Old Athens and Sector G-6 Islamabad by Doxiadis.


Figure 3.58. Comparison Plan of Old Athens and Sector G-6 Islamabad.


210

Figure 3.59. Community Class V, Sector G-6, Islamabad.


Figure 3.60. (Left) Community Class IV and (Right) III, Sector G-6, Islamabad


211

Figure 3.61. Block of the Ancient City with Sector of Islamabad.


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Moreover, further subdivided into four subparts known as community class 4. These

class 4 communities are divided into class 3 and class 2 communities respectively (see

Fig. 3.55). In each of these sectors, adequate space was provided for holding different

social functions, pedestrian and vehicular traffic is being segregated.136 In line with

the Chandigarh and New Delhi, the houses were designed according to the social class

of the government servants, which thus transforms the Doxiadian utopia into a mirage.

Furthermore, these class-based residences also challenge the conceptualization of

Islamic city, that remained at the core of the development of Islamabad. Doxiadis

limited the concept of an Islamic city to the formal aspect of the plan and could not

able to trickle it down to the grass root level. Building in a complete rejection to the

Corbusian city. Doxiadis developed a balance between the open spaces and solid in

the city by encouraging the low-rise development. Thus, making Islamabad a hybrid

of historicity and modernist developments that, “this notion of design is derived from

an analysis of the historic city—which mainstream Modernism considered irrelevant,

an anti-model (Mahsud 2010).” From the study of the plan, it is evident that the, unlike

MRV, Doxiadis was more focused towards developing a functional plan with

historical reminiscent, with special consideration for segregating the pedestrian and

vehicular movement, separation of public and private space and exploitation of

gridiron for integrating state of the art facility for infrastructural utilities. The urban

morphological development of Islamabad was quite in contrast with the existing

settlement of Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Delhi since the older town followed an organic

pattern of growth.

3.3.4.4. Nature and the City

From the very start of the project, Doxiadis was extremely sensitive about the nature

and the tradition of the city. He used the landscape contours to develop a boundary

between the city and the Margallah hills, thus reinforcing his ideas to minimize the

intervention in the natural environment. Secondly, he also compromised his grid to be

136 Ibid (C. A. Doxiadis 1965)

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moulded according to the landscape for the respect of nature and cater the economic

issues. Islamabad was planned to integrate a metropolitan area, the old city of

Rawalpindi and national park. The national park was designed next to the metropolitan

city in the same spirit as the lawn is present next to the house (see Fig 3.62). In addition

to the Metropolitan areas of Islamabad Doxiadis provided an elaborates Landscape

plan at the macro scale.

Figure 3.62. Metropolitan Area of Islamabad.

(Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Drawings work by Author)

He proposed seven landscape area (see Fig 3.63). These landscape areas were all dealt

with the different approach thus connecting the city with the natural landscape to the

sensitively planned one. Landscape areas Margallah Hills, Murree Hills, south-west

and south-east, were proposed to retain their natural character with the minimum

human interaction. Form this strategy Doxiadis wanted to connect the city with the

nature in the real sense. The adjoining rural areas (Botka 1995), designated as the

National park was proposed to hold the farmhouses that can support the agricultural

functions in the area. Furthermore, this area should keep the national sports centre, the

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national university, national research institute, etc. (Doxiadis 1959). Botka argues the

National park

was intended to become a cultural and recreational zone of national

importance, maintaining its agricultural vocation as well. The Park area

was not intended to receive large volumes of development, especially not

residential development, if not related to actual agricultural production

(Botka 1995).

Figure 3.63. Seven Landscape Areas of Islamabad.


Although the national park was not supposed to be developed commercial, thus

retaining its natural character, unfortunately, the plan was never strictly implemented

(Botka 1995). The Landscaping inside the sectors was planned to follow a strategy to

create minimum hinderance, aesthetic pleasure and context specificity. Doxiadis is

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very sensitive about the scale of the landscaping, which in his opinion imparts the user

with an experience of the city. He suggested that all the landscaping whether in the

road, green spaces in the sector or the courtyard of the house should be such that it

should not hinder the passing of cars, pedestrian and should not restrict opening of

windows137. Thus, proposing a rational development of these landscape areas. He

writes that, “a rational plan certainly must provide a successful aesthetic, appearance,

it must satisfy the people who to make use of it. it must respect the civilization and

tradition of the country.”138 Doxiadis wanted to integrate the landscaping in the street

to enhance their character. Doxiadis, quite frequently, had highlighted the importance

of the traditional landscape of Islamabad and the region through his sketches and

writings. At one occasion Doxiadis writes that

The Mughal period is fill of magnificent examples of architecture

combined with landscaping…In Islamabad, we have to face a very old and

magnificent inheritance which cannot be ignored as it has now become

traditions. We do not, of course, say that tradition should be copied, this is

not our aim, but if we know the principles on which they developed we

shall be in position to better to face the case of Islamabad.139

However, the historicity of the region was absent from the landscape development of

Islamabad. In this lieu, Daechsel argues that it was the landscape of Athens that

remained in the mind of Doxiadis from the very first day (Daechsel 2015, 210).

137 Report on Landscape, Islamabad (76), Document DOX-PA (31.3.62), Prepared for Government of

Pakistan, Capital Development Authority, Page 76. 138 Doxiadis from the very first day was very sensitive about the tradition of the country. He wants to

give it respect, without copying it. In this regard he writes, “In Islamabad we have to face a very old and magnificent inheritance which cannot be ignore as it has now become traditions. We do not of course say that tradition should be copied, this is not our aim, but if we know the principles on which they developed we shall be in position to better to face the case of Islamabad.” Report on Landscape, Islamabad (76), Document DOX-PA (31.3.62), Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority. page 79-80.

139 Report on Landscape, Islamabad (76), Document DOX-PA (31.3.62), Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority.

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Mahsud also argues that Doxiadis wanted to impart a character to Islamabad by fusing

“Greek Acropolis, medieval landscape and later renaissance palatial

formality”(Mahsud 2009).The plans for the Karachi and Islamabad are poles apart. As

former was intended to resolve the problems of the existing city, while later was

envisioned to develop a city from scratch. The significant difference between the plan

was that MRV’s plan for Karachi was planned to bring the symbolic and monumental

values to the core of city by through Jinnah’s tombs and Grand national mosque, while

Doxiadis had placed the symbolic elements Presidential Estate and grand National

Mosque on the periphery, outside the city. MRV plans also doesn’t show any intention

of bringing nature into the city in contradiction to the Doxiadis plan. The Plan of the

Karachi reflects the democratic values with the public gathering space inspired from

Meydan in Isfahan, in the heart of the city. Secondly, the centre point of the plan was

the tomb of Jinnah, and national symbols were carved in the forecourt thus reinforcing

the national sentiments of the nation.

3.4. Conclusion

The development of these new capital cities was not only meant to symbolize the

country, but they behold a greater political agenda, that is, to transform the society as

a whole. Although the radical ideas of clients and utopianism of architects were well

embedded within the plan, integration of certain social processes had devastated the

reformist agenda of plan. The selection of the abstract and universal design, the Grid-

iron, was an effort by the respective Governments to connect itself with the global

community and to impart identity to the newly born nations. It was established by the

idea that abstract aesthetic and functional forms had the potential to absorb the radical

socio‐political change, consequently resulting in overcoming the dynamics of pre‐

colonial and imperial settlements. Hence, this abstraction could be the new face, the

identity, of the respective countries exhibiting features derived from Indian

architectural tradition. Both Le Corbusier and Doxiadis had tried to justify the grid plan

with reference to India and Pakistan by connecting it with the Democracy and Religion.

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Kalia argues that, “Some of these ideas appear more suited to the Islamic notions,

where religion exhorts men to walk on a straight line with a purpose, rather than for

Hindu nation having a circular view of life, the concept of samsara (Kalia 1990).”Both

of the cities were developed following an overwhelming expression of “human scale,”

“Machine” and Functionalism. All these aspects were integrated to form a city of the

future. However, in line with the Foucault’s emphasis on the outcomes of power

relation instead of only ideologies (Foucault 1980) can be applied to the spatial

construction. The cities that were meant to resolve the traffic problems are facing the

problems sixty years after their construction. Which reinforces the fact, that “machine

problems” in the city could not be resolved by making wider roads, rather its solution

lies in provision of an efficient mass transportation system.

3.4.1. Monumentality against City

The addition of the last function, that is, Monumentality in the CIAM agenda after

1945 had given a new soul to the post-war urban planning (Mumford 2002; Frampton

and Mumford 2002). Corbusier intended to develop a monumental city by integrating

the Highrise residential apartment at the core of the city and a symbolic Capitol

complex. The rejection of the Highrise residential apartments, owing to the Indian

condition, in Chandigarh had resulted in the fact that Corbusier had lost his interest in

the city design instead he restricted himself to the design of the Capitol Complex and

left the development of the city on this team. He was upset to the extent that he even

tried to the develop an artificial hill between his Capitol Complex and the city (Prakash

2002). Doxiadis’ city has no place for the monumentality (Mahsud 2013, 71). He

places the Presidential Estate and the grand National Mosque outside the city’s

planning grid and encourages and low height and increased density residential unit

that corresponds to the local climatic and historical conditions. Doxiadis’ focus on the

city designing and restriction to the monumentality was to the extent that he out-rightly

rejected the proposal to create the high rise apartment in the core of the city (Yakas

2001). Furthermore, due to Doxiadis’ lack of interest in making any monumental and

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symbolic building the Presidential Estate and the Grand National Mosque were

designed by the Edward Durrell Stone and Vedat Dalokay afterward.

3.4.2. Static Versus Continuous City

Corbusier attachment of Chandigarh with the human metaphor, present an image of a

complete painting which negates the possibility of any future extension. Corbusier

was against any kind of intervention in the city. He displayed his dialkenes when heard

that Military is building a cantonment within the periphery of Chandigarh by stating

that, “Setting up of a satellite development within the five-miles periphery of

Chandigarh … It was very undesirable to have such a satellite development.”140 He

further protected his city by making a 5-mile periphery around the city. However, in

lieu with the principal of Garden city, Corbusier intended to develop satellite towns,

if required in the future, following the spirit of Chandigarh that would be connected

to each other, yet have manageable size. After the partition of Indian Punjab into

Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh remained the capital of both the states, Panchkula

and Mohali were developed as a satellite sector of Chandigarh, Panchkula connects

Chandigarh to Haryana while Mohali extends its growth towards Punjab. Doxiadian

philosophy of Dynapolis had freed the city from any physical restriction. He planned

the city which will continue to grow following the principals of Dynapolis. The city

development was foster by the open spaces and self-sufficient sectors that would grow

following a programme. The city, however, grew according to the sketch provided by

the Doxiadis. The lack of administrative control by the Capital Development

Authority’s staff, land acquisition issues and physical constraints had an adverse effect

on the future sectors of Islamabad. The central axis in Islamabad was planned to steer

the direction of the growth of the city of the future. However, 56 years after its

140Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P1-13-243-001, “Letter to Le Corbusier from Pierre

Jeanneret, Chief Architect & Chief Town Planner, Capital Project Chandigarh. Dated Nov 30th, 1962.

219

development the growth has turned into a nightmare141. The freedom that this axis

imparts for the future growth of Islamabad was much better as compared to Brasilia

and Chandigarh. The dissertation reinforces Doxiadis’ criticism that Chandigarh and

Brasilia do not allow for the growth of the main axis are, by conception, wrong

because they do not take into consideration the fact that from many generations capital

cities are going to grow and, therefore, their area will also have to grow.142

3.4.3. Democratic Versus Totalitarian

The significant difference in the plan of Chandigarh and Islamabad came from the

inclination of the regime who are ruling the country. In India, Nehru was a staunch

believer in democracy as was serving as an elected Prime Minister of the country,

while in Pakistan President Ayyub came into power following a bloodless coup d'etat.

Thus, Nehru had rejected the dominant desire of the Le Corbusier to build a

Governor’s Palace, which he conceived as a head of the Capitol, as it reminds one of

the colonial times.

Figure 3.64. Central Axis and Principal Administrative Buildings(Left) Chandigarh & (Right)

Islamabad.

(Source: Bing Maps © 2018/ Drawing work by Author). Last Visited June 2018.

141Capital development authority in Islamabad was not able to develop the self-sufficient sectors in the

Doxiadian spirit and secondly CDA was not able to acquire the land and remove all the encroachments along with this axis.

142Doxiadis Archives, Athens. Document Number: GEN 1003 / 43. Islamabad: A monumental Axis: Attached Department; Entrance to Islamabad, Page 02.

https://www.google.com.tr/search?q=coup+d%27etat&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwia6KuxorfcAhUkxqYKHWoEDKkQkeECCCYoAA

220

While, in case of the Islamabad, Presidential Estate was strategically placed at the

most critical location thus imparting a symbolic significance of it. At the same time,

the Prime Minister Secretariat, that was the constitutional head of the country, had no

place in the plan and later it was developed on a minor axis away from the Presidential

Estate. However, with their different approaches, both the cities reinforce the case for

the political reflection on the urban design. Both Le Corbusier and Doxiadis laid

emphasis on respecting the local history, indigenous practices and climate of the

region. However, apparatuses of the new kind of the government mechanism don’t

have any precedent in the past. Both Doxiadis and Le Corbusier had acknowledged

the strong axial plan of Shahjahanabad and New Delhi and mimic them in the

respective plans for Islamabad and Chandigarh. Nielsen argues that Doxiadis was

looking at the city in line with the Fatehpur Sikri and Shahjahanabad while the ruling

regime in Pakistan, was assuming the role of colonizer thus the cantonment and New-

Delhi was their first inspiration. Le Corbusier also showed an immense interest in the

history and culture of Punjab, as evident from a compilation of his sketches, which he

made during a different visit to India, at foundation Le Corbusier. His Capitol

Complex was seen in line with the Fatehpur Sikri and gardens of Patiala (to be

discussed later in the next chapter). In short, we can conclude that both Chandigarh

and Islamabad, developed in India and Pakistan respectively, behold both the

exogenous and endogenous impression, however, it could not be related to either of

them independently. They were the hybrid modern products which were re-invented

on the Indian soil. The Capital cities, in the wake of prevailing nationalistic ideologies,

were directed towards Utopia; A promised land, but since then following a mirage

where a rational plan can yield a city of people.

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CHAPTER 4

4. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN MANTRA

Modern architecture had always and inevitably

been considered a Western bequest because its

origin lies in Western History. Origins,

however, are not ends and therefore are not the

only ways of deriving identity and ownership

(Prakash 2002).

4.1. Introduction

A This chapter would inquire the making of monumental, Capitol Complex

(Chandigarh) and the Presidential Estate (Islamabad) in the prevailing ideologies of

nationalism and placemaking. These buildings not only reflect the new genre of

modernist architecture in the Indian Subcontinent, but also meant to act as a symbol

for the new nations. Furthermore, this chapter will discuss these building with

reference to the “theory of hybrid modernity,” and argues that impeachment of Indian

historicism and the search for rational ideals not only forced the architects to produce

a solution that is Indian in spirit, but also made Western modernity null and void. Both

the buildings were designed outside the main frame of the planned grid. The reason

for Chandigarh was that Le Corbusier wanted to disconnect the Capitol Complex from

the city after his proposed Highrise buildings were not seemed feasible to be erected

in the city. The city of Doxiadis had no place for monumentality, although Doxiadis

proposed a strong link between the city and the administration complex by providing

a vast square designed as a “forecourt of the nation.” Edward Durrell Stone’s

insensitive approach towards the design had disconnected the building from the city.

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The separation of the administrative complex from the city resulted in class

stratification between the ruler and the ruled. This separation was integrated into the

fabric of earlier planned cities in the Indian Subcontinent to achieve the desired

political objectives of the ruling elite. This can be visibly read in the cities of early and

colonial modern period (as discussed in Chapter 2 of this dissertation).

Figure 4.1. Structure of Chapter 04


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This stratification contradicts the democratic and nationalistic sentiments which lay

emphasis on removing the barrier between the ruler and the ruled and presents a

scheme of society as a singular entity. The structure of this chapter comprises of a

detailed analysis of the evolution of design for the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh

and the Presidential Estate in Islamabad by bringing into the discussion the design

aspiration, design inspiration and the respective background agendas. (see Fig. 4.1).

The final schemes for Capitol complex, Chandigarh and the Presidential Estate,

Islamabad are critically analysed and compared to highlights the distinctive features

and characteristics of buildings in both sites. The (new Indian) monumentality

remained the pivotal objective behind the design of the Presidential Estate in

Islamabad and Capitol Complex in Chandigarh. The Governments required the city

buildings to have symbolic functions embedded within them, which not only

represented their country internationally, but also helped in imparting national pride

in the citizens of the respective countries. The resultant monumentality is a product of

binary operation of exogenous and endogenous forces. Exogenous forces were

brought by the foreign architects, and endogenous forces originated from the pre-

independence nationalist movements, colonial discourse on architecture, material

culture and various other contextual issues. In this regard, an overview of the colonial

discourse and the relation between the (new) monumentality and Indian condition

would develop a solid footing for comprehending the architecture of the Capitol

Complex (Chandigarh) and the Presidential Estate (Islamabad).As already discussed

in chapter 3, during the relocation of the Empire’s capital from Calcutta to New Delhi

three parallel discourses on architecture emerged. The following lines would address

that colonizers had a different perception about the “Indian-ness,” and religious

architecture that assimilated into the post-independence material formation through

the British trained technocrats. This difference in understanding is exhibited through

different texts written to mould Indian history according to the political ambitions of

the colonizer.

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In Post-1900 era, following the Raj’s policy of “Divide and Rule”, several books on

Indian architecture were published (Fergusson 1899; Batley 1934). These books also

mark the origin of a historiographical discourse on Indian architecture and designated

as the first books that lodge an inquiry for comprehending Indian architecture.

Figure 4.2. (Left) A Mohamedan Doorway, (Right) A Hindu Doorway.


Although these books provide comprehensive information about Indian architecture

and its stylistic classification, they unfortunately categorize Hindu and Muslim

architecture as distinct, on the basis of formal aspect which is interrelated at many

levels (see Fig. 4.2). This unnatural classification also goes in parallel with the

Empire’s political agenda of “Divide and Rule,” which they enforced in India for

strengthening colonial rule. The extents of this categorization can be marked from the

fact that, in addition to the buildings, wall patterns, brackets, door, windows are

divided on the basis of religion (Batley 1934). The echoes of this division was also

heard in the post-independence architecture of India. This division penetrated into the

material formation of the post-independence period through English trained

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bureaucracy and technocrats (who held the major administration posts after the

independence and played a pivotal rule during the development of Chandigarh and

Islamabad). In the prevailing ideologies of nationalism, the perceived space was

assumed following this divisions carved by British, rather than established norms of

Islamic or Hindu architecture. In the case of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the case

of material translation is rather straightforward. Muslim ruled India for 1000 of years

and created a number of monumental buildings. These building, especially the ones

by the Turkic rulers and dynasties, set the benchmark for the development. There were

two reasons for the adaptation of these buildings

1. With the relocation of Caliphate, there was a gradual shift in inclination of

Indian Muslim intelligentsia from the Arab Muslims to Turkic Muslims.

2. Pakistan shares a disputed border with Afghanistan; this is the one reason

architecture of Mughals, who eradicated the sultanate of Afghan Kings from

India, is preferred over the architecture of sultanates of Afghan origin

In short post-independence architecture in Islamabad was a result of formal

classification, based on the literature published by the colonizers. Both Mayer and Le

Corbusier and to some extent their counterpart in Islamabad Edward Durrell Stone

and Doxiadis tried to develop the Capitol Complex and the Presidential Estate as the

monumental buildings, with restricted access to the city. For Mayer and Le Corbusier,

the monumentality is like a fresh breeze passing through the simple and functional

agenda of CIAM, as, just a few years before the independence of India in 1947, CIAM

had included monumentality into their debates about modern architecture. The

inclusion of monumentality in CIAM’s manifestoes depicts a reorientation in the

CIAM’s ideology which came as a surprise since “the concept had always been linked

to the classical tradition that they rejected” (Mumford 2002,151). Giedion nourished

this idea of new monumentality. He utilized more historical detail to criticize the

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“empty shell,” which in his opinion lacks the spirit of the time.143 Giedion also

attacked the pseudo monumentality which in his opinion

comes into being within the sphere of the Napoleonic society, imitating

the manner of a former ruling class … The recipe is always. The same:

take some curtains of the column. and put them in front of any building.

Whatever its purpose and to whatever consequences it may lead

(Zucker and Giedion 1944).

A similar anecdote to the pseudo-monumentality was also highlighted by the group of

architects who were supporting the Indo-Saracenic style before the development of

Imperial Delhi. The focal point of the debated was E. B. Havell who was the ex-

principal of Calcutta college of Art. He saw the construction of Delhi as an opportunity

that can surpass the “shoddy imitation” of Western architecture in Calcutta which

includes “bastard Gothic” and “emasculated Italian Renaissance (Metcalf 2002,

213).”Giedion believed that the focus of the new monumentality should be the,

“publicly financed community centre.” In a monograph he prepared with Sert

highlights the nine points of the new monumentality (Giedion and Sert 1943). He

cautions architects that architecture is now facing a transition from simpler/functional

problem to harder and more complex one. The complexity is inevitable that problem

is architecture is not limited to the production of a functional building alone, but there

is a need to develop a mutual relation between the city and architecture. He concludes

that, “The monument should constitute the most powerful accents in these vast

schemes (Giedion and Sert 1943).” Giedion did not shed any further light on the

relationship between the city and the monument, but Sert wrote a detailed article, “The

human scale in city planning.” carrying forward the ideas floated by the Le Corbusier

143“Spirit of time” or “zeitgeist” is a term that is closely linked with Hegel and his conception of

modernity. For Hegel the “spirit of the times” does not indicate a homogenous state of affairs in which everyone goes along with the same idea, but rather expresses the fact that in any given society, there is a certain “language”, culture or range of concepts in which every dispute, every contradiction must be fought out (Bernasconi 2002).

227

and Garden City movement. He designated the civic centre as the most important part

of the city. He also emphasized that the new monumentality should be constituted by

“areas especially planned for public gatherings, main monument constituting

landmarks in the region, a symbol of popular aspirations (Sert 1944).” These

guidelines were developed for the post-war communities in order to express man’s

“highest cultural needs” and utilized mainly for conceptualizing the civic centres in

the cities. This dissertation argues that it remained the major force behind Mayer,

Novicki and Le Corbusier’s144 proposals. Chandigarh and Islamabad also provided

vaster urban schemes for the developments. These “monuments” were rediscovered

by embedding the historicity and ideas of nationalism.

4.2. The Capitol Complex: Chandigarh

Mayer/Novicki and Le Corbusier, who prepared the proposal for the

city beautiful, had also designed the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh. Both the

proposals share a few similarities; however, the major difference between them is that

of inspiration. The Mayer/Novicki proposal was based on Novicki’s previous works

and coincides with international theories of architecture, while giving little

consideration to the Indian condition. Le Corbusier’s proposal had a dual reception:

on the one hand, he was criticized for replicating an alien form in Chandigarh, while

on the other hand several authors tried to interpret the degree of Indian-ness of his

Capitol Complex at Chandigarh.

4.2.1. Novicki/Mayer’s 1st Design: Cosmeticizing the Foreign

In the wake of prevailing ideologies of nationalism, Novicki placed his Capitol

Complex between the two rivers, in front of the Shivalik mountains that served as the

144Mumford writes the Le Corbusier had presented this new-monumentality in the French town of Saint

Die, but the material conception was different from how Sert and Wienar had conceptualized the motor city. Giedion acknowledged the project and labelled it as, “A long stride from the enclosed Renaissance plaza.”(Mumford 2002).

228

backdrop. The site of the Capitol Complex was elevated so it “would permit views of

it from the city from whatever perspective, and would associate it most closely with

the splendid backdrop of ridges (Evenson 1966, 16).”Novicki was a functionalist

under a strong influence of CIAM and Giedion (Sprague 2013). His first proposal for

the Capitol Complex was a straightforward integration of “function” and

“monumentality.” This proposal lacked the Indian character of the building and was

in contradiction with his other sketches for the city of Chandigarh. In these sketches,

an indigenous tone was quite evident, and he tried his best to translate his knowledge

of Indian culture into the design (see Chapter 3).

His first proposal for the Capitol Complex lacked the Indian spirit; it was rather a

reflection of his earlier works in Warsaw and a strong impression of his mentors such

as Le Corbusier and Niemeyer. His designed the Capitol Complex at a distance from

the city. A moat was developed segregating the city and the Capitol complex145.

Evenson argues that this “functional” isolation of the Capitol Complex and city had

its pedigree in Le Corbusier’s Villa Radieuse146. His steadfastness on completely

separating the city from the Capitol Complex is expressed by Vale as, “Mayer plan

underwent many transformations, but the position of the Capitol as its head remained

unchallenged. believing that the government functions should be spiritually detached

(Vale 1992).” Novicki’s segregation can be interpreted as a paradox which, on one

hand, rejects the hierarchy indebted within the traditional Indian towns (In the

traditional Indian towns, the administrative function lies in the core of the city), while

on the other, it can be well appropriated with the rigid class-based caste system: the

145Kalia argues that Mayer was quite rigid about developing Capital Complex in complete separation

from the city in this regard he rejected the Buckley’s idea of “moving Capitol Complex to the form the centre of gravity for employment”(Kalia 1999, 59).

146Evenson Argues that, “In each case, the area which performs the “thinking” function of the city is given placement analogous to that of the head in relation to the body (Evenson 1966, 16).”

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dominant social ideology followed by the majority of Hindus in India147. The

dissertation, however, argues that this effort of segregating the Capitol from the city

does contradict with the basic idea for which the city was being built at the first

place148. Apart from all the criticism on Mayer’s plan, it provided a footprint for the

future development of the post-independence Indian capital cities later designed by Le

Corbusier and Doxiadis as Chandigarh and Islamabad respectively. These cities were

eventually developed as a capitals without “monuments.” The separation of Capitol

Complex from the city had added to the autonomy of the building complex which in

result overly enhanced its symbolic value. The creation of this new class of buildings

resulted in the social alienation of the buildings. Novicki had presented his first

proposal of the Capitol Complex with this leaf plan (see Fig. 4.3). The buildings in

this proposal were grouped in a single block with courtyards. Quite ironically,

Novicki’s symbolism could not be related to the democratic system of India; rather it

resembles more like a fort, administrative centre of an ancient theocratic state. The

Capitol Complex was rectangular with an approximate dimension of 100 feet by 400

feet. The height of the building was the result of technological constraints149 and

follows the state’s intention of making buildings economical for construction. To keep

the building’s construction economic Novicki limited the height of the block to three

stories, and proposed brick as the principal building material.

147It is important to note that Indian and Pakistani nationalism were based on contradiction. Religion

was the predominant force that shaped up Pakistani Nationalism. Indian nationalism in contradiction with Pakistan was based on promoting secular ideologies that lead to the declaration of India as a secular Estate. However, behind the scene Hinduism was the dominant religious force whose ideologies often surpassed that of secularism. Keeping this information in background one can trace the role of religion as a backdrop to architecture and urban production. For example Kalia argues that it was because of the strong impact of Hindu tradition that “Cambridge educated Nehru could not resist admitting that the creation of a city was a “godlike” act (Kalia 2006).

148 The post-independence capital city represents the dominance of people’s power. During the colonial period the citizens were marginalized from the city as well as their access to the public buildings was restricted, which coincides with the colonizers’ ambition to gain political control over the space. The postcolonial capital city, following the people’s aspirations, should be a tool to bridge the gap, instead of continuing the legacy of the colonizers.

149 The Major problem Novicki and Le Corbusier faced in the conception of the city was the lack of elevators. This constraint thrashed the Corbusian multi-storey city, resulting in Corbusian disassociation with the city plan.

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Figure 4.3. Novicki’s First Proposal for the Capital Complex in Chandigarh

(Source: Source: Norma Evenson/ Chandigarh)

Within the composition of the Capitol Complex Novicki places the legislative

assembly and the house of representative above the administrative function. Novicki

believes that, “Spiritually and morally the hall of the people’s representatives should

dominate (Vale 1992).”Initially, Mayer had appreciated Novicki’s design and

described it as

(An) The effort to express the people’s dominance by plainly placing

the Assembly over the Secretariat, and a long, imposing bridge-ramp

leading directly to the hall of the legislature. Whether one approaches

up the suspended ramp, or at ground level, one is constantly aware of

the higher, exalted place of the Legislature (Sprague 2013, 353).

Thus, to raise the legislative assembly and impart it a symbolic character Novicki

concealed it on the upper story of a parabolic tower. The parabolic tower acted as the

heart of the Capitol Complex and was designed to be seen from the city. In

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continuation of the popular theme of its time, the building was designed to provide

separate access for both pedestrian and vehicles. The pedestrian entrance is, however,

more dramatic, which imparts an experiential value at the human scale (see Fig. 4.4.).

A full bridge for pedestrian access was developed to cross the lake, which also

connects the main road to the Assembly Building. The perspective view also shows

that the entrance to the bridge was highlighted by a tall tower standing right next to

the bridge, which clearly depicts Novicki’s intention of adding monumental value to

the composition. The bridge and its surrounding area is also designed to host social

activities. The pedestrian bridge was also connected to the vehicle drop-off area. The

drop-off area is designed in an oval shape which provides easy access to vehicles.

Geometric landscape patterns and a signature fountain are also integrated into the

design of the green belt, on the periphery of the vehicle drop-off area. Novicki has

provided two close-up perspectives of the Assembly Hall. One encircles the exterior

details of the Assembly Halls, while the other provides the internal composition.150

The public plaza had a geometric pattern on the floor with sculptures are erected on

the top of a tower along the central axis of the bridge. The plaza is also connected with

the courtyards through staircases. A couple of shades that can be utilized as

multipurpose kiosks can also be seen in the lower right corner of the sketch.

4.2.1.1. Formal Inspirations

Novicki’s proposal was carefully designed in respect to the surrounding landscape. In

each of the renderings, the surrounding hills in the background impart a prominence

to the Capitol complex. The parabolic shapes seem like designed as an extension to

the surrounding hills. In the perspective view, the assembly mass can be viewed as an

150 The interior view setting is more like a theatre where a speaker can be seen standing in front of the

audience. The position of the speaker is also emphasized with the spotlight falling on him through the roof. The function of this space is nor described by Novicki, but the emphasis on the single man speaking at the rostrum is in contradiction with the plan of the assembly meant to hold the democratic functions. A more elaborate shade is also provided to enhance the position of the speaker further. Also, the structural ribs are also visible from the interior of the buildings.

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extension to the background hills, since it bears a resemblance with the hills. The

placement of the building right next to the lake, artificially created in the Sukhna river

also provides an echo of the Novicki’s previous work in Warsaw, where he designed

a spacious public plaza right next to the water and also the landmark project of the

United Nations headquarters where he worked with Le Corbusier, located right next

to the river151.

Figure 4.4. Novicki’s Sketch for the 1st proposal of Capitol Complex.

(Source: Source: Norma Evenson/ Chandigarh)

The main Assembly Building is constructed by connected arch shaped ribs to form the

primary volume of the building. The front part of the building is fully glazed where

the glass was installed in a geometric grid. According to the Sprague, the overall

volume of the Assembly Hall also resembles

151For a detailed overview of the project see: Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: 29935,

31078.

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Oscar Niemeyer’s 1943 Church of St. Francis, in Pampulha, Brazil that

had been widely published. Novicki had worked closely with Niemeyer

on the United Nations project and had published a photo of this church

in his essay, “Composition in Modern Architecture” (1949), under the

subheading “ornament.”(Sprague 2013, 350)

The first proposal depicts Novicki’s intention of using the Capitol Complex site as an

arena for exhibiting the Western modernistic architecture. This, however, was quite in

contradiction with Novicki’s sketch for the city of Chandigarh where he carefully

designed and incorporated the traditional elements. Seemingly Novicki was

welcoming the new Western Monumentality on the Eastern ground, an approach

already criticized by Havell in Calcutta and labelled as Pseudo monumentality by

Giedion152. The proposal was rejected by Mayer and the officials at Chandigarh.

4.2.2. Novicki’s 2nd Proposal: Aesthetic and Consumerization.

The new proposal for the Capitol complex, in contradiction to the first one, is planned

by spreading the function over a large area of the land on the bank of the river Sukhna

Rao. The sketch made for the Capitol Complex is very basic, but defines the access

road and location of the buildings (Evenson 1966; Kalia 1999). The expansive look

reminds one of Fatehpur Sikri the first planned capital, but seemingly Novicki never

thought on these lines. The user enters the site from the side of the artificial lake by

crossing the river via a bridge and arrives at a plaza. On the right side of the plaza is

the Assembly Building, placed at the back of a U-shaped complex and connected with

a building mass of a considerable size that was supposedly meant to accommodate the

support functions and office area of the Assembly Building. The Governor’s Palace is

placed on the top right end side and connected with the Assembly Halls. Governor’s

152Giedion presented his thesis with reference to incorporating the historical elements, leaving aside the

spirit of time. Novicki’s approach is inappropriate as “time” just like modernity is a region-specific idea.

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Palace can be approached from two sides. One is direct vehicular access connected to

the internal road network of the complex. The other, more dramatic entrance is from

the Assembly Hall. Seemingly this pathway is restricted only for the pedestrians with

two bridges that cross over the access road and elaborate landscaping including a

series of the pools located in the centre of the pathway imparts a more imperial

ambiance to the site. The High Court building is placed on the opposite side of the

Assembly Hall in such a way that both High Court and Assembly Hall are present at

equidistance from the central plaza. The passage from the central plaza to the High

Court also includes a large bridge the crosses over the river, Sukhna Rao. The passage

is also reserved for pedestrians with a series of connected pools lead the user to the

High Court building. The High Court is provided with separate vehicle access which

connects to the back side of the building (see Fig. 4.5.).

Figure 4.5. Novicki’s Sketch for the 2nd proposal of Capitol Complex

(Source: Norma Evenson/ Chandigarh)

The second proposal also did not incorporate Mayer’s criticism to the fullest. For

example, the Capitol Complex is still separated from the city and placed over the other

side of the river. Mayer, however, was in favour of bringing the Capital Complex

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closer to the city. Mayer’s objection to the overemphasized monumentality in the first

proposal is however accommodated. All the functions in the new proposal were spread

across a large area of land. This exercise, on the one hand, reduced the significant

effect of the Capitol complex, but on the other hand, separated the functions from each

other (Prakash 2002; Sprague 2013). The only prominent building in the new proposal

is a pyramidal shaped Assembly Hall.153 Novicki’s second proposal as compared to

the first one lack the elements of cohesion and overemphasized separation154, a

strategy which brings it closer to the Le Corbusier proposal for Saint Die. The section

of the building is very similar to the first proposal with the parabolic ribs running

across the periphery of the building. However, instead of replicating the parabolic

shapes, Novicki developed the building in the form of a dome like his earlier proposal.

The altitude of the dome-shaped building was divided by the help of beams which

gives the building a taller look. These beams which run on the periphery of the

building are also cantilevered to provide shade to the windows present on the

underside of these beams, providing a modern solution to cater to the extremely harsh

summer climate of Chandigarh. The height of the building as mentioned in one of the

drawings was 100 feet. The section of the building further shows the stepped

auditorium style of sitting with the acoustical ceiling placed underneath the roof.

4.2.2.1. Formal Inspirations

The only building in the second scheme for which Novick provided detail sketches

was the Assembly Hall. Just like the first proposal Novicki had not exhibited any

relation to the Indian condition, except the cantilevered shades over the windows.

Sprague believes that the shape of the building is very much similar to Max Berg's

153 No further detail about the Capitol Complex or the buildings designed in the complex is available.

The only exception was the Assembly Hall. Novicki developed some detailed sketches for the new Assembly Hall which include exterior and interior views and sections of the building.

154 For example, instead of the direct access, the main road entering the site runs along an unnecessary curvature. Furthermore, all the main building were placed at quite a distance from each other with the landscaping and fountains acting as a barrier between them.

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Centenary Hall, which was constructed in 1911-1912 in Poland (at that time Poland

was occupied by Germany).

Figure 4.6. Tracing Inspiration for Novicki’s 2nd Proposal / Assembly Building.

(Source: Author)

He writes about the design, “As an extraordinary example of a ribbed dome of concrete

construction within Poland's new borders, Novicki no doubt knew this building

(Sprague 2013).”The two building, however, is not a carbon copy of each other.

Novicki’s building has a lower surface area, and is taller, than the “Marx Bery

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Centenary Hall.”155 Evenson and Kali argue that Mayer had a contrastingly different

understanding of the dome. According to Norma Evenson, Mayer had related this

design to the Indian condition and more specifically to the form of Stupa156. Mayer

said, “We felt this a happy solution in the Indian context, where it is, I believe, most

important for national pride and self-respect to tie in their past with the modern and

future (Evenson 1966).” (see Fig. 4.6.).

Kalia also writes that Mayer was happy about the similarity between the exterior form

of the Assembly Building and its resemblance to the Indian stupa at Sanchi (Kalia

1999). Designing a building in Sikh and Hindu majority state would have increased

the already present segregation157. This depicts Mayer’s limited understanding of the

Indian condition that resulted in the forceful marriage of the Buddhist Stupa with the

Novicki’s design. However, Mayer’s satisfaction with the design reflects his

deliberate intention to create a design that is indigenous to local conditions of India.

One of the major reasons for this was that the client required a solution that should be

Indian in spirit (Kalia 1999). Whatever Mayer felt about that design, Novicki never

got any inspiration from the stupas. Sprague criticized the second proposal for the

design as against the Novicki pre-established design philosophy. In contrast to the first

proposal, the second proposal seems unfinished. The absence of human activity and

landscape elements made it lifeless. The proposal also had the functional shortcomings

as Sprague explains as, “Nor did the proposal for the second Capitol Complex provide

the civic gathering place envisioned in Novicki’s letter, an essential element of his

“holiday function” of the city (Sprague 2013).” A clear difference can be seen between

155 It was not only the Centenary Hall, but this solution was also in line with his previous work in the

Warsaw and United Nations headquarters, on which he worked with Le Corbusier (Sprague 2013). 156 Stupa, Buddhist commemorative monument usually housing sacred relics associated with

the Buddha or other saintly persons. The hemispherical form of the stupa appears to have derived from pre-Buddhist burial mounds in India.

157 Kalia highly criticised Mayer’s approach about referring the design of the building to Buddhist stupa declaring the new design as a national pride as the state of Punjab was predominantly a Sikh one.

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the first and second158 proposal for the Capitol complex. It was the unfortunate death

of Novicki that had stopped any further work on this proposal and forced Mayer to

leave the project.

4.2.3. The Capitol Complex: Le Corbusier

After the forced departure of Mayer from Chandigarh, Le Corbusier was

commissioned for the design of the capital city of Punjab, although he had been hired

as a consultant for planning the city along with a team of architects to undertake the

architectural development of the city. Le Corbusier from the very first day hand

envisioned the Capitol Complex following CIAM recent inclusion of monumentality

(Mumford 2002). Le Corbusier placed the Capitol Complex at the top of the plan as a

throne. (see Fig. 4.7.)

Figure 4.7. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the Capitol Complex, 1958.

(Source: Author)

He saw the Capitol as the visual symbol and a sacred place for the rest of the city. The

Capitol area site was wholly segregated from the nearby city and residential units

through a wide boulevard and an artificially created mountain but can be directly

accessed from the connecting road. The symbolic elements are evident in the planning

of the Capitol complex, and its symbolic dominance can be experienced from a

158Mayer worked with Novicki, for the design of second proposal that is the major reason that upon

presentation design team approved the second proposal for the Capitol Complex (Kalia 1999; Sprague 2013).

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distance. The complex was conceived strategically with a backdrop of Shivalik hills,

man-made mountains near the artificially created lakes (see Fig. 4.8.).

Figure 4.8. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for the Location of Capitol Complex, 1956

(Source: Author)

As you move towards the Capitol Complex the landscape and water bodies enhanced

the ambiance, and Capitol Complex opens up gradually, complemented by sculptures.

The Capitol Complex bears similarity with Le Corbusier's earlier plan for Bogota and

Saint-die and is created using a complex arrangement of geometric form and concrete,

a material that Le Corbusier discovered in 1908 through Perret. Le Corbusier had

provided an elaborate scheme of the Capitol Complex, though the placement of the

building bears a resemblance to the Novicki’s second proposal. It is the additional

elements of the place making that bring it into a unique position concerning the design.

The buildings Le Corbusier proposed for the Capitol Complex are mentioned in Table

4.1.

Table 4.1. Building Program for Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex

No Buildings originally designed by Le

Corbusier

Status

Parliament Building Constructed 2 Secretariat Constructed 3 Palace of Justice Constructed 4 Governor’s Palace Not Constructed 5 Monuments of Martyrs Partially Constructed 6 Tower of Shadow / Geometric Hill Constructed 7 Open Hand Constructed

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8 Annexes for Palace of Justice Not Constructed

Le Corbusier started working on the design of the Capitol Complex in 1951. Le

Corbusier prepared the first sketch for the Capital Complex on Feb 26, 1952.

According to the sketch the design of the Capitol Complex consists of two adjacent

squares each measuring 700 x 700 meters along with a perspective view of the Capitol

Complex from the city centre (see Fig. 4.9).

Figure 4.9. The First Sketch of the Capitol Complex Feb 26, 1952.

(Source: Portfolio 29, Feb-Mar 1951. Fondation Le Corbusier)

Le Corbusier sent a more developed sketch to Marguerite Tjader Harris, as an

attachment to a letter written in Nov 1952. In his new sketch, the three major buildings,

the Assembly, High Court and Governor’s Palace were more aligned to the axis which

the Secretariat building is more elongated to form a rectangle, (see Fig. 4.10).

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Figure 4.10. Letter Written by Le Corbusier to M. T. Harris.

Dated 4 March 1952. (Source: Canadian Centre for Architecture DR1984;1654)

A sketch dated Nov 28, 1952, (see Fig 4.11), presents a similarity to Mayer’s proposal

when Le Corbusier proposed a Boulevard des Easu (Boulevards of the Waters)

separating the Capitol Complex from the city. The boulevards of water also resemble

the traditional concept of moat, developed around the fort to protect it from invaders.

The British also used the moat as a strategic element while developing the second fort

in Calcutta after the first Fort was ransacked by Nawab of Bengal. This sketch displays

the Corbusier’s Intention of separating the Capitol Complex from the rest of city. In

addition to the boulevards of water, Le Corbusier provided several water basins and

swimming pools on the site. Le Corbusier never formally acknowledged the design

inspiration for the water basins. However a series of sketches compiled in the form of

“Album Punjab”159 connects these basins with the Pinjore Garden.160

159 Album Punjab, Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris 160 Pinjore Gardens, an excellent Mughal Garden, located in the Indian state of Haryana, was built for

the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. As already discussed, green landscape, terraces and water basins were key features of Mughal gardens.

242

Figure 4.11. Second Sketch for the Capitol Complex Chandigarh. Nov 28, 1952.

(Source: Canadian Centre for Architecture DR1984;1654)

243

Figure 4.12. Le Corbusier Sketch from the Pinjore Garden.

(Source: E-19 Sketchbook Mar-Apr 1951. Fondation Le Corbusier). Labelled ““a-b-c-= series

croissante // Pinjora // reclamer Anglais … a Delhi Docu sure ce Jardin a Patiala.)

Figure 4.13. Le Corbusier’s Sketch for Courtyard Capitol Complex.

(Source: Fondation Le Corbusier)

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Le Corbusier visited the Pinjore Garden on the same day when he developed the first

sketch for the Capitol Complex and resembles his sketches for the Capitol Complex

(see Fig. 4.12 & 4.13).

In a series of sketches and drawings (see Fig 4.14-4.18), Le Corbusier later developed

for the Capitol Complex the overall composition of the buildings remained the same.

The expansive water basins were reduced to a single water body in front of the

Assembly Building while the Boulevards of Water was replaced by the Geometric Hill

as the principal feature which segregates the complex from the city. In the final

proposals, Le Corbusier also provided a personal garden at the back of the Governor’s

Palace in a similar way as that of the garden with the Viceroy’s Palace in New Delhi.

Figure 4.14. Preliminary Sketch for the Capitol Complex (01)


The design of the garden at Chandigarh also follows a strict geometric pattern which

also brought it very close to the Mughal garden developed a the back of the Viceroy’s

Palace (Prakash 2002; Avermaete and Casciato 2014). the Assembly Halls, High

Court and the Governor’s Palace, were placed on the nodes of an imaginary triangle.

245

Figure 4.15. Preliminary Sketch for the Capitol Complex (02).


Figure 4.16. he First Draft of the Capitol Complex.


246

Figure 4.17. Plan of Capitol Complex at Chandigarh by Le Corbusier.


Figure 4.18. Skyline for Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex


247

The Governor’s Palace, however, was not constructed. At present, Assembly Halls

and High Court face each other and the Secretariat building stands at the back side of

the Assembly Hall in the form of a rectangular tower. A number of sculptural

monuments were spread on the plaza between the Assembly Hall and High Court

which include a geometric hill, a tower of shadows, monuments for the martyrs and

the open hand. (Kalia 1999; Prakash 2002; Boesiger 2006; Moos 2009; 249:253).

4.2.3.1. High Court

The High Court was the first building constructed on the site.. The main issue is the

design was to keep the building functioning across the year, including during the harsh

summers. The building includes eight courtrooms and the High Court in addition to

allied facilities like library and offices. The building form is a simple reflection of the

program provided by the clients. All eight courtrooms are visible on the right side of

the symbolic colonnade painted with green, yellow and red, and the High Court can

be seen on the left side of the building. The strong colours also reflect Le Corbusier’s

utmost desire to impart monumentality to the building. The building is extruded in the

form of a rectangular mass with three columns providing an artistically carved opening

inside the mass. The exterior elevation of the building has a brise-soleil, highlighted

by the frames made by the column and lintels. Several arches replicated to form the

elevation of the courtrooms. The building was accessible through a ramp. The final

building however was raised directly from the ground. The final building as we can

see today also has a considerably less area as compared to the original design. The

horizontality of the earlier scheme was countered by enhancing the verticality of the

building. Norma Evenson writes

What are the early drawings were expressed as a lightly framed

pavilion, horizontal in dimension, has become a vertically expanding

space in which the void is defined and dramatized by strongly assertive

sculptural elements (Evenson 1966).

248

Figure 4.19. High Court Building, Chandigarh during Construction.


Figure 4.20. Le Corbusier at the Construction of the High Court Building.

(Source: Fonds Pierre Jeanneret, ARCH264689

https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/search/details/collection/object/434454). Last visited on June 2018.

249

The brise-soleil on the faces imparts a scale less feeling to the overall façade. The only

things that bring a sense of the scale to this façade are the doors and people walking

around it. The brise-soleil in Le Corbusier words is meant to “influence the whole

structure.” (Boesiger 1999). The entrance lobby of the High Court building is paved

with flagstones placed in rows. To make it more economical, Le Corbusier had used

the stones which are different in size as a floor pattern to reduce the wastage to a

minimum. Le Corbusier has shown a dissatisfaction over the gunnite application over

bricks (Evenson 1966). This was one of the reasons the gunnite coated central columns

were painted white just before the opening of the High Court.

Figure 4.21. Colour Scheme of the Frontal Columns of High Court.

Date: Apr 3, 1958. (Source: Fondation Le Corbusier)

Le Corbusier, however, was not satisfied. For this reason, he introduced a new colour

scheme in 1958, rendering them with bright colours. Green, yellow and red colour is

applied on the central columns which stand out with internal side walls painted black

and blue. (see Fig 5.21 & 5.22). In fact, by assigning these colours, Le Corbusier might

have intended to enhance the visual appearance of the High Court building, which

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attained a strategic position, affter the removal of Governor’s Palace from the top node

of triangle and stands against the rest of the buildings in the Capitol Complex.

Figure 4.22. High Court Building (Chandigarh) with the Signature Colours.


The application of the bare concrete on interior surfaces resulted in acoustical

problems inside the courtroom. To counter the effect of the bare concrete and to

minimize the echo inside the courtroom Le Corbusier proposed large tapestries in the

courtroom, to be installed on the walls of the courtroom. Kalia writes that Prime

Minister Nehru was pleased with this solution as the textiles and weaving was a central

part of India's economy and culture161(Kalia 1999). The High Court building

represents a wonderful amalgamation of the local elements and their innovative reuse

by Le Corbusier. The initial sketches for the High Court building contain five arches

on the main façade which bring it in closeness with the Diwan-e-Khas (House of

161 Further to this, these tapestries were meant to be manufactured in the villages around Chandigarh

thus creating job opportunities for the general public. In reality, the idea of manufacturing the tapestries in different villages was seen as very ambitious and impractical due to the lack of control and alien patterns on it. As a solution, a Kashmir based firm made the tapestries The abstract pattern Le Corbusier had designed were not only difficult to manufacture, but were criticized heavily. The judges of High Court outrightly rejected these abstract patterns of tapestries and considered them a derogation to the “dignity of justice.” Once again it was Nehru’s intervention that held these pattern in the High Court for some time (Joshi 1999).

251

elites) building in the Red Fort, Delhi. (see Fig 4.23 & 4.24) However, during the later

stages of development Le Corbusier had transformed those arches to form a double

height roof that covers the entire High Court building from the scorching sunlight.

Figure 4.23. Initial Sketch of the High Court Building at Chandigarh.

(Source: Author (Redrawn from the sketch present on Document number 5153 at Fondation Le

Corbusier)

Figure 4.24. Diwan-e-Khas (House of Elites) in Red Fort, New Delhi.

(Source: Joydeep Mitra, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwan-i-Khas_(Red_Fort)#/media/File:Diwan-

i-khas,_Red_fort.jpg). Last visited on June 2018)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Joydeepedia&action=edit&redlink=1

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4.2.3.2. Secretariat Building

To host the administrative functions of the city, Le Corbusier also proposed a

Secretariat complex for Chandigarh. The Chandigarh Secretariat complex was one of

the most massive buildings in the compound measuring approximately 820 feet by

140 feet. The building consists of six blocks which rise above the ground to eight

stories. These blocks are separated from each other through a vertical-horizontal joint.

The façade of the Secretariat complex also has the brise-soleil which is designed to

provide shade over the windows and to stop sunlight from entering the building. The

Secretariat building can be seen as an extension of Le Corbusier's conceptualization

for office buildings. He designed similar buildings for the ministry of education in

1936 and office building designed in Algiers on 1938-4 (Boesiger 2006). The overall

composition of the façade is a blend of plastic sculptural form and geometric pattern

that not only breaks the monotony in façade but make this different to dull office

blocks.

Figure 4.25. First (Left) and Final (Right) Schemes for the Secretariat Building.

(Source: Author)

Evenson writes about the overall effect of the buildings as The total effect was not that

of a static box, which so many high-rise buildings have become, but rather a looming,

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forceful, plastically integrated solid ---a physical presence embodying a sense of life

within its fabric (Evenson 1966). Working with Indian condition also taught Le

Corbusier to compromise on the design. Apart form the compromises, the human scale

and the modular remained the backbone of the design. Le Corbusier writes

The first act is the designation and adoption of the modular unity of the

frame, conceived in porticos (vertical panels of reinforced concrete)

3.66 + 0.43 meters apart. There are 63 porticoes, and therefore 252

pillars rising from the base…The rough concrete again interposes in

the fenestrations of the two main facades: more than 2000 units of a

unique design ------ on stanchion type 27x 7 cm in section and 366 cm

high ------ constitute the “undulatory glazing.”. This concern an

application here of the modular which permits the stretching if a veil

of glass extending the entire length and height of the building,

interrupted by elements called “ventilators.” (Evenson 1966)

Figure 4.26. Secretariat Complex, Chandigarh.


254

Approach to the building is through the access road provided on the rear side of the

building. Due to a lack of automobiles the user is expected to come to this building

through bicycles, and thus a limited parking area is provided for automobiles. Unlike

the roof of the building which is flat the ground level had many variations. Block 1,

2, 5 and 6 starts from the ground level while block 3 and 4 are standing on the columns

over the excavated areas, thus forming pilotis. The top of the building is provided with

a cafeteria (Boesiger 2006).

Figure 4.27. Secretariat Building, Chandigarh.


Although it was a well-integrated plan and Le Corbusier wants to place all the program

requirement in the single building because of its functional importance, the mass of

the building, however, was towering the site. In the absence of the Governor’s Palace

that was designed to be the focal point of the complex, Secretariat building pre-

dominate the site through its towering mass (Joshi 1999).

255

4.2.3.3. Constitution Assembly

The constitutional Assembly Building was complete in 1962, almost nearly six years

after the construction of the High Court building. Mr. Vohra, Chief secretary

Government of Punjab had expressed his reservation on the design of the building, as

its construction is estimated to fall outside the allocated budget for the project. Le

Corbusier conveyed, the time taken for the design of this building in lieu of the

prevailing political problems, to Nehru through a letter which states that

The plans of the Assembly have been under consideration since 1952

and revised three times to meet the political transformation which has

taken place at Chandigarh (the joining of the State of Patiala and

Himachal) … I have researched and attained an extraordinary

simplification.162

Figure 4.28. Assembly Building, Chandigarh

(Source: http://culture360.asef.org/news-events/save-Chandigarh-campaign).


162 Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-13-52-004

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The building was designed as a square extruded block with the curvilinear porticos

emphasizing the entrance of the building. The main assembly chambers were

conceived in a circular form and designed on the ground and first floor of the building.

A separate entrance provides direct access to the assembly chamber. The assembly

chamber is covered with a cone shaped shell, which constitutes the signature element

of the Assembly Building as viewed from the exterior.

Figure 4.29. Assembly Building in Chandigarh during Construction (01).

(Source: Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Document Number: ARCH268829.)

The inclusion of this form not only has a positive effect on the interior of the building,

but also brings diffuse natural light into the Assembly Halls. The tower was introduced

into the building by Le Corbusier as a functional object, “It was designed to become

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a veritable physical laboratory destined to ensure the interplay of natural lighting,

artificial lighting, ventilation and acoustic-electronic mechanisms (Boesiger 1999).”In

addition to the main hall, The Assembly Hall also contains a row of offices for the

support function of the assembly (Boesiger 2006). Evenson describes that area around

the main Assembly Halls was designed as a free space that not only caters for the

circulation of people, but was also utilized for holding small meetings (Evenson 1966).

Figure 4.30. Assembly Building in Chandigarh during Construction (02). (Source: Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Document Number: ARCH268829.)

One of the main criticisms on the design of the building is Le Corbusier’s use of a

parabolic shape which is not considered good to control acoustics in the building. In

order to cope with the problems of acoustics, some abstract motifs rendered in red and

yellow are installed in the inner side of the building that go all the way up to the mouth

of the cone, complemented with checkered patterns that run along the periphery of the

Assembly Halls (see Fig 4.31). These checkered and abstract patterns are employed

to control the acoustic in the Assembly Hall. These rectangular checkered panels are

made from sound absorbent material and then covered with perforated metal sheets.

Form the variation in the size and shape of the panels Le Corbusier wanted to develop

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a hierarchy for the control of sound. The rectangular panels at the bottom are installed

side by side, while the row of the abstract panel is placed at a distance, leaving the top

of the shell vacant.

Figure 4.31. Interior and Roof View for Assembly Building in Chandigarh. (Source: Fondation Le Corbusier)

These panels are also coloured accordingly with light blue at the bottom, followed by

red and yellow lines of the abstract pattern, and the area at the top where concrete is

left without any panels was painted white. The use of bold colours within the context

of India still stands as a questionable move, although these bold colours applied on

the entrance of the High Court were appreciated by critics for providing a visual

balance. Le Corbusier faced harsh criticism on his Assembly Building. About the

interior of the Governor’s council chamber, Evenson writes

The interior of the Governors' council chambers is strident and coarse,

and one hesitates to credit Le Corbusier with the rather sickening

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combination of magenta and tomato red which dominates the color

scheme (Evenson 1966).

The three exterior walls of the building are covered with the brise-soleil covering the

glass behind them except the south-east wall. The South Eastern wall is more

sculpturally created in the form of a portico. The freestanding roof is made from

concretes and is designed as a semi-circular tube placed on the top of 8 walls, inviting

the user inside the building. This wall faces the High Court building and can be

accessed through a ramp with pools on both sides. The overall landscape starting from

the tower of shadows diverge towards the Assembly Hall, orienting the user towards

the main building. Different figurative and nonfigurative low reliefs are one of the

most critical features that Le Corbusier made on the exterior wall.163 In addition to the

upper part of the Assembly Hall, the roof of the building contains a pyramid shaped

skylight that is used to light up the offices of the Governor’s representative. Moreover,

a cylindrical shaped volume is also present to cater to the servicing of the building.

The overall composition makes the building much more dramatic and employs the Le

Corbusier intention to highlight the building against the sky (June and 2011 n.d.). On

the contrary to the idea of the assembly, that is, to bring people together, Le Corbusier

provided segregated access and entrances to all the legislators, press, the general

public, and women, to control public movements. Several corridors, walking ramps,

and staircases were provided throughout the building to perform this function well.

4.2.3.4. Governor’s Palace

Le Corbusier designed the Governor’s Palace as the crown of the Capitol Complex

and located it along the significant axial road continuing across the city at the highest

163 It was noted that during the construction of the building the small boys who used to control donkeys while transporting building material to the site, used to draw small figurative drawings on the wet concrete. Le Corbusier, when he saw the drawings for the first time, got delighted. He copied them using the tracing paper and later modified and made them a permanent feature of the assembly walls (June and 2011 n.d.).

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point of the site. Unfortunately, this scheme remained unrealized. Le Corbusier

proposed an alternate proposal like a museum of knowledge for the site as he thought

that the Capitol Complex would remain incomplete without the construction of a

building on the apex of the site. All his efforts went in vain, and to the date nothing

has been created on the location of the Governor’s Palace. The governor Palace was

not only designed to accommodate the Governor’s residence, but also all the allied

function like spaces for the official reception, state guest house, and offices for the

staff. The absence of the Governor’s Palace has led to the placement of all these

functions in the central city.

Figure 4.32. Sketch (Left) & 3D visualization (Right) of the Governor’s Palace (Source (Left) Fondation Le Corbusier, (Right). 3D visualization of the Governor’s Palace,

Chandigarh.(https://tr.pinterest.com/pin/309270699389778511/). Last visited on June 2018.

The original plan for the Governor’s House constitutes a five-story building. The

offices and allied service areas were placed on the basement floor and had direct access

from the basement parking. The ground floor hosts the grand reception rooms for

official and public meetings. To impart grandeur to this space, Le Corbusier kept it as

a double height building. The third and fourth floor contains residential apartments for

state guests. These levels also contain external terraces carved by subtracting the

building floor area. The top floor contains official residence of the Governor. The roof

level was designed as a roof garden with sculptures. In extension to the roof, a curved

structure was designed to provide panoramic views. In the Governor’s Palace, this

place is made just for aesthetic purpose and installed as a crown on the top of the

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Governor’s Palace. This area can also serve as a viewing point to enjoy the panoramic

views of the city and the landscape around the Governor’s House (Curtis 1996;

Evenson 1966).

Figure 4.33. Model of Governor’s Palace and Monument of Martyrs. (Source: http://gorlinarchitects.com/essays/an-analysis-of-the-governors-Palace-of-Chandigarh/.


Governor’s Palace was proposed to be built in pure concrete with reinforced column

providing the primary support for the building while a thin slab was proposed at every

level so that building does not look monotonous. Building massing was done by

placing two-concrete block over each other with a slightly narrow block in the centre

of these two volumes. A curvilinear sculptural roof was placed at the top of the Palace

(Curtis 1996). Le Corbusier’s intention for placing the Governor’s Palace as the focal

point of the city was more pronounced in his proposal for Addis-a-Baba, Capital of

Ethiopia. This idea was also criticized in Ethiopia, as it brings the proposed city in

close association to the social formation of the colonizers. The plan was so ruthless

that if built it would have eradicated the material culture of the existing Addis-a-Baba

(Woudstra 2014), “The colony was a space without time, and therefore, without

history, and without any particular geographical meaning… the city is direct

dominion; the city becomes the city of government, in which the Palace of the

Governor must stand overall (Woudstra 2014).”Le Corbusier himself had praised the

design of the Governor’s Palace regarding it as a crown of the Capitol Complex. The

unique sculptural form of the Governor’s Palace would no doubt add to the beauty of

the Capitol Complex. Prime Minister Nehru, however, was not happy about the critical

position given to Governor’s Palace in the design.

4.2.3.5. Metaphorical Interpretation

The Capitol Complex is generally viewed as Le Corbusier’s effort to appropriate the

alien forms in Chandigarh. Moos argues that the Capitol Complex had its

morphological origins in Le Corbusier's early work. He further argues that, “from the

League of Nations to the Capitol of Chandigarh, the rejection of traditional form of

political representation in the building has been one of the key themes of Le

Corbusier’s institutional architecture (Moos 2009b, 353).”Moos, however, provides a

feeble historical link with the buildings of power and Le Corbusier’s machine. He

connects it as a top end of a tradition that had New-Delhi, the imperial capital city, at

its base. The city of New Delhi as described was the political reflection of the Empire’s

ideology into the built environment through expansive boulevards and monumental

squares (see Fig. 4.34). Curtis argues that, “Le Corbusier fully appreciated another

aspect of New Delhi, evident in the Viceroy’s House and other monumental buildings:

the way they fused the European and the Indian traditions in the iconography of state

magnificence (Curtis 1996).”

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263

Figure 4.34. Chandigarh’s Capitol Sketch & View of Viceroy’s Palace Delhi. (Source: Le Corbusier: Elements of a Synthesis.)

For Curtis, it was not only the Indian connection; Le Corbusier also incorporated ideas

from Paris, Pekin, and Garden city principles (Curtis 1996, 277). Furthermore, Curtis

also provided the comparative images of the Fatehpur Sikri’s “Diwan-e-Khas” (Hall

of Special) and the sketch of the Governor’s Palace in Chandigarh. He argues that Le

Corbusier followed Lutyen and “learned from Mughal tradition.” He argues that the

classical vocabulary of the Mughals fused with the Corbusian forms to make the

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monumental images of the Capitol Complex. As described in the previous chapter Le

Corbusier made an extensive survey of India’s social and historical conditions, which

were documented in his sketchbooks and drawings. Curtis writes that

The Governor’s Palace portrayed at the end of its pathways and pools,

silhouetted dramatically against the sky, experienced both frontally and

in torsion with its surroundings, recapture something of the spirit of the

Diwan-e-Khas of Fatehpur Sikri, a site that the architect had seen and

admired (Curtis 1996, 129).

Figure 4.35. (Left) Governor’s Palace Chandigarh & Diwan-e-Khas, Fatehpur Sikr, (Right) High

Court Building & Diwan-e-Aam. (Source: Modern Architecture since 1900 / Curtis).

Curtis was not alone in referring Fatehpur Sikri. Frampton also writes that “Le

Corbusier appropriated the traditional parasol concept of Fatehpur Sikri as a

monumental coding device to be varied from one structure to the next”(Frampton

2007). Curtis was not the only one abstracting Chandigarh. Avermate and Casciato

provided similar anecdotes about the development of the Capitol Complex. They

based their thesis on the sketches Le Corbusier made for the Garden of the Maharaja

of Patiala. They argue that in the sketch Le Corbusier only included the “the garden’s

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key features – two adjoining square spaces divided into four quadrants and traversed

by a central axis -while noting some specific details, such as the length of the bigger

compartment, at 350 meters.”164. He further argues that the, “same internal

organization and dimensions appear again in the first planimetric sketch for the

Capitol, which Le Corbusier drew on the same day (Avermaete and Casciato 2014,

84).” This dissertation argues that it was India’s past and client’s intention that forced

Le Corbusier to adopt what Nehru and Giedion explain as the positive aspect of the

traditions (Zucker and Giedion 1944; Nehru 1961). Prakash, however, criticizes

Curtis’ approach and terms it as a Eurocentric reading of Indian context. He writes

that, “the Indian context and the question of Indian perspectives are negated, not by

denying its present, but by making it subservient to Le Corbusier’s design.” To the

Capitol Complex. He argues that, “Chandigarh modern is not just a modern

architecture or modern Indian architecture, but as a non-original Indian modern

architecture (Prakash 2002).” Parkash thinks that Curtis’ claim is the misreading of

India’s context; he harshly criticized Curtis for “silencing the Indian voice,” in the due

process which he analyses concerning Orientalism, just like Hoshgrahar (2005) does

not negate the input of endogenous forces in the making of Le Corbusier’s Capitol

Complex.

Governor’s Palace’s Garden was also seen as a continuation of Indian tradition of

garden starting from Mughals to British by Seyla et al (2016). In their ground breaking

study the provide an extensive study of the morphological evolution of geometric

gardens in the Indian subcontinent. The Mughal geometric division was inspired from

the indigenous ideas of planning and were later reflected in the Garden of Viceroy’s

palace. The morphological form and the function of the proposed Garden at the back

of the Governor’s Palace can be rightly seen as an extension to this tradition of garden

development, (see Fig. 5.36 & 5.37).

164 W1-5-28-001. “Album Punjab.”

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Figure 4.36. Mughal Garden’s Morphological Analysis. Source: Syala et al. (2016).

Figure 4.37. . (Left) Mughal Garden on the Rear Side of Viceroy’s Palace in New Delhi, Right)

Gardens on the Rear Side of Governor’s House Chandigarh.. Source: (Left) Indian Nations Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Delhi Chapter, (Right)

Foundation Le Corbusier.

In the Chandigarh project, Le Corbusier faced the constraints of economy and

technology that he never came across before. Like the High Court, he developed two

designs for the Secretariat complex.

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4.2.3.6. Acclimatizing to Indian Conditions

In addition to the historical and external influences, technology and economics are

two more factors that forced Le Corbusier to provide an Indian specific solution. The

lack of technology was discussed in Chapter 3 at full length: how absence of elevators

forced the designer to re-consider his high-rise city. Furthermore, it is due to economic

reasons that Le Corbusier had to remove his signature pilotis from the design

scheme.165 The major problems in Punjab was that it became extremely hot during the

summer and required extra protection from water during the monsoon rain seasons.

Le Corbusier made extensive research on the indigenous houses around Chandigarh

and highlighted the main features of the houses that they used to cope with the existing

weather conditions166, (see Fig. 4.38).

His co-architect had photographically documented all the details. The sketches made

by Le Corbusier covers not only the houses, but also depicts how the users interact

with it. Le Corbusier never got a chance to incorporate these details in the residential

area of the city, as he distanced himself from the design of the residences in the city

after his Highrise apartment was considered unbuildable due to high prices and lack

of elevators. The Capitol Complex was Le Corbusier’s chance to utilize his knowledge

of the climatic condition of Punjab. As a solution to the problem, he incorporates

“brise-soleil,” “Cantilevered shades over windows” and “Chatris” into the design of

buildings in the Capitol Complex. While incorporating these elements into the

building Le Corbusier made sure that they don't affect the outlook/overall composition

of the building. In High Court, he provided an extra double roof over the building

supported by concrete columns and extended it outside the building area. The roof acts

as an umbrella to save the building from the sunshade, a feature which resembles

“Chattri” and extensively used in Mughal and colonial architecture. Moreover,

165 The earlier sketches for the High Court shows an elevated High Court placed on the top of Le Corbusier's elevated pilotis.(“AD Classics: Palace of the Assembly / Le Corbusier” 2011)

166 For a detailed sketches and studies see the Album Punjab. Fondation Le Corbusier, Document Number: P2-12-14-001.

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between the concrete grill and the windows, there is a space that goes all the way

vertically up to the roof. Here Le Corbusier has designed customized shutters with

hinges on these windows that prevent sunlight from entering the building.

Figure 4.38. Le Corbusier’s Sketches of Indigenous Indian Houses. (Source: The Album Punjab / Fondation Le Corbusier)

Le Corbusier also oriented the building according to the direction of the sun, so that

the front façade of the building is faced toward the northwest. This orientation helps

especially in summers, since the sunlight does not reach until late noon. For

Secretariat, he invented “brise-soleil” to protect the building from the scorching sun.

The Brise-soleil was interwoven with the building fabric, to make it look more

aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, he also protected the main façade through the

cantilevered shade to ensure that the building was completely protected from the sun.

For the Governor’s Palace, his favourite building in the Capitol, all the doors and

windows, and ground, first, and fourth floors were recessed inside the wall and

equipped with a cantilevered shade developed through an exciting composition of

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geometric shapes. The design of the exterior façade was very similar in spirit to the

brise-soleil proposed for the High Court and Assembly Building.A part from the

Formal aspect Corbusier also tried to integrate the lifestyle of Indian into his design.

The major challenge for Le Corbusier faced in the design of the Secretariat Complex,

an eight-story building is to make it functional, with reference to the vertical

circulation in the absence of elevators.167 The solution to this problem is provided by

a walking ramp on the rear side of the building connecting all the floors. The idea of

walking on the ramp is derived from the Indians’ everyday routine. Most of the Indians

according to Le Corbusier enjoy walking. This was also reinforced from a letter

written to Le Corbusier where he explicitly writes that “Punjabees are fond of

walking.”168 These elements will further enhance the experience of the user who is

walking up the ramp. The external ramp is supported by a staircase and the elevators

designed inside the building to cater to the vertical circulation (“AD Classics:

Chandigarh Secretariat / Le Corbusier | ArchDaily” n.d.).

In Governor’s place, he provided a crown-like structure on the top, to make the overall

composition look aesthetically pleasing. The structure was accessible from the roof

through a staircase. The inspiration for this structure was taken from “barsati”

constructed in traditional Indian houses. In the Indian houses “barsati” refers to a

small room on the roof, used for storage of “charpai”, the traditional Indian bed often

used for sleeping on the rooftops in the night. In the first proposal for the Assembly

Building, Le Corbusier included several arches in a geometric rhythm over the façade

of the building. Curtis argues that Le Corbusier borrowed these arches from the

architecture in India, and its constant presence on the constitutional Assembly

167 In his first proposal, the Secretariat complex was standing on pilotis located by excavating the site.

The lack of elevators and explicit instruction from Thapar restricted the presence of any high-rise buildings. The rejection of this proposal made Le Corbusier very furious, but he immediately started working towards the current proposal (Prakash 2002)


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Building and the High Court suggest Le Corbusier's strong motive in Indianizing the

structure (Curtis 1996).

4.2.3.7. Weather Protection and Aesthetics

Le Corbusier also used sunlight to add a monumental value to the Assembly Building.

Le Corbusier mimics the astronomical instrument, which he viewed in the solar

observatory “Jantar-Mantar” in Delhi, on the top of the town above Assembly

Building (Cohen 2004, 79). Le Corbusier was so inspired from the “Jantar Mantar”

observatory that he decided to plan a “tower of shadows” in the Capitol Complex.

Figure 4.39. (Left) Model of the Assembly Tower, Chandigarh, (Top Right) Solar Clock at Jantar

Mantar, Jaipur (Bottom Right) Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.

(Source: (Left) Fondation Le Corbusier, (Top Right) http://kinooze.com/jantar-mantar/).), (Bottom

Right) https://www.expedia.co.in/Jantar-Mantar-Connaught- Place.d500893.Attraction). Last visited

on June 2018.

The tower was the result of extensive studies Le Corbusier and his team made for

sun’s path and angle in this office in Paris. Le Corbusier also made several calculations

before the design of the tower so that sunlight can come inside the building on January

26th, the republic day of India and lit the statue of Asoka that is placed on the rostrum.

http://kinooze.com/jantar-mantar/)

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However, finding it impossible to execute this plan, Le Corbusier abandoned this idea

(Curtis 1996). The tower is designed based on the extensive calculation undertaken by

Le Corbusier and his team in their Paris office regarding the movement of the sun over

the buildings of the Capitol Complex so that they can design a customized brise-soleil

for individual buildings. Just like the open hand, this monument is erected to serve a

more symbolic function in the Capitol Complex. Unlike the open hand monument, the

“tower of shadows” can be related to the “Jantar Mantar,” the royal observatories in

ancient India to study the sun. Le Corbusier label the monument as a place of

meditation, “a very open hall, very high and shadowy, its somber atmosphere intended

to invite meditation (Evenson 1966).”

Figure 4.40. Tower of Shadows, Chandigarh (01). (Source: The Album Punjab / Fondation Le Corbusier)

The structure of the tower of shadows does not resemble a tower because of its low

height. The structure is made from concrete in the form of an abstract cuboid which is

covered on three sides by vertical concrete louver type structures designed in a similar

fashion to braise - soleil. A relatively small cube is placed on the top of the tower of

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shadows at an angle of 45 degrees to the main structure. The structure is constructed

in concrete and left without any finishing in a brutalist fashion. The user can also see

the beams on the underside of the roof while visiting the tower. The building is aligned

on the north-south axis so that it interrupts the symmetry of the larges square. A ramp

connects the tower of shadows with the trench of consideration. Le Corbusier defines

the tower as an effort to control the sunlight to gain maximum benefits, “that the sun

can be controlled at all four cardinal points of an edifice and even manipulated in a

hot country to reduce temperatures (Kalia 1999).”

Figure 4.41. (Left) Picture and (Right) Sketch of Tower of Shadows.. (Source: Fondation Le Corbusier)

In short, Le Corbusier exploits the full potential of the scorching sunlight of

Chandigarh, but it seems like he forgets to account of the other seasons while he was

romanticizing the space. In High Court Building, He considered the entrance lobby as

an exterior space which in his opinion does not require any protection. It is however

during monsoon that heavy rains flock inside the building thus making it difficult for

workers to move from one place to another without getting wet. It was not the entrance

area alone which faced problems during the monsoon. The rear ramp which was the

primary vertical circulation faced more problems due to monsoon. Furthermore, the

corridors at the rear side were also affected by the monsoon. These problems had made

it difficult for a worker to perform their duties during monsoon (Boesiger 2006).

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4.3. The Presidential Estate: Islamabad

Unlike Chandigarh, in Islamabad, the politically important buildings were neither

designed in the form of a complex nor designed by a single architect. Throughout the

design development for the politically influential building, different architects had

proposed different configurations for these buildings. The following paragraph would

also provide detailed information on this configuration and how prevailing ideologies

influenced these configurations. Doxiadis’ lack of interest in imparting monumental

value to the city through the design of symbolically important buildings had opened

up a new horizon for the contestation of new ideas floated by the modern masters like

Arne Jacobson, Louis Kahn, and Edward Durrell Stone. These building also constitute

the face of the capital city. Thus, an in-depth understanding of these building would

help not only in contextualizing the hybrid Modernity, but also bring the “issues

related to design in Pakistan” and “integration of political system and design

methodologies” into the discussion. The following paragraph will provide a brief

outline of the planning and design of the buildings of symbolic importance.

Figure 4.42. Elevation of the Presidential Estate Islamabad. (Source: Fondation Le Corbusier)

Table 4.2. List of Building (Proposed or Constructed) in Islamabad with their Corresponding

Buildings in Chandigarh

No Building ( Islamabad) Buildings ( Chandigarh)

1 Presidential Estate Governor’s Palace 2 Assembly Hall Assembly Building 3 Secretariat Secretariat Complex 4 Supreme Court High Court

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5 Grand National Mosque - 6 Museum of Islamic History Museum of Knowledge 7 Cabinet Offices -

All the buildings, except the National mosque, have their precedence in Chandigarh.

These buildings were constructed not only to fulfil the state’s administrative function,

but also carved to represent the state at national and international level.

4.3.1. Reductionism as an Ideology in Pakistani Islamic Architecture

As already discussed in the previous chapter that Islamic architecture is a vague term

due to the absence of a single archetype. However, several scholars have affirmed

some models that steer the development of Islamic architecture (Rabbat 2010; Al

Sayyad 2011). Islamabad was developed under the hegemonic influence of Islamic

architecture; this dissertation, however, argues that the model for Islamic architecture

that was behind the development was entirely different from the universally

established models. The model has its roots in the politics of historiography of the

colonizers. The values of simplicity and the world as a temporary place, preached by

Muslim theologians of Indian Subcontinent had subtracted the possibility of an “India

specific” Islamic discourse of architecture. Although Muslims rulers of Indian

Subcontinent had developed architectural spectacles around the country, these

buildings were always an output of composite ideas and never labelled or claimed as

Islamic. The only building type specific to the Muslim architecture was a mosque,

which too was inherited from Iran and central Asia. The Indian mosque’s key features

are onion-shaped domes, Shahjahani (Multi-foiled) arches and courtyard.

Furthermore, the classification of Indian Muslim architecture, as done by Batley and

Fergusson was based on its coherence with geometrical design. Batley and Fergusson

ignored the fact the buildings developed by Hindus also follows the same geometric

design. In the absence of Islamic spatial discourse on architecture in Pakistan, the first

authentic source for the postcolonial, British trained, Pakistani administration were

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the books written by Fergusson and Batley.

Figure 4.43. Jamia Masjid Shahjahan Abad, India (Source: https://eatanddust.com/2012/10/28/eid-al-adha-prayers-at-old-delhis-jama-masjid/). Last

visited on June 2018.)

As discussed in section 4.1.2 of this chapter, during the rule of the British empire,

several books were written specifically on the history of architecture. Most prominent

among them are Fergusson’s “History of Indian and Eastern Architecture (1876)” and

Batley’s “The design and development of Indian architecture (1934)”. These books

provide a comprehensive account of architecture in the Indian Subcontinent. The

major problem is that these books were written in continuation with the empire’s

ideology of “Divide and Rule”169, hence not only triggered the differences between

Hindus and Muslims but masked the architecture accordingly. As described in Chapter

2, almost all the empires ruled by Muslim rulers on Indian Subcontinent were political

169The creation and perpetuation of Hindu-Muslim antagonism was the most significant

accomplishment of British imperial policy: the colonial project of "divide et impera" (Divide and Rule) fomented religious antagonisms to facilitate continued imperial rule and reached its tragic culmination in 1947(Tharoor 2017).

https://eatanddust.com/2012/10/28/eid-al-adha-prayers-at-old-delhis-jama-masjid/

276

in nature. Where the Muslims and Hindus united to form the political structure of the

empire, political overtones can be felt, but the government administration remained

secular. The same amalgamation of Hinduism and Islam can be seen in the

development of architecture. Fergusson’s book is the first effort by a British

historiographer to segregate the architecture, confining them to a single religion. For

example, in the description of modern Jaina temples in India, he writes that

Like most Hindu building of the period, all these temples show very

distinctly the immense influences the Mohamedan style of

architecture had on that of the native styles at this age …opening

invariable take the form of the Mohamedan foliated pointed arch …

like those of Sonaghur, they are all of the modern domed style, copied

from Moslem art (Fergusson 1899, 255).

Figure 4.44. Jaina Temple. (Source: https://tr.pinterest.com/pin/487233253415934343/?lp=true).Last visited on June 2018)

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Thus, Fergusson explains that the Muslims’ distinctive influences on the Indian

architecture were translated formally through “domes” and “arches” only. Batley’s

distinction was miles ahead from Fergusson. He not only classified the buildings based

on religion but extended this classification on to the basic elements of the building

which included screens and ceiling patterns. These divisions first gained prominence

in the spatial discourse during the development of New-Delhi, when horseshoe arch

was preferred against the foliated arch (see the development of New-Delhi in

Chapter02, for a full discussion on the subject). The dissertation argues that it was the

colonial stylization of architecture that was a reference for the official of Capital

Development Authority when they were asked to design an Islamic city with Islamic

buildings. The diversity of this discourse was further limited when the officials at

CDA preferred Turk Muslim rules over Arab and Afghan Muslim rulers, thus their

architecture was discredited. Ironically the proposed buildings for the first designed

capital, in the name of Islam, had to pass through a narrow funnel test which comprised

domes and arches.

4.3.2. Doxiadis' First Proposal

Keeping the same spirit of creating and acropolis for Islamabad, Doxiadis prepared

another proposal for the presidential complex. The façade is developed along brutalist

lines with the popular modernist style of its time. The plan of the building consists of

a semi-elliptical form, with the prominent stair case placed strategically in the front of

the building. The plan diffused from the curvilinear forms into rigid geometrical form,

probably designed to host the President’s office and residences. An elaborate

landscape area was developed in the front of the building which highlights the entrance

of the building. The massive looking building blocks is staggered at three

interconnected levels and equipped with a central courtyard. It is evident from the

basic sketches of the building that it neither gels in with the surrounding, nor it is

functionally accurate. The space ship looking structure did not get the appraisal from

CDA neither it was included in any primary documents developed by Doxiadis.

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Figure 4.45. First proposal (Rear View) for the Presidential Estate (01). (Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens)

Figure 4.46. First Proposal (Top View) for the Presidential Estate (02). (Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens)

4.3.3. Doxiadis' Second Proposal

As a part of the general design of the city of Islamabad, Doxiadis presented a

schematic outline for the Presidential Estate, Grand Mosque, and Secretariat building.

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In the sketch prepared by the Doxiadis for the Capitol Complex in Islamabad (see Fig

4.48-49) the Presidential Estate rose like a pyramid between the other buildings.

Prominent among them is the grand National Mosque (on the extreme right) and

Secretariat offices (on the extreme left). Doxiadis purposefully elevated the

Presidential Estate by proposing an artificially created hill. In the perspective drawing

he made for the project, the Presidential Estates can be seen even higher than the

background Margalla hill. The placement of the politically influential building on the

highest rock was that throughout history, we find examples where prominent buildings

are placed in the highest places to reflect power and leave a strong impression on

people. Doxiadis had proposed the Presidential Estate on the apex point of the Jinnah

Avenue runs across the city of Islamabad.

Figure 4.47. Proposed Boulevards in Islamabad. (Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens)

The design intention coincides with the political condition of the country where the

military dictator rose to power by toppling down the elected government and was now

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in the process to become the supreme leader. Doxiadis was well aware of the urban

planning and architectural elements used in “Indus valley civilization” and being a

Greek Architect was well informed about the symbolic role of placing the politically

important building on the highest plateau. Dr. Mahsud interprets that a Greek

Acropolis inspired the configuration of "Presidential Estate" in Islamabad proposed

by Doxiadis (see Fig 4.48 and 4.49). However, a parallel can also be drawn between

the citadel, in Mohenjo-Daro (see Fig. 4.53) a city of Indus valley civilization, and the

Presidential Estate (Chaudhry 2002). This idea is aligned with the studies of Daeschel

which he conducted concerning the city of Islamabad. Daeshcel claims that Doxiadis

took many references from the Indus valley civilization while designing the city of

Islamabad. Indeed, he narrates that “when it came to designing a logo for the project

…. Doxiadis proposed a motif from the Indus Valley civilization that had existed in

the area of West Pakistan between 3000 and 2000 BC”(Daechsel 2015). Designation

of a politically prominent location to the Presidential Estate was in contradiction with

the philosophy of the country, that was supposed to reinforce the democratic values.

It is important to note that a similar building, the Governor’s Palace, was eliminated

from the plan of Chandigarh because it might create the nostalgia of Imperialism.

However, this went in line with the agenda of a military dictator, who was the most

prominent proponent of the Presidential system in Pakistan. An aesthetic criticism on

the scheme developed for the Presidential State by Doxiadis would be difficult as he

abandoned the project after a few sketches. However, the straight lines and brutalist

facade give us particular direction where the ruling regime and architect might want

to negotiate. The placement of a grand mosque in the forefront of the Presidential

Estate in the background on a mound also highlights the systematic importance of

these monuments. In a similar fashion Naveed explains that the public buildings in

“Moen jo Darro” were placed onto mounds (Naveed n.d.). The reasons for this

placement would be more of a symbolic nature than a practical one. (It is also

remarkable to note that most of the cities of ancient Indus valley were designed

following a grid Iron plan segregating the public building from private).

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Figure 4.48. Perspective Drawings for the Presidential Estate, Islamabad. (Source: Doxiadis Archives, Document number: 1960i, DOX-PA 89, pp. 125, 127 and 129)

Figure 4.49. Skyline of the Proposed Presidential Estate by Doxiadis Associates.

(Source: Doxiadis Associates (1960 e, DOX-PA 78)

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Figure 4.50. Relationship Diagram of the Presidential Estate, Islamabad. (Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens)

Figure 4.51. Ancient City Squares with Chandigarh & Islamabad. (Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens)

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Figure 4.52. Second Proposal for the Presidential Estate. (Source: Doxiadis Archives. Document Number:DOX-PA 115)

Figure 4.53. Mount at Mohanjo Daro. (Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens)

Though not directly addressing the Presidential Estate, KKM quotes text from Nilsson

Sten that provides us with a general Ideology of state behind the development of State

Apparatuses. Sten States

If the Parliament house is then to be built … the building will be of a

substantial size to be architecturally impressive; it will have to be

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carefully designed to reflect our past culture at the same time utilizing

modern methods of construction (Nilsson 1973).

4.3.4. Arne Jacobsons’s Proposal

CDA started the quest for an architect who could design the main building in

Islamabad. In this regards several modernist masters were approached and requested

to present a proposal for the building. The first in line was the modernist Arne

Jacobsen who was known as one of the first architects who brought modern movement

to Denmark. He worked with close detail in modernist materials like glass, steel, and

stone and was also an accomplished furniture designer. He approached to provide a

design for the constitutional building. Jacobson, who was a seasoned modernist,

provided a design for the Constitutional Building in line with the International Style.

Dr. Khan writes that though he was inspired by Le Corbusier and other Swedish

modernist his design philosophy has changed over a continuous period. “(He) soon

moved beyond the obvious features of the international style towards an architecture

of formal restraint and material elegance, inspired by both the purity of Danish

vernacular and the discipline of modern industrial design.(Khan 2009).”

The plan he proposed consists of a rectangular frame with a cylindrical volume rising

above the elevation of the building. The design of the rectangular frame coincides with

the widespread ground+3 stories employed for easy access of users to the top floors

in the absence of elevators. The plan of the building has two main portions. First, the

covered area, and second, an area comprising of a courtyard surrounded by a row of

offices. The user enters the covered area through a ramp attached to the bottom left

corner of the building that leads the user to the central circulation space with the

mosque in the centre and the rows of offices on two sides. The remaining two sides

have glass walls designed to bring outside light into the building in line with the

International Style. The square volume of the building consists of offices, hostels, and

a cafeteria on the ground floor. The committee rooms, the office of the ministers and

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interpreters, meeting hall, and libraries were placed on the first and second floors.

Jacobson also provided a mosque at the centre of the cylinder on the ground floor with

an intention to provide users with a spiritual linkage to God.

The cylindrical volume is designed to house the Upper House (Senate of

Constitutional Assembly) and Lower House (The Parliament) and the viewing

galleries. All the floors are provided with ample circulation space. The corridors are

designed for horizontal circulation whereas a staircase caters to the vertical circulation

(Nilsson 1973). The height of the Senate and the status quo followed by the senators

suggest that it also has access through elevators. The courtyard can also be accessed

from three sides. The central courtyard is planned to counter the hot weather and to

act as a circulation space. The entrances to the building are designed to cater many

users. As Dr. Khan writes, “The entrances were differentiated for a variety of users:

the main entry for members was placed at the east of this space, the entry for

ceremonies was planned on the west, the public entry was linked with the walking

places (Khan 2009).”The proposal was rejected for being too modern and for not

complying with Islamic architecture as envisioned by CDA officials. CDA

bureaucrats were trained by British Bureaucrats who had a responsibility to establish

colonial rule in British India and had inherited their arrogance from their British

masters. They had highly criticized the design approach of the Arne Jacobson’s and

Chairman of CDA “had the temerity to ask the professor to alter his

design to suit the wishes and whims of the Committee, but dedicated

and serious-minded architect that he was, Jacobson steadfastly and

firmly refused to change even a single line in his design (Khwaja 1998,

100).

CDA official has also passed some sarcastic comment about the design resembling it

as “oil storage tank for a local refinery.” Ultimately, he preferred to leave the project

instead of incorporating the demands to include the “arches” and “domes” in

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architecture. It is important to note that this design was well appreciated by the CDA

architect Zaheer ud din Khwaja designating it as a “fine design prepared at the given

time.” The detailed analysis of the drawings and the model prepared for the project,

however, negate the CDA’s bureaucratic objection. A study of the model Jacobson

made for the project can help understand it better with regards to the traditional

mosque buildings in Pakistan.

Figure 4.54. (Top Left) Model for the Assembly Building in Islamabad, (Bottom Left) Elevation of the

Assembly Building (Islamabad), (Right) Plan and Section of Assembly Building (Islamabad) by Arne

Jacobson. (Source: Khan (2009)

The key features most probably inspired by the traditional mosque architecture were

a geometric plan, an open courtyard, and hall enclosed with symbolic features

(Khwaja 1998). However, it does not contain the “arches” and “domes” which was

the major reason for the dissatisfaction of the CDA official. CDA even suggested that,

“Some Islamic features be incorporated in the form of some arches in the cylinder, or

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a dome above the cylinder, or some addition to the four courtyards (Mumtaz 1989,

187).” This was the same time that the CDA got an idea to build a grand mosque near

the building of constitutional assembly. The building was proposed to be constructed

in the concrete with the cylindrical tower containing masonry joints on its exterior site.

The front elevation at the ground floor on two major sides is made from the glass walls

while the rest of the building contains glass windows fixed between intricately

designed concrete façade made from thin concrete pillars. The cylindrical volume is

proposed to be cladded with white marble both on the exterior and interior sides, while

the lower rectangular volume had black marble cladding. Another exciting feature of

the building was the hanging garden proposed between the hostel and the cylindrical

volume. Several parallels can be drawn between Jacobson's Assembly Building and

its competitor in Chandigarh. For example, the central space on the ground floor is

similar to the space provided for the meeting and labelled as a forum by Le Corbusier

in Chandigarh. Jacobson has also sued brise-soleil for almost the same functional use

as that of Chandigarh. However, instead of concrete, Jacobson has proposed them in

anodized aluminium. He also tried to protect the concrete slab from the sunlight by

providing a false roof over it. The roof is made from lightweight concrete slabs and

installed over the I-beams placed on the top of the roof (listed 1982). Furthermore,

Stein Nilsson relates Jacobson's proposal to that of Le Corbusier’s Assembly in

Chandigarh, “in principle, the solution is the same as Le Corbusier’s Assembly Hall

in Chandigarh, but the shell is free from expressionist overtones (Nilsson 1973).” He

quit the design for the building of the constitutional assembly and decided not to take

any further project in Islamabad under CDA. Arne Jacobson was regarded as “one of

the greatest and in the finest tradition of the profession” by Architect (late) Zaheer ud

Din Khawaja who enjoyed working with Jacobson’s (Khwaja 1998).

4.3.5. Louis Kahn’s Proposal

After the departure of the Arne Jacobson, Prof Louis Kahn was assigned to undertake

the project. Prof Kahn was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He was

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trained under Paul Cret in Philadelphia following the beaux-arts system. He was fully

aware of classical grammar, composition, and hierarchy. The programme given to

Kahn was more elaborate than Arne Jacobson. Following the client’s program Kahn

developed a building that does not capture the intentions of the clients, which see the

Islamic architecture or rather its imitation as an absolute form for the national

representation.

Figure 4.55. Presidential Estate (First Proposal) by Louis Kahn. (Source: Louis Kahn’s Archive at University of Pennsylvania)

He was requested to design the Presidential Estate and cabinet block in addition to the

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constitutional Assembly Hall170 (Vale 2014).” Kahn's architecture was based in part

on a social vision: this was a challenge to the status quo not through some Utopian

expectation in the future, but through a mystical conservatism (Curtis 1996,

313).”Louis Kahn started working on the project as soon as the contract with Arne

Jacobson was terminated and produced three successive proposals for the project.

The first drawings Louis Kahn produced for the project of the Presidential Estate were

dated December 13, 1963. The site given to Kahn was located on the Constitutional

Avenue. The site was located in front of the Margalla Hills and had three small

mountains. Kahn had exploited the potential of the site to the fullest locating the

important building on the hilltop, “Kahn, like Le Corbusier, was intrigued by the

cosmological geometries of the Jaipur observatories, and these may have played a part

in the distillation of his vocabulary (Curtis 1996, 314).”The first model for the

Presidential Estate found in Louis Kahn’s archive is raw and incomplete, but it

provides an insight into Kahn’s design direction for the upcoming complex. The

building consists of extruded rectangular blocks placed side by side to each other from

different angles. The primary building is also marked with a courtyard. The complex

is placed on the highest mountain present on the site, overlooking Ponti's Secretariat

complex. A vehicular road connects the Presidential Estate to the main square located

at the bottom of the hill. The area behind the Palace is dammed to form an artificial

lake which is quite similar to how Novicki conceived his first Assembly Building in

Chandigarh. Due to the elevation imparted by the height of the hill the building would

be visible from far across Jinnah Avenue. It is the overpowering feeling of the building

that Nilsson designate it as “another viceroy” house (Nilsson 1973). The second

proposal he made for the Presidential Estate and Assembly Halls contain the Assembly

170Although the detail about the project assigned to Prof Kahn was nor clear. In his contract, that he

undertook with CDA in 1965, Assembly Building was not mentioned. Kahn at the time of appointment was one of the leading architects in the world and was not new to the region.he was already working for the design of the second capital of Pakistan at Dhaka name after the president as “Ayyub Nagar” (now the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar). He was selected as the designer of the second capital on the recommendation of Mazhar-ul-Islam, one of the influential architects in East Pakistan who was also a student of Kahn.

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Halls on the bottom left of the composition and the centre for Islamic study standing

in the form of a triangular mass in the centre of the composition revealing its inherited

artistry of Kahn.

Figure 4.56. (Left) Presidential Estate (Islamabad) 2nd Proposal, version 01, (Right) Presidential

Estate (Islamabad) 2nd Proposal, version 02 by Louis Kahn. (Source: Louis Kahn’s Archive at University of Pennsylvania)

Following the first proposal, Kahn placed the Presidential Estate at the top of the hill

overlooking the city. In this proposal, more visibility is imparted to the Presidential

Estate by bringing it to the centre of the composition, away from Ponti’s Secretariat

complex. The Presidential Estate thus in this building got the more central position

and more clear visibility making it monumental as a symbol of power. On the left side

of the Model, Gio Ponti Secretariat complex was shown in the form of rectangular

blocks. Kahn provided two version of this model to CDA with slight modifications in

the overall form of the Assembly Building. In the first version, the Assembly Building

was designed as a pyramid shape complex with the cube placed at the top of the

pyramid. This proposal reflects Kahn’s signature geometrical carvings that he had

already exhibited in the design of the national Assembly Building in East Pakistan

(present-day Bangladesh). In a conversation with Sir. Robert Matthew, official

architect of C.D.A. Kahn describes his initial idea as

It could be a new concept of minaret embodying a small chapel raised

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above the level of a square, and a special platform from where one

could preach facing Mecca --- the sequence is being suggested as a

roofless hall of the meeting (Brownlee 2005).

Though these lines show Kahn's intention of integrating the spirit of Islam into the

building, he missed the materialistic demands from the CDA. In the second version of

the proposal the pyramidal shape assembly is replaced by a cuboid which was

subtracted using a cylinder and a smaller cube. Most probably, the Assembly Hall is

placed in the centre of the composition. The dominant cube is divided into four parts

by subtracting the mass along the two axial lines. The resultant smaller mass is

provided with the triangular courtyard. This overall composition looks very similar to

Kahn’s proposal for the constitutional Assembly Building in Pakistan’s second capital

at Dhaka. Another essential feature of the overall composition was the central square

located in the centre of the constitutional Assembly Building and museum of Islamic

history. In his discussion with the CDA official Kahn drew several parallels of this

square with the grand square with Red Square in Moscow and the Great Square in

Isfahan, Iran. The former square in Russia was the main square of Moscow, also

located next to the Presidential Estate. This square was often used to showcase

Russia’s power through military shows off. The great square in Isfahan was also in

the heart of MRV’s proposal for Pakistan's National Capitol in Karachi. A historical

feature of Persian architecture, this square was used as a people’s congregation place,

an idea that President Ayyub as a military dictator would not like.The building

complex is connected to Jinnah Avenue, and a small building is present at the bottom

left of this highway. Though not explicitly mentioned, keeping the present-day

function in mind, this building is most probably the office of the cabinet. Prof Kahn

also provided an expressive layout for vehicular movement by connecting the

Assembly Hall and museum through elaborate networks of roads, circular ramps, and

an underpass beneath the significant highway leading towards the Presidential Estate.

Thus Presidential Estate was provided with an unhindered access from the Jinnah

Avenue (Khan 2009). The third and final proposal Kahn developed for the Presidential

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Estate was more “Islamic” from the CDA’s perspective with the symbolic dome

visibly placed on the top of the constitutional Assembly Building. The proposal

elevates the Presidential Estate to a more imperial look. Made from a cylindrical and

cuboids the Presidential Palace was sitting on the top of the hill, neatly banked at the

edges to highlight the river on both sides of the building. The triangular building

consisting of offices of the cabinet, and the museum of Islamic history was replaced

by a considerably small cuboid building, whose presence in the building is almost

negligible. The absence of the triangular mass imparts greater importance to the

Presidential Estate. A large open area surrounded by a thick boundary wall and with a

lake in the centre was created as a large garden for the Presidential Estate. The overall

feel of the Presidential Estate is more like an ancient walled city, a common feature in

historic Indian towns.

Prof Kahn prepared the two versions of the same proposal. The only difference was

the form of the constitutional Assembly Building. In the first version, the

constitutional assembly rose like a cylinder with a small heighted rectangular mass

encompassing it. The form is very similar to Arne Jacobson’s proposal for the

constitutional Assembly Building. The second version, however, provides a more

dramatic version of the Assembly Building. The assembly is made from a tapered

cylindrical mass with a dome on top of it. Both masses are provided with triangular

perforation. The tapered mass also reminds one of the tombs of Sultan Baha-ud-Din

Zikriya in Multan. The overall road circulation remains the same as that of the earlier

proposal. The significant change in the overall composition was the size of the central

square which is not much larger in size and placed right in the centre of the

composition. The perspective view of the model also highlights that the elevation of

the Presidential Estate is almost similar to that of the Assembly Building. However,

the subtraction of the buildings in front of the Presidential Estate makes it more visible.

Kahn submitted three proposals for the Presidential Estate of Islamabad, but none of

them was able to appeal to the bureaucratic vision of the CDA. Although from several

references deduced from the conversation Prof Kahn with CDA officials, it was clear

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that he wanted to incorporate the spirit of Islam in his intricately carved geometric

designs, but the officials at CDA were more interested in the restricted materialistic

aspects of Islamic architecture. The demarcation between the Islamic architecture and

non-Islamic architecture was the presence of the domes and arches in the building.

The lack of these elements in Kahn’s design led to the termination of his contract with

CDA. After Jacobson, Louis Khan was also rejected owing to the regime's intention

of incorporating Islamic elements (Mumtaz 1989). Zaheer du din Khwaja, an admirer

of Kahn, writes that CDA had outright rejected Kahn’s proposal, as they assumed the

final project to be different according to the conversation, they had with him at the

start of the project. In his memoirs, Khwaja writes that, “the committee emphatically

states that this was not at all what they had expected. They rejected the scheme and

even decided to take away the project from Kahn after he had made two more

unsuccessful presentations (Khwaja 1998).”

4.3.6. Edward Durell Stone’s Proposal

The search for an architect whose architecture was in line with the current trends of

architecture while being sensitive to the regime’s intention of producing culturally and

religiously sensitive design led to the appointment of Stone. Stone171 was not new to

the Indian environment: he had already designed the American Embassy in New Delhi

and was also engaged in designing the building for Pakistan Institute of Nuclear and

Scientific Research (PINSTECH) near Islamabad. Chairman of the Pakistan atomic

energy commission Dr. I. H. Usmani was impressed by Stone. The pro-Islamic

impression of Stone’s architecture172, his low fee for the design, his eagerness to

undertake projects in Pakistan and his quick alignment with the intended “Islamic”

171 Timothy Reinen and Mohammad Gharipour, “Edward Durrell Stone: Architectural Works in Asia

& North Africa”, Proceeding of the 2nd international conference on sustainable cities, urban sustainability and transportation, Baltimore, 2013: 232-238.

172 Edward Durrell Stone’s earlier project in Pakistan for the the PINSTECH building was popularized as “as a Mosque.”

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ambitions of CDA officials led him to complete and construct the project successfully.

Figure 4.57. Model of Presidential Estate, Islamabad’s 1st Proposal by Stone (Source: Edward Durrell Stone’s Archives at University of Arkansas)

Specific evidence suggests that the CDA official did not have a proper programme for

the Presidential Estate, nor the Government of Pakistan had any clear direction about

the future political structure of Pakistan. Both of these problems worsened the

situation. Khwaja writes that during the early phase of the development of the

Presidential Estate, upon my inquiry that whether the “future Parliament would have

a unicameral or bi-cameral legislature,” he got the reply from the president that it

would be a single house, which was not the case in the real sense. The decision had

affected the design of the constitutional Assembly Building and added expenditure.

The Presidential Estate was designed to host the official functions of the presidency,

accommodation for the state guests, president’s residence and a mosque. State

functions were to be hosted on the ground floor of the front block while the state

guests’ accommodation was placed on the first floor of the same block. He was quick

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to understand the intention of the CDA officials and had prepared the first proposal of

the Presidential Estate (Khwaja 1998). Figure 5.57 highlights Stones clear direction

about incorporating the geometric pattern, borrowed from the tradition Muslim

architecture in the Indian Subcontinent.

Figure 4.58. . View of Shalimar Garden Lahore (Source: (Source: mapio.net.) Last visited on June 2018.)

Stone was not imitating the design from the traditional architecture but innovating it

by utilizing his experience as a modern architect. The proposed obelisk in front of the

Presidential Palace and the straight-line brutalist form of the building reinforces this

claim. Stone prepared a straightforward and economic proposal for the Presidential

Estate. Following Kahn’s footstep, the three buildings, constitutional assembly, the

cabinet block and Presidential Estate, was designed around a central square. An

obelisk was proposed in the centre of the square to provide a focal point to the user.

This obelisk was the only deliberate effort to impart monumentality to the

composition. Zaheer ud din Khwaja writes that Stone’s decision of creating a flat land

by filling the hilltop so he could place the Presidential Estate on the top of it, is

inappropriate.(Khwaja 1998, 118).

http://mapio.net/s/72357451/

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Figure 4.59. Ground Floor of the Presidential Estate (01). (Source: Edward Durrell Stone’s Archives at University of Arkansas.)

297

The Presidential Estate and allied buildings were proposed on this flat land with minor

difference in the elevation of the three buildings. The constitutional Assembly

Building and the cabinet block in the initial scheme was designed as a carbon copy of

each other. Both buildings were designed as low-rise square block with cantilevered

canopy over the top. The roof contained several domes grouped together to fulfil the

CDA’s requirement for an Islamic touch. The external façade contains double height

columns that rose all the way from the ground to the roof.

Figure 4.60. Ground Floor of the Presidential Estate (02). (Source: Edward Durrell Stone’s Archives at University of Arkansas.)

The cantilevered roof of traditional buildings in Pakistan is often used to protect the

building from the sunlight; however, in the Stone proposal the effectiveness of the

cantilevered roof is a question mark. The design of the Presidential Estate consists of

two rectangular masses connected with each other through semi covered corridors

with arches on both sides of the façade. A more extensive garden was provided in the

central courtyard. The design of the central garden was based on the features borrowed

from the Mughal garden in Pakistan. The garden was created by developing a

geometric pool surrounded by the low height bushes and tree planted in the rows. This

garden reminds one of the Shalamar Gardens in Lahore built by the Mughal emperor

Shahjahan. The front mass of the building hosts the offices, the VIP guest suites,

libraries, and archives. The residence of the president was placed in the rear block.

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The user enters the Presidential Estate through Jinnah Avenue into a more significant

square with an Egyptian obelisk. The square is designed as entirely pedestrian and

thus also act as a circulation area between the buildings. The presidency is separated

from the square by a geometric water body which acts as a barrier between the square

and the Presidential Estate. the horizontal circulation is provided through the covered

and semi-covered corridors.

Figure 4.61. Presidential Estate (Islamabad) by Stone (Source: Media Cell Tehreek-e-Minhaj Ul Quran)

The building is connecting vertically through the staircase. The whole complex is three

stories high except the VIP guest suite which protrudes on the top of the Presidential

Estate forming a fourth story of the building. Nilson criticized this feature as in his

opinion this brings it closer to the viceroy house in New Delhi. Tan and Kudaisya also

argues that

The position and the scale of the Presidential Estate is such that the

resemblance with Viceroy’s House in New Delhi is striking, and this

according to one observer merely reflects ‘the political reality the

project was based on’, as the president’s status under the 1962

Constitution was ‘quite comparable with that held by the Viceroy in

British India before the reforms of 1919: the President was not

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responsible to the general assembly and he had the right of veto (Tan

and Kudaisya 2000).

Figure 4.62. Presidential Estate (Islamabad) Edward Durrell Stone. (Source: Usman Ghani)

The president’s residence is also provided with a side entrance to be used by motor

vehicles. An underground covered garage is provided to host parking and storage

services. Khwaja reports that this underground area was the worst portion of this plan

with no provision for sunlight to enter the building. Khawaja reports

I saw that the lower floors, which had been proposed to be partially

excavated, had a double-loaded corridor with offices on both sides! On

my inquiry as for how another side of the offices would get light or

ventilation, Mr. Stone begged to be excused (Khwaja 1998, 119).

The backyard of the Presidential Estates also has some geometric motifs on the floor.

The geometric patterns are another key feature of Islamic architecture. Two corridors

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connect the president's house with the jungle (most probably) dedicated to the

president house at the back. The overall landscaping in the model also follows an

organization widespread in the Mughal gardens. Though the first proposal got

significant appraisal from the CDA officials, Stone was instructed to develop a

detailed proposal with few additions in the building programme and drastic changes

in the vocabulary of architecture. The main buildings are placed according to the first

proposal. However, a small mosque is added to the back side of the Presidential Estate

over the back lawn. The back lawn is also provided with tennis courts. In stark contrast

to earlier precedents in Islamic architecture, “domes” were removed from the top of

the building. Edward Durrell Stone was appraised for his work for the landscape of

the building. Edward Durrell Stone designed the landscape of the building very

carefully. The inspiration from the Shalamar garden and landscaping inside Lahore

fort is evident. The user enters the main square from the Jinnah Avenue. The main

square is a garden with walkways in the centre along both the axes. The initial ideas

for providing the square as a mass congregation site was scrapped off by the military

regime. The president neither wanted nor could have afforded to provide people a

place to gather in front of the president house, as this could be utilized by political

activists to topple the government's function. Instead, the main square was divided

into four parts by introducing walkways on both the axes. The idea was directly

inspired by the Mughal gardens inside Lahore Fort and the Shalamar gardens in

Lahore. Following the Mughal tradition, on the centre point of the walkways, a small

pool of water with fountain was provided.

From here the user can go up to the president house by walking over several sets of

setups. These steps are provided after Stone decided to level the terrain of the site. Just

before the main entrance of the building, a small covered podium is provided with

water bodies on both sides. The podium was used to receive state guests. The inner

courtyard and backyard are also designed following a rigid pattern and loaded with

patterns inspired by the Mughal Gardens. It is important to note that this kind of

extensive landscaping with the trees and water bodies together with the courtyard can

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also help to cool down the temperature within and around the building which becomes

very helpful in the harsh summers of Islamabad. The building is made of concrete and

is four stories high. The front elevation of the building has a solid mass with the slit

windows. The windows are covered with wooden louvers to protect the building

against the sun. The upper story is provided with a cantilevered roof attached to thin

columns that run at a considerable distance across the periphery of the building. In

order to light up the building, long rectangular windows were also provided.

The interior of the building is no less than an imperial mansion, which definitely brings

the question whether this suit the Supreme Leader of an Islamic welfare state or not?

The interior floor is cladded with expensive white marble. The white marble is one of

the most preferred material in the region, since it remains cold during the summers

times and extensively used in the Mughal building throughout Pakistan and India. The

walls are cladded with wood and have mouldings and wooden bands on it. Roman

columns are provided for aesthetic purpose. The interior of the building varies across

different rooms and were modified several times after the first proposal was given by

Stone. However, a standard feature of the interior is the extensive replication of

geometric patterns: the patterns mostly made from the eight-sided star are prominently

visible in all the spaces, suspended ceilings and doors. The corridors connecting the

president house with the main building also have the white marble cladding on the

floor with the roof supported by columns erected at equal distances (Khwaja 1998).

Doxiadis and MRV in their respective proposals proposed the Grand mosque right

next to the central square of the city. Due to undefined reasons, the location of the

grand mosque was shifted, but a small mosque is provided on the back side of the

building which is meant to serve the employees of the president’s office. The only

building with the “domes” in the entire complex, it is also made from white marble

with a minimalist design. The mosque lacks the intricate work that is present in the

historic mosques of the region. Stone’s work was much appreciated by the CDA

officials and critics (Mumtaz 1989). With reference to Stone’s principle of design, S.

Ali Hussain, Director of planning CDA explains

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The design is based on the Moghul style of the architect, but at the same

time providing all the amenities of modern age ------- the internal

courtyard would be landscaped on Moghul Pattern, and it has pools and

fountains. There would be a back garden in the same pattern as

Shalimar garden Lahore (Nilsson 1973, 178).

Similarly, as Doxiadis was inspired by the Indus Valley Civilization, Stone’s

insightful study of Mughal architecture had left its mark on the design of the

Presidential Estate. The Palace is designed with the large open courtyards within

which the water bodies are contained in the geometrically designed pools, a feature

which is quite similar with the architecture of Mughal era, more specifically to the

Shalimar Gardens, Lahore.

Figure 4.63. The J. F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts. (Source: Usman Ghani)

Beyond the CDA-romanticized picture of Stone’s architecture as a legitimate Islamic

architecture, the external form of the building is in line with his previous work. From

the first appearance, it seems like a mere replication of the international style and

Stone’s prior work in the United States. The brutalist rendering and straight lines on

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the facade of the Presidential Estate bring it in comparison with the John F. Kennedy

Centre in the United States also designed by Stone (Stone 2011), See Fig. 4.63.

The colonial historiography played a critical role in the development of the

Presidential Estate in Islamabad. The segregation of Hindu and Islamic elements was

assimilated into postcolonial Pakistan through the British trained bureaucracy, which,

in the absence of the spatial discourse of Pakistani Islamic architecture, acted as a

foundation for this development. Doxiadis’ proposal corresponds to his conception of

the Islamic city. This is the only proposal that is more in line with the established

models of Islamic architecture. Furthermore, the Presidential Estate is designed like

an acropolis for Islamabad, on the top of the hill that provides a superiority to the

residence of the supreme leader in line with the intents of the military regime. The

other three proposals can be distinctively marked as the academic proposals by Arne

Jacobson and Louis Kahn, and a commercial proposal by Edward Durrell Stone. Both

Jacobson’s and Kahn’s proposal reflects the International Style echoing its new-

monumentality. However, it does not provide any trace of indigenous or Islamic

influences. Stone’s proposal, on the other hand, conforms to the client’s requirement.

The final plan is a result of an amalgamation of the “Domes and Arches” on the

persistence of CDA officials and inspiration from Mughal Garden traditions at his own

will that was blended with Stone’s design philosophy. Although Khwaja criticized it

as a weak project with functional difficulties, it corresponded to the political intention

of the military regime.

4.3.7. Shah Faisal Mosque

The grand National Mosque was removed from the final proposal for the Presidential

Palace developed by Edward Durrell Stone. A relatively small mosque was designed

at the back of the Presidential Estate which is not only isolated from the main complex

but hidden behind the colossal Presidential Palace. As earlier discussed, that relocation

of the grand National Mosque coincides with the Ayyub’s liberal agenda of the

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separation of religion and the administration. However, as a principal feature, which

according to Al Sayyad (1996) remained the core elements of the Islamic cities in the

central Asia and which was prominently visible inside the administrative areas from

MRV’s scheme for Karachi to Doxiadis’ proposal for Islamabad, it is vital to discuss

the design of the Grand National Mosque.173

Figure 4.64. Front View of Faisal Mosque. (Source: https://www.islamabad.net/gallery_image_details/25). Last visited on June 2018.)

The idea for creating a National Mosque174 generated right after the conception of

Islamabad (1962) the new capital of Pakistan. During one of his visits to Pakistan King

Faisal of Saudi Arabia heard about the project for the National Mosque and urges the

173 Detailed Architectural drawings and complimentary image for the Faisal mosque can be accessed

online at (Archnet 2018) 174 The Faisal Mosque is conceived as the National Mosque of Pakistan and named after the

late King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed the project

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government to construct this mosque as a landmark symbol, not only for Pakistan but

for all Islamic world. Through the generous funding provided by him an international

competition for the project was held for the mosque. The competition gets an

overwhelming response especially from within the Islamic world and forty-three

participants have submitted their entries. Out of these 43 entries, the design of Turkish

architect Vedat Dalokay was finalized for the project. Vedat Dalokay175 rebellious

ideas and leftist political thoughts have helped him un-earthed some of the most

beautiful project in the Republic of Turkey. In addition to a lot of his successful

projects, the un-realized project for the Kocatepe Cami (Mosque)176(See Fig 4.64)

created a broader scale controversy (Naz 2005; Suzan 2008).

Figure 4.65.(Left) Sketch & (Right) Model of (Unbuilt) Kocatepe Cami, Ankara. (Source: Usman Ghani)

The Faisal Mosque is the third largest mosque in the world; its covered area is 5,000

m2 (54,000 ft2). It can accommodate up to 12,000 worshipped in the main hall, almost

25,000 in the side alleys and approximately 4200 in the open courtyard. Worshippers

175 Vedat Dalokay was a politician, a practising architect, a writer and an administrator who also served

as the mayor of Ankara. His worked carried in Turkey represent his modern approach and his revolutionary ideas. He won many competition projects in Turkey and abroad and developed a landmark project across Turkey.

176 For a detailed discussion on the design evolution of Kocatepe Cami, its “architectural style and “iconographic power “see (Sargin 2004) and to comprehend the right wing’s impact on the mosque architecture that resulted in the rejection of Dalokay’s mosque see (Batuman 2017, 2016).

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can also pray in the adjoining ground of Faisal mosque. The mosque is designed in a

tent-like structure and has four minarets. Each minaret is approximately eight one

meter high (Husain 2005).

Figure 4.66. Faisal Mosque & the Faisal Avenue. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/islamic_republic_of_pakistan/p/BqWl3HahyQz/). Last visited on

June 2018.)

The Faisal Mosque was designed to accommodate the prayer halls, libraries and an

International Islamic university on its premises. The idea of the mosque was the

revival of the traditional mosque which, in addition to place of worshipping, will act

as a place of learning. Although the central mosque remained the pivot point in the

growth of the middle eastern Islamic city, but this was not the case in Islamabad. Faisal

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mosque was designed as a hybrid modern building. Dalokay intelligently

superimposed different socio-political aspect and combine them to design this

mosque. Due to limited budget for project, Dalokay preferred using the indigenous

materials so the project cost will coincide with the projects allocated budget (Holod

and Khan 1997). A key example is the marble flooring that |Dalokay used on floor

that has the capacity to remain cool in the hot weather of Islamabad.Like the other

buildings in Islamabad, Dalokay’s design was rendered in the hybrid language. The

overall composition contains the overtones of ottoman architecture and local mosque

architecture. He also kept in view the local climate and economic circumstances while

designing the mosque.

The “pencil-shaped” minarets of mosque were borrowed from Turkey, “where the

Muslim conquest of Istanbul was marked by the erection of slender and pointed

minarets (Naz 2005).” The open courtyard and central fountain which create a

pleasurable environment in the hot humid environment are the main features of Faisal

mosque were borrowed from the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore and Wazir Khan’s

Mosque, Lahore. The anomaly in the design was the use of pyramid shaped roof

instead of traditional tombs. The pyramid shaped mosque was not only new for

Pakistan, where the mosque architecture was dominated by onion shaped domed

(which was introduced into Indian mosque architecture by Mughals following a

central Asian and Persian influences), but also a unique form concerning the “Umma.”

Dalokay justified his new design as t

I tried to capture the spirit, proportion and geometry of Kaaba in a

purely abstract manner. Imagine the apex of each of the four minarets

as a scaled explosion of four highest corners of Kaaba – thus an

unseen Kaaba form is bounded by the minarets at the four corners in

a proportion of height to base (Jan 2013).

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Figure 4.67. (Left) Faisal Mosque, (Right) Study sketch for Faisal Mosque

(Source: http://www.mimdap.org/?p=94754). Last visited on June 2018.

The pyramids shape of mosque also coincides with the surrounding hills. Vedat

Dalokay’s Mosque have a long-lasting impact on architecture in Pakistan and it served

as the National Symbol for Pakistan. The State infect was successful in using the

hybrid modernity to personify the republic in coming years. Hussain highlights the

larger impact of design as, “After the Faisal mosque, there is a marked difference in

the mosque design and the dome: especially the triple dome has vanished. Dalokay’s

contribution is meaningful for it has changed the thoughts of minds of Imams,

worshippers as well as architects (Husain 2005).”Dalokay’s design undoubtedly goes

in line with the earlier modern experimentation in Islamabad, that produced Hybrids.

The design also tackled the dichotomy between a Muslim national (Ummah) and

emerging nationalistic ideologies of Pakistan. Though located at a distance from the

rest of the monumental buildings already discussed in this chapter, it functions

complimented by its location on one of the two principal axes and design, helped its

projection as an image not only for Islamabad, but for Pakistan.

4.4. Conclusion

The Capitol Complex at Chandigarh was a brainchild of Corbusier who was an artist

at heart and had an ambition for creating a monumental building. In creating this

monumentality, he often overlooked the authority’s pleas to make the building simpler

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and economical. Kalia argues that the Capitol Complex at Chandigarh was meant to

“be seen, not used” (Kalia 1999). Chandigarh had two cities within its material fabric:

city of people and city of the monument (the Capitol Complex). Both are different not

only in conception but are intentionally segregated from each other. The

incompleteness and unplanned interventions have almost taken away the Corbusian

soul from the scheme. The original scheme of the Capitol Complex reflects the

intricacy with which Corbusier designed the scheme. By utilizing his passion and skill,

he incorporated the contextual problems within its artistically carved structures.

The Presidential Estate designed by Edward Durrell Stone is an example of

commercially successful architecture. Following his client’s demands, Stone produced

an economical design with indigenous elements that got an approval from the clients

in the first go. However, a lot of criticism is laid on the aesthetics and functional

efficiency of the building (Khwaja 1998; Nilsson 1973). The building had a strong

tone of the gardens designed by the great Mughals while it can also be seen concerning

Stone’s earlier work in the United States. Both the Capitol Complex and the

Presidential Estate were designed in a similar fashion to the Acropolis to reflect power.

In the case of Chandigarh, the apex point of the Acropolis was not complete, thus

leaving the Capitol Complex incomplete. However, in the case of Islamabad,

Presidential power is completely in line with the desired intention and corresponds to

the political ideology of the regime. There is a mutual consensus among different

writers that the Capitol Complex at Chandigarh was constructed with an Indian spirit.

However, several interpretations are also made to locate Indian metaphors behind the

material conception of the Capitol Complex. Apart from several similarities, this

opinion also faced harsh criticism, especially from post-colonial authors. The

Presidential Estate in Islamabad, on the other hand, is produced by the amalgamation

of the indigenous and foreign architectural influences, thus resulting in what Jencks

referred as a “dual coded” building.

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In Chandigarh, following the norms of the parliamentary democracy, Prime Minister

Nehru had ordered not to construct the Governor’s Palaceas it reminds of the British

imperial rule in India (Nehru 1961). In Pakistan, the story is altogether different.

President Ayyub Khan was a military general who came to power by overthrowing

the elected government, and he was the most prominent proponent of the Presidential

system. That is one of the reasons the president house was designed and located as

another “Viceroy House” as described by Nilsson. (Nilsson 1973). Doxiadis planned

the “forecourt of the nation” in the form of the Presidential Estate, connecting the

building with the city. Doxiadis’ main concern was the design of the city. Thus, he left

the design for the monumental and symbolic project on the other architecture.

Corbusier, on the other hand, was disappointed in the rejection of his high-rise scheme

for the city of Chandigarh. He not only physically segregated the Capitol Complex

from the city, but also create an artificial mountain to create a visual barrier between

the city and the Capitol Complex. Corbusier’s plan had successfully incorporated the

programme requirement of the buildings, but also cater to the climatic condition as

well. Although in the case of rainfall some of the buildings of the Capitol Complex

turned into nightmares for the users. In general, from the social habits to climatic

conditions Corbusier carefully tried to address the building’s requirements.

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CHAPTER 5

5. CONCLUSION

5.1. Introduction

The central subject of the dissertation is the hybrid spatial modernity, which the

dissertation tries to appropriate by bridging the post-partitioned modern planned

capital cities with reference to the modern cities developed along the vertical

(historical) and horizontal (geographical) axes. The dissertation intends to classify

modernity by appropriating its pedigree, which in result develops an enriched

understanding of the architecture and urban development in the post-partitioned Indian

Subcontinent, within the modern capital cities developed from scratch. In lieu of this

research, the dissertation brings into discussion the dynamics regarding hybrid

modernity, nationalism and politics and how it helped in shaping up these cities.

The dissertation focusses on the architecture of the principal administrative sectors

that are the Capitol Complex (Chandigarh) and the Presidential Estate (Islamabad) and

the city planning in these two cities. Although to some extent the respective state

governments intended to disengage the problem of architectural and urban

development from the past, the resultant cities had somehow reinforced the new

nation’s connection with the past. Furthermore, the dissertation discusses that by

hiring the internationally acclaimed architects, respective nation wanted to construct

a city that can represent the new nation’s ideology at the national and international

level (Prakash 2002; Mahsud 2013). These cities are formed in connection with the

changing political, social and economic conditions, mainly produced as a result of the

partition of India, and the implementation of the state’s ambitious project of

modernity. The dissertation analyses the architectural and urban development in

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Chandigarh and Islamabad by bringing into discussion each State’s vision, people’s

aspiration, architects’ ambition, political motivations and globalization which

highlights how the project of modernity was implemented within the operational

framework of the new nations, which are, India and Pakistan. The contestation

between Western concept and the traditional Indian ideas resulted in the setting a new

benchmark for architectural and urban development (Prakash 2002; Kalia 2006;

Mahsud 2009; Karim 2012; Sprague 2013). The dissertation also addresses that

although the new cities were not instrumentalized as an object of social change

(Holston 1989), yet they were perceived as a space for the inhabitants of the new

nations (Anderson 1983; Lefebvre 1992; Chatterjee 1993).

The main subject of this dissertation is the hybrid modernity which highlights the

critical exogenous and endogenous ideas involved in the material formulation of these

cities (Jairazbhoy 1963; Prakash 2002; Hosagrahar 2005; Karim 2012). This study is

important as it questions the very notion of how modernity was perceived in the west

and help in defining the Indian modernity as the “re-orientation” rather than “rupture”

of the past (Habermas 1997; Bozdogan and Kasaba 1997; Kalia 2006; Antonio 2003;

Hosagrahar 2005; Avermaete and Casciato 2014). The dissertation also questions the

viability of modernity as a singular entity. Charles Jencks declares the failure of public

housing project in St. Louis, as the death of Modern Western architecture. However,

the process started quite earlier during the construction of post-Independence cities,

mainly, Chandigarh where Le Corbusier, the greatest advocate of the modern

architecture, tried to bring in the historicism on a site that was a blank slate. The

dissertation starts by presenting the case of early modernity in India and how Western

theoretical concealments had undermined the whole subject (Marx 1853; Viyagappa

1980; Richards 1997; Fernée 2014; Rathore and Mohapatra 2017; Wire 2017). The

dissertation, in its first episode of planned modern capitals in Indian Subcontinent,

analyses the urban design of the cities developed during the early and colonial modern

period. This analysis highlights the process through which foreign and local ideas are

contextualized during the construction, the critical elements of the city design, and the

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extent of urban design. The study is essential as these cities set a pattern for the

development of the post-independence cities, which are not the physical replication of

these cities, but belongs to the pedigree of these planned cities.

5.2. Early Modern and Colonial Modern Planned Cities

The dissertation provides a detailed analysis of the early and colonial modern planned

cities in order to connect to the missing fragment in the genealogical development of

these cities. In this regard capital cities, that were developed from scratch, like

Fatehpur Sikri, Shahjahan Abad, Madras, Calcutta and New Delhi are discussed with

reference to their urban design and architectural development. The analysis also

highlights how the different endogenous and exogenous ideas are appropriated and

grounded in the material form to produce the hybrids modern. This study is vital as it

not only provides the detail about the spatial development of these cities but also helps

in redefining the modernity. In the early capitals like Fatehpur Sikri and Shahjahan

Abad, the citadel, city walls and monumental buildings were the result of the extensive

planning exercise, however, the overall plan of these cities eventually grew

organically. Consequently, the mode of transportation also helped the city to grow

along an organic pattern (Blake 2002; Hurlimann 1965; Iizuka 1991; Metcalf 2002).

During the colonial period, the planning of the capital cities like Madras, Calcutta and

New-Delhi directly correspond to the political power of the colonizers. From a basic

city like Madras, to the extensively planned city like New-Delhi, the shift in the urban

agenda of the colonizer, from the appropriation of the “European classical

architecture” to producing “an Indian city”, was evident. The wheeled transport and

colonizers intention to control the space also forced them to impose a rigid gridiron

pattern in Madras and Calcutta which resulted in what is termed as “apartheid

urbanism. However, this idea was shifted towards more open plan of New-Delhi, due

to the fact that at the time of development of Delhi colonizer had begun to see

themselves as the native rulers of India rather than foreigners (Kippis, Godwin, and

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Robinson 1810; Baker 1926; Irving 1981; Gupta 1993; Chatterjee and Kenny 1999;

Metcalf 2002; Chattopadhyay 2005)

5.3. Post-Independence Modern Development

The capital cities developed in the Indian Subcontinent abide by its definition as

advocated by Jairazbhoy, that integration of foreign influences resides within the roots

of modern development. The dissertation criticizes the viability of International style

and Post-1900, American project of modernity. The projects were either very

ambitious to be implemented at its fullest or could have only affected the outer core

of the society.

5.3.1. Islamabad and Chandigarh

The planning of Chandigarh and Islamabad also involved an extensive debate on

creating an Indian and Islamic city respectively (Kalia 1990; Yakas 2001; Kumar

2011). Architects tried to materialize these complex concepts using their own

understanding, which they borrowed from their own experiences and local conditions.

The search for the Indian ideals by the Western Architects had questioned the viability

of Western modernity, which celebrates its anti-historicism, yet unable to render the

material condition on the ideal space of new nations that was just like a blank slate

open for anti-historic interventions (Curtis 1996; Mahsud 2008). This inability of

Western modernity thus provides a solid footing for the evolution of hybrid modernity.

While Jencks’s announcement of the material side of the modernity is still debatable

(Jencks 1991), the dissertation reinforces the fact that the spirit of Western modernity

died in the Indian Subcontinent. In case of planning of Chandigarh, the pre-partitioned

ideas regarding the built environment excessive worked out by Ramchand Mohandas

Gandhi were openly rejected by the modernist vision of Pandit Nehru, the Prime

Minister of India (Gandhi 1909; Nehru 1961; Kalia 2004; Nehru 2015). The

Government of India hired Albert Mayer, who was assisted by Novicki, to undertake

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the project. They developed a garden city inspired plan, but it could not be

implemented (Evenson 1966, Sprague 2013). The unfortunate death of Novicki paved

the path for Le Corbusier to design and develop the city of Chandigarh. Le Corbusier,

loaded with this radical idea that were nurtured over the period through CIAM, ideal

city, and villa Radieuse, tried to localize his utopian vision177.

Figure 5.1. Schematics Plans for Chandigarh by Mayer and Le Corbusier.

(Source: Author)

He studied the Indian lifestyle in depth, before and during the execution of the project.

His several detailed sketches regarding the Indian streets and village outlook reinforce

this claim178. Following the popular Grid Iron plan, Le Corbusier had brought “order”

into Novicki’s plan, which he developed earlier for the city (Kalia 1990).In the case

177 In this regard, he catered the lack of the elevator in India by devising a ground + 3 standard for the

economic building construction. Even after 60 years of its implementation, this idea remains the standard for the construction in India. Secondly, he along with his colleagues in his office in France undertook extensive studies for the solar movement so he can plan the city and the buildings accordingly. The tower of shadows is a remarkable building in this regard. Thirdly, though he was considered as anti-tradition, his early sketches of Istanbul and Roman ruins preserved in the foundation Le Corbusier negate this perception.

178 Fondation Le Corbusier. The Album Punjab.

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of Islamabad, Doxiadis’ design focus was the city and its inhabitants. He had already

designed cities in similar regions like Baghdad, Accra, and Riyadh and was quite

familiar with the Indian condition by thoroughly investigating the local condition and

detailed study visit to small town and Chandigarh179. He also made several

comparisons of historic towns of Pakistan with Islamabad to grasp the full control over

the planning of the city. In his earlier works, he provided schematic studies about the

relation of the vehicular transportation with the city and laid emphasis on the

underground transport system keeping in view both public and private transportation

systems (Doxiadis 1968). His earlier proposal for the Rio-de-Janeiro clearly depicted

this intention. On the contrary, Islamabad does not have any such provision. The

funding provided by Ford foundation for his schools of ekistics could be the possible

influencing agent for this planning (Nilsson 1973; Yakas 2001; Mahsud 2010;

Daechsel 2015; Karim 2016). His final design consists of the city based on the physical

implementation of Dynapolis (Doxiadis 1968). With a dual axial plan, the planning of

Islamabad revolves around the sector. However, he too has failed to provide the low-

cost housing solution that could provide the people with an opportunity to inhabit the

city.

5.4. CIAM and Ekistics

In order to cope up with the deficiency of the trained architects in the country,

respective governments of India and Pakistan hired Le Corbusier and Doxiadis to

design the respective cities. These architects also brought with them their planning

ideas which were theorized and well debated in the form of “CIAM” and “Ekistics”.

Seemingly coherent, as both the philosophies emphasize the decongestion of city

centres, organized traffic flow, and the relation of man with the society. A major

179 Doxiadis archive Athens. Document Number: “DOX-IA (10) India Regional Housing Centre (Vol

2), DOX-IA (10), Jan 1956 (5)”, “DOX PP 78 India Report and Photographs, Jan-Feb 1954 (1) DOX PP 78” & “DOX-IA Indian Diary, Part 1, DOX-IA 10 January 1956.”

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deviation can be marked as CIAM’s adoption of monumentality after 1940 as its

primary element for the city design. The only material conception of integrating the

monumentality into city design, before Chandigarh, was Le Corbusier’s plan for Saint

Die (Mumford 2002). Doxiadis, on the other hand, wanted to develop a city of people

and presented a successful proposal for the capital cities around the world where his

major emphasis was only the public housing. He tried to develop Islamabad with the

same spirit.

Figure 5.2. CIAM’s Six Functions and Ekistics Framework.

(Source: Author)

5.5. Urban Sprawl

The morphological development and urban sprawl is steered not only by the baseline

plan, but also influenced by the political changes and anomalies. The anomalies

appeared as a result of the State’s failure in the acquisition of village land and

relocation of the inhabitant according to the original scheme (Kreutzmann 2013; Ojha

2014). Further to this, especially in the case of Islamabad, the lack of low-income

houses had resulted in the formation of illegal settlements within the city (Moatasim

2015). In the initial phase of development of Islamabad, the four sectors were

developed which grew to 54 sectors, in four successive phases. The new sectors were

developed along the same grid-network provided by Doxiadis, however, they lacked

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the Doxiadian soul. These sectors were not planned as self-sufficient entities as

envisioned earlier by the Doxiadis.

Figure 5.3. (Left) Master Plan of Islamabad and (Right) Chandigarh

Development Phases and Population (Source: Author)

Furthermore, CDA’s inability to acquired land, relocation of the existing villages and

partnership with the private organization were the few main reasons of the deviation

from the Doxiadis’ vision (Doxiadis 1959). In comparison, Chandigarh’s first phase

consisted of 30 sectors. 26 more sectors were developed in two successive phases.

These sectors were also planned as the self-sufficient bodies with everyday needs

available at a walking distance for the residents. In addition to the planned area, few

urban villages are present within the metropolitan area of the city. Le Corbusier was

very rigid about the extension of Chandigarh beyond a certain size which forced

Chandigarh to implement the periphery control act in 1952 and 1962 (Kalia 1990;

Avermaete and Casciato 2014).

5.6. Static Versus Dynamic City

The plan of Islamabad follows the Doxiadian philosophy of the dynamic city, that is,

“Dynapolis.” Through a detailed analysis of the historic towns, Doxiadis concluded

that the towns internal dynamics and the growth of the satellite town around the old

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city not only restricts its growth but can also be considered as the main agent for

creating the congestion in the centre of the old town. In this regard, he physically

implements Dynapolis in the plan of Islamabad. Hence, the city was proposed to grow

along with-it central district.

Figure 5.4. Static and Dynamic Plans of Islamabad and Chandigarh respectively.

(Source: Author)

The size of the town and the central districts was proposed to grow following the

formula given by Doxiadis. This exercise not only set a pattern for the future growth

of the city, but also aids in minimizing the congestion on the city centre. Le Corbusier,

on the contrary, had accumulated all the commercial activities in the central business

district of Chandigarh. The main reason for this activity was the fact that he did not

want the city to grow beyond the designated limits, owing to which Chandigarh’s

administration implemented the Periphery Control Acts in 1952 an 1962. Secondly,

he wanted to convert the central business district into a monumental area of the city

with the Highrise buildings. Due to the economic and technological reason, his vision

for the monumental city centre could not be accomplished.

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Figure 5.5. Commercial Centres in Islamabad (Left) and Chandigarh (Right).

(Source: Author)

5.7. Human Scale

The dissertation also highlights the three interlinked major problems in city planning;

lack of human dimension, political changes and weak administration; linked to the

misinterpretation of the idea behind “human scale”. Despite all the detailed design and

planning process, the resultant city is far beyond the place of Lefebvre's “habiting”;

especially the cities that were designed to make sure that they would not get congested.

One major factor, in this context, is the extensive road systems which, in return, had

increased the number of vehicles on the road, and thus helping more to the automobile

manufacturer who is selling more cars, than the people inhabiting there. One major

consequence of such vehicular-centric planning is the severe traffic jams.

Consequently, the primary stakeholders, the inhabitants, were secluded from the city.

This brings us to the debate on the idea of “human scale” supported in theory by both

Le Corbusier and Doxiadis. Although extensively worked out by both Le Corbusier

and Doxiadis, the human scale was just a compilation of quantitative ideas used to

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measure the basic anthropometrics like human height and walking capacity. However,

they clearly missed out the most important “human dimension”, that is, social

repercussion of city planning. Due to the lack of human dimension, political changes,

and weak administration, the cities today are haunted by the same fear of congestion

fetishism, unhygienic conditions and unplanned growth which were an antithesis to

the planning concept of these cities. The functional segregation between the Capitol

Complex and the City had also separated the people from their administrators and

elected representative. That segregation is entirely in line with the colonial model of

city development. Colonizers due to security and political concern intentionally

segregated the city.

5.8. City without Monuments

The final plans of both Islamabad and Chandigarh did not have any monuments in the

vicinity of the planned areas. For Islamabad, Doxiadis intentionally planned all the

monuments outside the main skeleton of the city.

Figure 5.6. Location of Monuments in the Plan of Chandigarh and Islamabad.

(Source: Author)

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5.9. Networks

Like most of the designers of his age, Doxiadis was very conscious about integrating

the machine within the city. In his seminal book Ekistics, he had proposed the ideal

traffic plan for a city where he made the provision for simultaneous growth of

transport network and City’s building. He proposed underground trasnport networks,

in order to keep his city free from the machines (Doxiadis 1968). Owing to the

economic reason Doxiadis was not able to integrate his vision for the vehicular

movement in the city of Islamabad, however, he controlled the vehicular movement

through the width of the road, ranging from the main boulevards to the streets in the

sectors.

Figure 5.7. Multi-level Structures & Networks, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1965).

(Source: Doxiadis (1968)

Figure 5.8. Pyramidal Expansion of Networks (in Depth) and Shells (in Height). (Source: Doxiadis (1968)., Redrawn by Author)

323

Le Corbusier proposed a very comprehensive system for the vehicular movement in

the Chandigarh known as 7 Vs. His system of vehicular movement tried to integrate

all the traffic from the fast speed cars to the low moving horse carts (Evenson 1966).

Figure 5.9. Schematic Blow up Highlighting V2 to V7 in a sector of Chandigarh. (Source: Author)

324

5.10. Sector

The basic planning unit for both Islamabad and Chandigarh is a Sector. In this regard,

the dissertation analyses the very first sectors developed in both Chandigarh and

Islamabad, that are, Sector 22 of Chandigarh and Sector G-6 of Islamabad. Both the

sectors are planned as self-sufficient with ample space for the schools, commercial

centres and the civic spaces.

Figure 5.10. Plan of Sector, G6 of Islamabad (Left) and Sector 22, Chandigarh (Source: Doxiadis (1968)., Redrawn by Author)

Furthermore, all the residences are connected through the well-planned road network

that connects the inhabitants to the main city. Le Corbusier’s sector is planned more

artistically and equipped with more green space as compared to Doxiadis. Both the

sectors reinforce the idea of class stratification, borrowed from New-Delhi and do not

provide any space for the general public. This idea not only challenges the constitution

of both the countries that aims at giving equal right to all its nationals, but also goes

325

in contradiction with the Leferbvian idea of “habiting” (Lefebvre 2003). Le Corbusier

never meant to design a city for the masses and kept on telling the Chandigarh

administration on making money out of urbanism. Similarly, Doxiadian sector, despite

all his claims and research regarding human habitation, faced the same fate.

5.11. The Administrative Centres

The dissertation addresses the design evolution of the Capitol Complex and the

Presidential Estate at full length. In this regard, the dissertation had also formulated

the unbuilt proposal to analyse the final design. Proposal made by Mayer and Novicki

for Chandigarh (Evenson 1966; Kalia 1990; Sprague 2013), and by Arne Jacobson

and Louis Kahn for the Presidential Estate are discussed to add a further layer of

understanding that helped in analysing the final designs (Mahsud 2008; Khan 2009).

Both the administrative buildings were designed outside the main frame of the planned

grid.

Figure 5.11. Capitol Complex, Chandigarh & Presidential Estate, Islamabad . (Source: Doxiadis Archives, Athens)

In case of Chandigarh, the reason behind this planning was Le Corbusier’s desire to

disconnect the Capitol Complex from the city after his proposed Highrise buildings

326

were not deemed feasible to be erected in the city (Evenson 1966; Kalia 1990; Prakash

2002). Islamabad, The city of the Doxiadis, had no place for monumentality, although

he proposed a strong link between the city and the administration complex by

providing a vast square designed as a “forecourt of the nation”(Khwaja 1998; Mahsud

2010). It was, however, Edward Durrell Stone’s insensitive approach towards the

design of Administrative wing that had disconnected the building from the city

(Khwaja 1998).

5.12. Nationalism and State Building

The colossal projects developed for hosting the administrative function also meant to

project the progressive images of both India and Pakistan. In the early phase of the

development in India and Pakistan, like the other new nation states, creation of

monumental architecture was viewed as an integral condition of national expression.

That is one of the major reasons for hiring internationally acclaimed architects for

these projects. Hiring the foreign architects for the national building project seem more

like a paradox. Lu also points out the rhetoric and writes

It is rather ironic that modernist architecture, disseminated in the name

of “international” was employed in many third world countries –

Turkey... Pakistan among others to represent nationhood, which was

generally conceptualized as being rooted in remote antiquity and

grounded in cultural uniqueness. A careful dissection reveals that the

mechanism behind this is multi-layered (Lu 2011).

In both the projects local conditions had influenced the design of the buildings which

is symbolically manifested in Capitol Complex at Chandigarh. While in case of

Presidential Palace in Islamabad, it is imitation and formulation of historical formal

elements. The political orientation of the respective governments had influenced the

form of these buildings and in creating the national narrative for architecture. In

327

Chandigarh, Le Corbusier had deliberately used “Ashoka chakra” and “Swastika”, two

symbols which are visibly places in the central courtyard. These symbols belong to

the era of great Hindu king Ashoka, who ruled India before the advent of Muslims. In

case of the architecture of the Presidential Estate, buildings developed by Mughals (a

clan of central Asian Turkish tribes) are preferred over the buildings developed by

Pathan Muslims (originated from Afghanistan) in India. The seminal reason for this

classification was political, as Pakistan shares a close association with Turkey and had

a border dispute with Afghanistan. Following this classification, the Presidential

Palace in Islamabad was equipped with the onion shaped domes (which Babur Shah

brought with him through central Asia), geometric motives and landscape

arrangement borrowed mostly from the Shalamar Gardens in Lahore. Thus, in general

the building which were mean to represent the country at international level and create

a national narrative were developed by amalgamation of the local ideas steered by the

foreign architecture, bureaucrat and local conditions.

5.13. New Delhi, Chandigarh and Islamabad

The Presidential Estate in Islamabad reminds one about Viceroy’s Palace in New

Delhi. The Presidential Estate in Islamabad is situated right in the front of the central

axis the Jinnah Avenue, elevating its status to the most important building in

Islamabad, which coincides with the military regime’s intention. In New Delhi,

Viceroy’s Palace is also strategically placed on the top of the mountain at the end of

King’s Way (Raj Path). In Chandigarh, Nehru’s democratic vision had curtailed the

Governor’s Palace, that was placed at the symbolically prominent position and was

labelled as the reminiscent of the colonial ethos.

328

Figure 5.12. Composition of Viceroy Palace, New Delhi (Left), Presidential Estate, Islamabad

(Centre), Capitol Complex Chandigarh (Right). (Source: Author)

5.14. Future Suggestions

The dissertation is vital because it has discussed the idea of hybrid modernity as it

evolved in the Indian Subcontinent, within the prevailing theories of urbanism and

architectural development. It has analysed the empirical, visual and textual material

of the spatial transformation of the Indian Subcontinent. This dissertation aimed to

bring a new viewpoint and debates into the concepts of modernity, urban and

architecture, development. In order to compile an in-depth analysis of the modern

planned cities, the dissertation has reviewed an extensive range of sources from

archives, books and articles. Several Plans and maps which have been reviewed and

analysed in detail and compiled in the dissertation are extremely rare and difficult to

find in both India and Pakistan. These sources are difficult to access because of red

tapes and security concern in both countries. It was a mammoth task to collect these

plans from the archives in the U.S.A., Athens, Paris, Karachi, Islamabad, and

Chandigarh. Therefore, this dissertation would be a valuable resource for the study of

329

urban design and architectural development of the major administrative buildings of

Chandigarh and Islamabad. The dissertation is also vital in the sense that it broadens

the discussion on the architectural and urban processes in post-partition India by

bringing the two opposites together. Furthermore, it also provides a basis for the cross-

border study between the two politically different countries which shared a common

historical and cultural background yet wholly isolated from other for the past seventy

years. Cities cannot cease to grow. In case of Chandigarh and Islamabad, gridiron was

just a skeleton and the spirit of design lied in the self-sufficient communes. The

planning authorities should have developed the research wings, instead of just

extending the grid, to understand the spirit of these cities and save them from the

problems which the European cities faced hundred years ago. Traffic problem can be

resolved through efficient management and integration of the public transport system

in the city. By creating a city with an extensive boulevard, without management would

only result in the increasing number of vehicles, as evident in Chandigarh and

Islamabad and would not help in decongesting the cities. An overview of the vehicular

circulation in Islamabad and Chandigarh, in addition to New-Delhi and Karachi,

reinforces this fact.

The dissertation provides a brief discussion about the development of the capital cities

in post-partition India. The capital cities Chandigarh and Islamabad are developed not

only to cater the administrative function, but also help in the realization of the

“imagined communities.” However, these ideas were scrapped in the material

realization of the city. The study can be included in the studies already done

concerning architectural and urban development. Furthermore, it provides a new

dimension in these studies by adding a neglected perspective. The new perspective

this dissertation highlight is the study of two cities that share the cultural and historical

background yet separated by a border. Furthermore, the respective countries have

entrusted a similar ideology of Western Modernism to develop these cities. Therefore,

this dissertation is not only a contribution to the studies on city planning and

architecture development of Chandigarh and Islamabad, but it is also a theoretical and

330

methodological contribution in terms of understanding the planned city and,

architectural development. Furthermore, the city also helps in the development of real-

time understanding between the monumentality, politics and architectural

development.

Figure 5.13. Typical Traffic Flow in Chandigarh (Top Right), Islamabad (Top Left), New-Delhi

(Bottom Right) and Karachi (Bottom Left) on Monday at 0900. (Source: Google Maps)

The study which includes the comprehensive documentation of the planned cities

serves in opening up new horizons for the theories of the city planning especially in

the post-war period in the Indian Subcontinent. The study of the city and its

architecture through methodological interpretation of social formation, ideas,

materiality not only helps in understanding the material perspective but also widens

the scope of understanding of social formation that contributed to the overall shape of

331

the city. In this regard, the methodology developed for analysing the city can be seen

as a useful tool for analysing and comprehending the cities in the future. The research

can further be extended by focusing on the residential architecture and architecture of

the public buildings within the cities. A comparison between the houses in the planned

area and illegal settlements can be valuable. This type of research can highlight the

spatial practices and values planned and unplanned areas. It will also help to limits the

extent of the symbolic meanings, monumentality and architectural style which on the

one hand is forcefully integrated through a rigorous planning exercise and on the other

hand are evolved and integrated as the user was the builder himself. In addition, such

a study will also highlight the relationship between the different architectural

typologies and the residential quarters and will help in adding the human dimension

in the city. The urban villages in Chandigarh (for example “Burail”), and in Islamabad

like “Golra Shareef” as well as illegal settlements can be used for such study. In the

case of Islamabad, the dissertation highlights the new mega housing projects

developed by the private investors in the city of Islamabad. The author wishes to

pursue this research further by incorporating the economic and material aspect and

analyse the relation between the early and later settlements. The research undertaken

in the city and architecture development can be further enhanced by the analysis of

the extensive data acquired during the research with reference to the economic

development and stability of the city. This could include all the written and visual

documents. This discussion can definitely compliment in deepening our understanding

of the city and its architectural development and bring the city out of romantically

carved theories embedded within the planning theories of the 20th century.

333

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APPENDICES

A. GLOSSARY

Adhunik (Hindi: आधुननक): Modern, contemporary

Akalis (Hindi: अक निक): untimely

Ameers (Arabic: Amīr): A prince, commander, or head of state in some Islamic countries. Also, a title of honor of the descendants of Muhammad. Also used for a title of certain Turkish officials.

Aml-e-Salih (Urdu): Deeds which are good, beautiful and beneficial and are acted in accordance with Allah’s content and pleasure.

Apracin

Aqal (Urdu): sound practical judgment, a general conscious awareness

Bakht (Urdu baḵẖt): good fortune, luck, prosperity

Bazaar (Urdu): market, marketplace, mart, exchange; souk

Black Town: A colonial urban terminology used to describe residential quarters designated for the native populace.

British India: The 17 provinces of India formerly governed by the British under the British sovereign (1858-1947). It ceased to exist when after the creation of the independent states of India and Pakistan.

British Raj (or simply Raj): Refers to the period of British rule on the Indian Subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The system of governance was instituted in 1858 when the rule of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria (who in 1876 was proclaimed Empress of India).

Bungalows: Derived from the Hindi and Urdu word ba. glā which literally means “in the Bengal style (of a house).” In its original use bungalow referred specifically to a lightly-built single-story house, usually with a thatched roof. The term became popular

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during colonial times and was used to refer to a type of cottage built for early European settlers in Bengal.

Calcutta (currently known as Kolkatta): It is the capital of India's West Bengal state. Founded as an East India Company trading post, it was India's capital under the British Raj from 1773–1911.

Chajja is the projecting or overhanging eaves or cover of a roof, usually supported on large carved brackets.

Chandni Chowk: (literally translates as Moonlight Square) is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. It is located close to Old Delhi Railway Station.

Charbagh: (literally four gardens) The quadrangular design of Islamic gardens.

Chattri (Urdu: umbrella): In Indian architecture, a rooftop kiosk or pavilion having a dome, usually supported on four columns.

Chishtiya Ribbat: It is a place of the station for all the seekers of the Sufi path – the path of the heart. The Chishti order was founded by Khwaja Abu Ishaq Shami Chishti. The name derived from the village of Chisht in Afghanistan, located near the city of Herat.

Darbar (Urdu): Term used in the Indian Subcontinent for an Imperial court.

Daulat Khana-e-Khas o Aam: (Urdu: literally Hall of Public and Private Audience), of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, located at Lahore Fort.

Dharmatala (archaic spelling Dhurrumtollah) is a neighborhood of central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Deen-i-Elahi: The Dīn-i Ilāhī (lit. "Religion of God") was a syncretic religion propounded by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1582 CE, intending to merge the best elements of the religions of his empire, and thereby reconcile the differences that divided his subjects

East Punjab: The Independence of Pakistan in 1947 led to the division of the Punjab Province of British India into two new provinces. The largely Sikh and Hindu East Punjab became part of the new nation of India while the largely Muslim West Punjab became part of the new nation of the Dominion of Pakistan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbar

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Factory: In the British colonial context, this term was used to describe both the trading settlement as well as the building (factory-house) in which its activities were pursued. The land was granted as a concession from the local ruler and was generally a fortified piece of territory.

Fatehpur Sikri (or simply Sikri): Fatehpur Sikri is a small city in northern India, just west of Agra city, founded by Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century.

George Town: It is a neighbourhood in Chennai city, Tamil Nadu, India. It is near the Fort Saint George, Chennai.

Ghaznavid dynasty: Ghaznavid dynasty, (977–1186 CE), a dynasty of Turkic origin that ruled in Khorāsān (in north Eastern Iran), Afghanistan, and northern India. The founder of the dynasty was Sebüktigin (ruled 977–997), a former Turkic slave who was recognized by the Sāmānids (an Iranian Muslim dynasty) as Governor of Ghazna (modern Ghaznī, Afghanistan).

Hayat Baksh Bagh (literally Life-bestowing garden): It is the largest of the gardens in the Red Fort in Delhi. It was largely destroyed by the British colonial forces following the failed 1857 rebellion. Most of the garden was built over by stone barracks by the British colonialists after 1857. Lord Curzon had some elements of the garden restored.

Hindu (also Hindoo, Hindo): a follower of Hinduism.

Hybrid: a thing made by combining two different elements.

Ibadat Khana (Urdu: House of Worship): An institution erected by Akbar in 1575, was used as a debating hall for religious scholars. It is located at Fatehpur Sikri.

Ibkahat: An open symposium initiated by Mughal Emperor Akbar for members of all religions- Sunnis, Shi’as, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Christians. It was a dialogical public sphere within the composite nobility.

India: India is an ancient terms derived from the Indus river. The dissertation uses the term India for post-independence country formed after the partition.

Indian Subcontinent: Indian Subcontinent generally refers to India peninsula that after 1971 comprise of seven countries namely Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Lanka, and Maldives.

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Indo-Saracenic: (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, Hindoo

style) was an architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government buildings in the British Raj, and the Palaces of rulers of the princely states.

Islamic Republic of Pakistan: generally, refers to as Pakistan

Jajamani system: (Hindi: जजम न from Sanskrit: यज्ञम न) or Yajman system was an Indian economic system in which lower castes performed various functions for upper castes and received grain in return.

Jalli: (Hindi:ज िी jālī, meaning "net"): It is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy and geometry

Lal Bazaar: Literally meaning Red Market.

Madras (presently Chennai): Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal in Eastern India, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu. The city is home to Fort St. George, built in 1644 and now a museum showcasing the city’s roots as a British military garrison and East India Company trading outpost when it was called Madras.

Manesar: Manesar is an industrial town in Gurgaon district of the State of Haryana in India, and is a part of the National Capital Region of Delhi.

Mandu: Mandu is an ancient fort city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It's surrounded by stone walls dotted with darwazas (gateways). It's also known for its Afghan architectural heritage.

Mansabdari system: The Mansabdari system was the administrative system introduced by Akbar in Mughal Empire during 1571. The word 'Mansab' is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. Hence, Mansabdari was a system of ranking the government officials and determined their civil & military duties, along with their remuneration.

Maydan (Urdu literally meaning ground; Also spelled maidan): (in South Asia) open space in or near a town, used as a parade ground or for events such as public meetings.

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Mehtab Bagh (Urdu literally “Moonlight Garden”): It is a charbagh complex in Agra, North India. It lies north of the Taj Mahal complex and the Agra Fort on the opposite side of the Yamuna River, in the flood plains.

Mughal dynasty: Also spelled Mogul, (Arabic: Mongol). A Muslim dynasty of Turkic-Mongol origin that ruled territories of India from the early 16th to the mid-18th century.

Nabya: The word has a Bengali origin and refers to something new

Naql: Imitations

Pardesi: Hindi word for foreigner.

Pietra dura (from Italian literally ‘hard stone’): A pictorial mosaic work using semi-precious stones, typically for table tops and other furniture. Called parchin kari or parchinkari in the Indian Subcontinent.

Raj Bhavan: (Hindi for "Government House") is the common name of the official residences of the State Governors in India.

Sati (Also Suttee): Sati or suttee is an obsolete funeral custom where a widow immolates herself on her husband's pyre or takes her own life in another fashion shortly after her husband's death.

Shahjahanabad / Delhi / Old Delhi/ Purani Dilli: Founded as a walled city of Delhi, India, founded as Shahjahanabad in 1638, when Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor at the time, decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. The city was completed in 1648 and remained the capital of the Mughal Empire until its fall in 1857 when the British Raj took over a paramount power in India.

Shalamar Garden: A Mughal garden complex located in Lahore, Pakistan.

Sufi: A Muslim mystic.

Sulh-i-Kul: (an Arabic term literally meaning “peace with all,” “universal peace,” or “absolute peace,”) drawn from a Sufi mystic principle. As applied by the third Mughal Emperor of India, Akbar (who reigned 1556-1605), it described a peaceful and harmonious relationship among different religions.

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Sultan of Delhi: Founded in 1206 by Qutb al-Din Aibak, a former Turkic Mamluk slave of Muhammad Ghori, Delhi Sultanate lasted till 1526 and ruled parts of Indian Subcontinent. Sultan was the official title for the ruler.

Vastu Sastra (vāstu śāstra literally "science of architecture"): is a traditional Hindu system of architecture. These are texts found on the Indian Subcontinent that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement and spatial geometry.

Viceroys: The governor of a country or province who rules as the representative of a king or sovereign.

West Punjab: The Independence of Pakistan in 1947 led to the division of the Punjab Province of British India into two new provinces. The largely Sikh and Hindu East

Punjab became part of the new nation of India while the largely Muslim West Punjab became part of the new nation of the Dominion of Pakistan.

White town: A colonial urban terminology used to describe residential quarters reserved for the European colonizers/ settlers.

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B. LAND USE PLAN OF ISLAMABAD

Figure B.1: Land Use Plan of Islamabad

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C. MASTER PLAN OF ISLAMABAD

Figure C.1: Master Plan of Islamabad

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D. LAND USE PLAN OF CHANDIGARH

Figure D.1: Land Use Plan of Chandigarh

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E. MASTER PLAN OF CHANDIGARH

Figure E.1: Master Plan of Chandigarh

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F. DOCUMENTS AT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, FRANCE

NO. ARCHIVE CODE SUBJECT

1 P2-8-29-001 Minutes of the meeting of the planning commission held on Apr. 17, 1952 at 9.30 a.m. in the committee room to meet M. Le Corbusier.

2 P2-8-29-001 Minutes of the meeting of the planning commission held on Apr. 17, 1952 at 9.30 a.m. in the committee room to meet M. Le Corbusier. (Page 01)









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11 P2-8-38-001 P.S. Thapar’s letter to Mr. Le Corbusier D.O

12 P2-8-38-004 (Attached Notes) P.S. Thapar’s letter to Mr. Le Corbusier D.O

13 P2-8-38-001 Letter from P. M. Thapar to Mr. Le Corbusier, Dated Apr 05, 1952

14 P2-8-38-004 Attached Notes to the Letter from P. M. Thapar to Mr. Le Corbusier, Dated Apr 05, 1952, written by Prime Minister Nehru

15 P2-8-38-005 Attached Notes to the Letter from P. M. Thapar to Mr. Le Corbusier, Dated Apr 05, 1952, written by Prime Minister Nehru

16 P2-12-7-001/003 Letter from E.L. Varma to Le Corbusier dated Dec 16th, 1951)

17 P2-12-14-001/003 Letter from E.L. Varma to Le Corbusier dated August 11, 1952)

18 P2-12-2-002 Notes of Meeting between Le Corbusier and Nehru on Date June 26th, 1957, from Le Corbusier’s Diary

19 P2-13-48-003 Letter of Corbusier to Mr. Nehru

20 P2-13-52-004 Le Corbusier Letter to Mr. Nehru Paris, September 30th, 1957

21 P1-20-140-001 National Emblem of India

22 P3-8-71-002 Cover Letter to the High-Level Advisory Committee of the Capital Project Control Board, Chandigarh from Mr. Le Corbusier

23 P3-8-71-003 Attached Document to the Letter to the High-Level Advisory Committee of the Capital Project Control Board, Chandigarh from Mr. Le Corbusier Title: Statue of the Land, City of Chandigarh (Page 01)

373







30 I1-1-185-001 Letter from P.M. Chaudhuri, Charge d’ Affaires, Embassy of Pakistan Paris to Mr. Le Corbusier January 12, 1956

31 I1-1-207-001 Sketch Plan to Shift Capital to Gadap, Abandoned

32 I1-1-208-002/003 Letter to Prime Minister Suhrawardy from Mr. Ecochard September 30th, 1956

374

33 I1-1-211-001 Sketch to Shift Pakistan’s National Capital from Karachi to Gadap

34 I1-18-269-002 Telegram to Mr. Le Corbusier on Sep 03, 1962 (Tittle Visit to the Site of National Parliament Building, Pakistan).

35 I1-18-275-001 Telegram from Mr. Le Corbusier to Pakistan on Sep 03, 1962

36 P2-13-35-003 Letter from Mr. Le Corbusier to P.M. Nehru February 17th, 1956 (Page 01)

37 P2-13-35-004 Letter from Mr. Le Corbusier to P.M. Nehru February

17th, 1956 (Page 01)

38 P2-13-39-001 Letter from Nehru to Le Corbusier February 23, 1956

39 P2-13-48-004 Letter from Le Corbusier to Mr. Nehru. Date June 26th, 1957.

40 P1-13-243-001 Letter to Le Corbusier from Pierre Jeanneret Chief Architect & Chief Town Planner, Capital Project Chandigarh. Dated Nov 30th, 1962

41 P1-13-243-004 Letter to the Chief Architect & Town Planner, Adviser to the Govt. of Punjab Chandigarh from the Brigadier Commander. Dated Nov 30th, 1962 (Page 01)



44 P2-13-47-001 Draft of Letter from Mr. Le Corbusier to Prime Minister Nehru. Circa 1958 (Page 01)

375

45 P2-13-47-002 Draft of Letter from Mr. Le Corbusier to Prime Minister Nehru. Circa 1958 (Page 02)

46 P2-16-46-001 Letter to Mr. Le Corbusier from N.S. Lamba. Date Apr. 16th, 1957.

47 P3-8-132-001 Letter from Mr. Le Corbusier to Pierre Jeanerette Chief Architect of Punjab and Chief Town Planned Capital Project Chandigarh. Dated Sep 03, 1962.

48 T1-4-374-001 Letter from Dr. C.A. Doxiadis to Le Corbusier. Dated Jan 08, 1938

49 P2-13-86-006 India Today and Tomorrow by Jawaharlal Nehru” in Azad Memorial Lectures (1959), Page 02 & 03.

50 P2-13-86-008 India Today and Tomorrow by Jawaharlal Nehru” in Azad Memorial Lectures (1959), Page 06 & 07

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G. LIST OF DRAWINGS AT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER

NO. ARCHIVE CODE SUBJECT 1 Fondation Le Corbusier 06089 Periphery Control Plan of Chandigarh

2 Fondation Le Corbusier 29051 Comparative plan of Chandigarh and

New Delhi

3 Fondation Le Corbusier 29066 Sketch Plan of Chandigarh

4 Fondation Le Corbusier 29052 Plan of New Capital of Punjab

5 Fondation Le Corbusier 05297 Road Network

6 Fondation Le Corbusier 29060 Urban Plan Chandigarh

7 Fondation Le Corbusier 05104 Master Plan for the New Capital Chandigarh

8 Fondation Le Corbusier 05533 Sketch Plan Stadium

9 Fondation Le Corbusier 06000 Zoning Plan of Sector 15 C

10 P1-13-176-001 Blue Print of Master Plan of Chandigarh with the proposed Highrise residential apartment marked by Chandigarh Administration

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H. DOCUMENTS AT CONSTANTINOS A. DOXIADIS ARCHIVES.

NO DOCUMENT

CODE

NAME OF DOCUMENT

1 DOX-PP (77-84) Pakistan Diaries and Reports, DOX-PP (77-84), Jan-Mar 1956

2 UNMARKED India Notes Vol 2

3 DOX-IA (10) India Regional Housing Centre (Vol 2), DOX-IA (10), Jan 1956 (5)

4 DOX PP 78

India Report and Photographs, Jan-Feb 1954 (1) DOX PP 78

5 DOX-IA Indian Diary, Part 1, DOX-IA 10 January 1956

6 (UNMARKED) Konstantinos A. Doxiadis, Texts, Design drawings, Settlements

7 DOX -IA 12 India Regional Housing Centre (Vol. 4) DOX -IA 12, JAN 1956 (7)

8 DIARY-PA, 96-99, PAKISTAN REPORTS, DIARY-PA, 96-99, DEC 1958-OCT 1959 (13)

9 GEN 1003 / 43 GEN 1003 / 43 Islamabad: A monumental Axis: Attached Department; Entrance to Islamabad

10 (UNMARKED) Letter to Mr. N.A. Farooqui, Chairman Capital Development Authority, Rawalpindi, Pakistan by Doxiadis. Date April 06 1966, C

11 DOX-PAK-A265 Consideration on Some Question Related to the Development of Islamabad (DOX-PAK-A265). April 5, 1966

12 22035 General Scientific Matters: Islamabad – A monumental Axis 22035

13 DA-PA 2060 The President’s Residence in Islamabad DA-PA 2060

14 DOX-PA-115 On Architecture in Islamabad (56) DOX-PA-115

15 (UNMARKED) Correspondence: Greece and Abroad (1936-1944)

378

16 DOX-PA

8,22,29,33,37 Pakistan Reports, Federal Capital, DOX-PA 8,22,29,33,37, MAY-DEC 1959, (16)

17 MR-PA 19,22 Pakistan Reports, Federal Capital, MR-PA 19,22, MAY-DEC 1959, (16)

18 R-PKH, 1-28 Pakistan Reports, R-PKH, 1-28, Jan. -Apr 1959

19 DIARY-PA, 100-102

Pakistan Reports, DIARY-PA, 100-102, FEB -OCT 1960 (41)

20 Doxiadis File (1963:32),

Doxiadis File (1963:32), Islamabad Public Building and Civic Centre Areas Plot, Layout Formation

CORRESPONDENCE

NO DOCUMENT TITLE

1 Pakistan Correspondence C-PAK-A, 9453-9987, 1960 (243)

2 Pakistan Correspondence C-PAK-LY, 1-29, 1960 (243)

3 Pakistan Correspondence A-PAK-A 9931960 (243)

4 Henry Ford Foundation correspondence (1958-1975) (ACE 5 Copies)

5 Ford Foundation Correspondence (1958-1969)

6 Correspondence (1959-1961)

379

I. CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. ISLAMABAD, ARCHIVES

NO. DOCUMENT TITLE

1 Report on Preliminary Suggestions, Rawalpindi (29), Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority

2 Report on Preliminary Program and Plan, Islamabad (25) Document DOX-PA 77 (11-6-60) Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority

3 Report on Landscape, Islamabad (76), Document DOX-PA (31.3.62), Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority

4 Report on Landscape and Climate (77) Document DOX-PA 169 (31.3.62), Prepared for Government of Pakistan, Capital Development Authority

5 Federal Capital Commission President’s Secretariat, Government of Pakistan, Report on Islamabad

5a Appendix I Government Notification Dated 7th September 1959, Constitution the Commission

5b Appendix II List of Committees formed by the commission

5c Appendix III List of studies and survey made by the commission

5d Appendix IV Note on Timber resources in Pakistan

5e Appendix V Note on Marble Resources in Pakistan

5f Appendix VI List of Building Materials Industries in Pakistan

380

J. EDWARD DURELL STONE PAPERS, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS,

U.S.A SERIES 11. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS

Pakistan Presidential Estate, Islamabad, Pakistan September 1967, Associates: Taj-Ud-Din M. Bhamani and Company NO BOX NUMBER DETAILS

1 Q-20: Whiteprints of complete schematic design (long drawings); whiteprints of certain architectural working drawings (by Karachi firm)

2 Q-21a & Q-21b Whiteprints of HVAC and structural working drawings

3 Q-22a Prints of plans; two schemes; zoned by color for square footage calculation; tracings for various schematic design schemes

4 Q-22b: Roll I: sepias and tracings; many large schematic design studies of the overall master planning of governmental complex and Presidential group studies of "different scheme" referred to above plus others; some detail development

5 Roll II: large overall colored sepia of entire governmental complex and mylar of grading for Presidential Estate

6 Q-22c Roll III: tracings

Roll IV: many tracings for sepias of early concept studies; development into the schematic design (several schemes, some with buildings connected); some development of schematic design; some prints of working drawings; details; some landscape drawings, of park area (Edward Durrell Stone, Jr.)

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7 Q-23 Large auto positives (presentation size) of schematic design for master plan of entire governmental complex (Supreme Court, National Library, Museums, Parade Grounds, Foreign Affairs, National Assembly, Presidential Group, Defense Building, Mosque, plan (?) house, various other buildings; scheme has different detail from others (some as different scheme referred to in Q-24); slightly pointed arches, etc.; domes

8 Q-24 Sepias of long section and elevation (see Q-20); schematic design; tracing of the main elevation; different scheme; schematic design

9 Q-25a & Q-25b sepias of schematic design (other than long drawings in Q-24) and some preliminary working drawings (part of the presentation)

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K. CANADIAN CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE

NO DOCUMENT

CODE

NAME OF DOCUMENT

1 DR1984;1654 Letter written by Le Corbusier to Marguerite Tjader Harris presenting a sketch of Chandigarh plan and Capitol complex. Dated Mar 04, 1952.

2 ARCH264689 Le Corbusier looking towards the High Court building. Photography by Pierre Jeanneret. circa. 1955

3 ARCH264676 Model of the plan for Sector 17, Chandigarh, India 4 ARCH264677 Topographical model showing the first phase of the

master plan for Chandigarh, India

5 ARCH258391 Detail of the portico of the Assembly in Chandigarh, India

6 ARCH268831 View of the Palace of the Assembly on the Capitol complex, Chandigarh, India

7 ARCH279313 View on the Secretariat from the Hight Court, Sector 1, in Chandigarh, India

8 ARCH268829 View of the Palace of the Assembly under construction, Chandigarh, India

https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/search/details/collection/object/434441











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L. PRINCIPLES AND ELEMETNS OF EKISTICS

Dr. Doxiadis elaborated those principles as

1) the first principle laid emphasis on the “maximizing the man’s potential

contact,” with the other people, man-made object, and nature.

2) In continuation of the first principle, the second principle laid emphasis on the

“minimization of effort” required to connect with the potential contact.

3) The third principle is meant to optimize “man’s protected space.” The principle

gave birth to the idea of human scale, and how it can be incorporated in the

development of formal and informal settlements. The principal emphasizes the

fact that within a settlement man should be able to connect with the other

inhabitants, building, and nature without any discomfort.

4) The fourth principle emphasis is providing a better relationship between a

human and its environment. In a detailed commentary on the subject, Dr.

Doxiadis had included all the buildings (Shells), environment (Nature) and

means of communication. The principle also focusses on providing the

aesthetics within a city.

5) The fifth principle concludes the human settlement by explaining that the man

develops the settlement in order to achieve the above four principles. However,

the development of the human settlements depends on “time and space, on

actual conditions, and on man's ability to create a synthesis.”180

Table 5.1. Five Elements of Ekistics.

No Elements Explanation

1 Nature The total natural environment which provides the basis for the creation of settlements and the context in which they function

2 Society The systems of interactions between Anthropoi

180 Kōnstantinos Apostolou Doxiadēs, Ecumenopolis: The Inevitable City of the Future (New York:

Norton, 1974).

384

3 Anthropos The inhabitant, as an individual 4 Shells The structures which shelter Anthropos, his functions and

activities 5 Networks The natural and man-made connective systems which

serve and integrate settlements, such as roads, water supply, and sewerage systems, electrical generating and distribution facilities, communications facilities and economic, legal, educational and political systems181.

181 Kōnstantinos Apostolou Doxiadēs, “Subject - The Human Settlments,” in Ekistics: An Introduction

to the Science of Human Settlements, First Edition edition (London: Hutchinson, 1968), 35.

385

M. EVOLUTION OF INDIAN NATIONALISM

No Year Description

1 1817 Ram Mohan Roy182 not only tried to revolutionize the Hindu religion, but also formed a college that can provide the Western education to the indigenous people. The “Hindu College, was established in Calcutta with the collaboration of a British David Hare in 1817.

2 1875 -1920 Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind

Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Aligarh Muslim University (1920) formed by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan183, then labeled as modernist by Muslim right-wing politicians in India.

3 1885 Indian National Congress was established by an Englishmen Lord Hume to include the Local Indians into political sphere within British India and to provide a platform for dialogue between the (educated) Indians and Government 184

4 1906 Formation of All India Muslim League 5 1909 Indian Home Rule / Hind Swaraj, a book written by

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 6 1913 Mohammed Ali Jinnah Joined, All India Muslim

League after leaving Indian National Congress 7 1919–22 Khilafat movement. The movement started in India

8 September 27, 1925, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh formed to organize the Hindu into one nation “The Hindu Rashtra.”185

9 1930 Allama Iqbal, Presidential Address, All India Muslim League.

10 1935 Establishment of the Government of India Act 11 1937 Indian Provincial Elections

182 Ram Mohan Roy (1774-1833) was a Hindu reformist. He not only tried to revolutionize the Hindu

religion, but also formed a college that can provide the Western education to the indigenous people. The “Hindu College, was established in Calcutta with the collaboration of a British David Hare in 1817.

183 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was a Muslim Reformist who formed “Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-

Hind” Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (M.A.O.) College which later became Aligarh Muslim University (1920), to encourage Muslims of Indian Subcontinent to learn English language and science.

184 Kenneth F. Hurry, trans., A Brief History of India, 1 edition (Rochester. VT: Inner Traditions, 2003). 185 Walter K. Andersen and Shridhar Damie, Brotherhood in Saffron: Rashtriya Swayarnsevak Sangh

and Hindu Revivalism (Boulder: Westview Press, 1987).

386

12 1940 Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Presidential Address, All India Muslim League. Pakistan resolution was presented in that address

13 1945-46 Indian General / Provincial Election

14 1947 Partition of India

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CURRICULUM VITAE

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Surname, Name : Ahmed , Mansoor Nationality : Pakistan (PK) Date and Place of Birth : 19 August 1981, Rawalpindi, Pakistan Phone : +92 321 666 333 4 E-mail : [email protected]

EDUCATION

Degree Institution Year of Graduation

PGD. U.E.T., Lahore, Pakistan. Architecture 2010 B.Arch N.C.A., Lahore, Pakistan. Architecture 2004 High School Govt, Islamic College, Civil Lines, Lahore,

Pakistan. Pre-Engineering 1997

WORK EXPERIENCE

Year Place Enrollment

2012-Present COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus.

Assistant Professor

2010-2012 COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus..

Lecturer

2008-2010 Excel Construction Project Director 2006-2008 Wateen Telecom Architect

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Advanced English, Native Urdu, Native Punjabi, Beginner Turkish.

PUBLICATIONS

1. Mansoor Ahmed. “Encapsulating the Translatory Attributes in the Formulation and Development of the Selected Modernist Building Constructed in Islamabad, Capital of Pakistan”, Creative Space, 4(2), 179–187. (2018).

2. Mansoor Ahmed. “Domesticating the Modernity: Architecture and Urban Development in the city of Islamabad.”, ICOMOS-GA, New-Delhi, India (2017).

388

3. Mansoor Ahmed. "Towards the development of a National Style: Encapsulating the Hybrid attributes in the (selected) works of Edward Durrell Stone in Pakistan," Urban and Architectural Translations in Modern Asia. Postgraduate Students Conference, The University of Hong Kong. (2016)

4. Mansoor Ahmed (2016) "Urban Myths and development of National Space," Political Imagination and the City, Santiago, Chile. (2016)

5. Mansoor Ahmed. "Lollywood and Lahore: A critical review of the cinema architecture in Lahore," THAAP Conference, Portrait of Lahore: Capital City of Punjab. (2011).

HOBBIES

Photography, Travelling, Sketching & Reading

encapsulating the loci via hybrid modernity: the political

Documents