Colonial India and the New India Under Modi

The Legacy of Colonial Architecture in India

Introduction

Architecture represents more than the physical structure. It has symbolic and sentimental value. This is especially true when it represents three centuries of colonization. The Modi government, in New Delhi, India, is acting towards obliterating the colonial legacy which is represented by its architecture. The Central Vista project in New Delhi aims to re-make the main offices and center of the city, from that which was designed by Lutyens, a British architect, in the 1910-30s during British rule to one that will now be designed by an Indian architect for its Indian government. This transition and re-development have symbolic and sentimental affects for Indians who were colonized for 300 years and who through great struggle gained freedom in 1947 but remained under architectural occupation occupy for the next 75 years, until now. Therefore, the Central Vista project is using architecture to obliterate colonial legacy, thereby politicizing architecture to represent symbolic value.

Architecture as a Tool for Politics

The architecture of the British Empire designed in India by Lutyens is represented by the Modi government as a symbol of colonialism. To promote a spirit of national pride, Modi has launched the Central Vista project, which had planned to spend nearly $2 billion in the restoration project in New Delhi.[footnoteRef:2] Now the new plans have approached nearly $3 billion.[footnoteRef:3] The original Central Vista was the home of the British Raj and subsequently the seat of the new Republic after India gained independence. The Central Vista became a heritage precinct in the 1960s—but following generations of political leaders began to feel that the old British legacy infringed upon the national pride of India and had to be overturned: thus, new names were given to places—thus Bombay became Mumbai; Madras became Chennai—and an India freed from its colonial past was one step closer. However, the architecture of the British past remained, and so long as it remained it served as a reminder of India’s colonial legacy. In order to fully liberate itself from this past, Modi decided to begin the Central Vista project, partly to accommodate a need for upgrades but also to produce new Indian architecture that could symbolize India’s independence. [2: “Government Allocated Nearly Twice of Cental Vista Cost on Vaccination,” The Hindu, 2021. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/government-allocated-nearly-twice-of-central-vista-cost-on-vaccination-puri/article34506929.ece] [3: Suchitra, “Central Vista: India’s Modi Blasted for $2.8bn Project Amid COVID,” Aljazeera, 2021. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/17/central-vista-indias-modi-slammed-for-vanity-project-amid-covid]

As a tool for politics, architecture has great power. Even in ancient times, architecture was used to promote political propaganda: Trajan’s Arc was created to promote a military triumph. Constantine followed with his own, and in France one can find the same. America has its Statue of Liberty, promoting a political ideology of liberalism. The Third Reich created monuments meant to symbolize a national spirit, and under Stalin the same thing occurred. In India, Modi wants to use architecture as a way of asserting a political ideology of autonomy.

Architecture represents in the built environment the message of the rulers of the realm. It can be used by leaders who want to take a political stance. For instance, as Cutieru notes, “all architecture has a political dimension, in the sense that it expresses a set of values.”[footnoteRef:4] Political leaders know this, which is why they turn to architecture to enhance their own political platforms. Hitler did it. Mussolini did it. Stalin did it. Napoleon did it. The Americans did it with the White House, and the Parisians did it with the Eiffel Tower. Architecture brings the political message to life and presents it before the eyes of the public in a real way so that it is literally tangible and evident. Cutieru explains that “the architectural object performs politically, through the situations and activities it encourages and the ones it prohibits.”[footnoteRef:5] Yet it also does more than that: it can be a way to symbolize the ideals that the political leaders of the time want celebrated and honored. Additionally, it can be provocative and civic, for it “has the great potential of taking on complex matters and starting a debate; it proposes scenarios, expressing solutions to pressing issues.”[footnoteRef:6] Thus, political leaders throughout history have found it expedient to use architecture as a way of showing that they have taken a stance on an issue. This is what is happening in India now with respect to the restoration of the Central Vista. [4: Andreea Cutieru, “The Political Dimension of Architecture,” ArchDaily, 2020. https://www.archdaily.com/945659/the-political-dimension-of-architecture-activism-through-design#:~:text=The%20architectural%20object%20performs%20politically,expressing%20solutions%20to%20pressing%20issues.] [5: Andreea Cutieru, “The Political Dimension of Architecture,” ArchDaily, 2020. https://www.archdaily.com/945659/the-political-dimension-of-architecture-activism-through-design#:~:text=The%20architectural%20object%20performs%20politically,expressing%20solutions%20to%20pressing%20issues.] [6: Andreea Cutieru, “The Political Dimension of Architecture,” ArchDaily, 2020. https://www.archdaily.com/945659/the-political-dimension-of-architecture-activism-through-design#:~:text=The%20architectural%20object%20performs%20politically,expressing%20solutions%20to%20pressing%20issues.]

Symbolism and Sentiment

Architecture buildings hold symbolic and sentimental value. Architecture represents more than just functionality. It represents something about the culture, something about the past, the present, and the future. Indeed, the future is one of the things Modi is thinking about with the Central Vista project. He wants updated infrastructure, new buildings, new designs to prepare India for the next coming decades. Relying on the old past buildings leaves India in a shackled state—an India that is still chained to the past. He wants his India to be free from this connection, but so as not to offend anyone who still appreciates the wonders of the British architecture, he says that he wants to update the Central Vista while remaining faithful to the past: the way the new architect of the Central Vista Patel puts it is this: Modi “wants the architecture to be modern while celebrating India’s rich traditions.”[footnoteRef:7] It is important for Modi to emphasize “India’s rich traditions” in connection with the new architecture because tradition and richness are terms that have sentimental value. By associating them with the new, unfamiliar architecture that he is creating, he hopes to transfer some of the symbolic value retained by the colonial architecture and infuse it into his new architecture. The difficulty is that the old acquires symbolic and sentimental value over time; it cannot be transferred easily onto new architectural works. Those works have to acquire their own symbolic and sentimental value. [7: Niharika Sharma, “The Chief Architect of Central Vista Thinks Modi’s Project Will Define New India,” Quartz India, 2021. https://qz.com/india/2032660/chief-architect-explains-why-modis-central-vista-is-important/]

The Modi government is attempting to inscribe symbolism and sentiment into the new architecture by relying on past designs, motifs and traditions. The new parliament building will be triangular whereas the old one is round—but Patel argues that both are pure forms and therefore both are consistent with India’s traditions. The symbolic character of the new architecture is thus inscribed by referring to the past—but what is created is certainly new and different.

Buildings have symbolism and sentimental value because people attach these things to them. They cannot be arbitrarily attached. Architecture represents more, however. It represents the ideas and ideals of a culture—it is the expression of a vision in concrete terms. When architecture is politicized, it takes on the values of the political platform promoting it. Modi’s new Central Vista, therefore, will be a reflection of his vision for India. It will be a projection of what he believes the future will be and what it will need. It will be up to later generations, however, to determine the extent to which the new architecture retains any symbolic or sentimental value.

Indeed, Betigeri states that “politicians, historians and intellectuals have lined up in opposition to New Delhi’s reimagined grand boulevard.”[footnoteRef:8] So already there is pushback to the planned symbolic attributions that Modi’s government wants the Central Vista to have. For Modi, the original Central Vista represents colonial Britain and its power over India. Yet for ordinary Indians, the original Central Vista is something they are proud of and in awe of.[footnoteRef:9] It is a site for tourists and many Indians make their livelihoods by catering to tourists. People come to see this relic of the past because it is of a time that exists no more. They like that it still stands; it is like being able to look back in time for a brief moment and to appreciate the art that was created by Lutyens. But Modi wants a Vista that reflects his greatness and foresight. He wants something new that represents a new India. [8: Aarti Betigeri, “Central Vista Project: Raining on Modi’s Parade,” The Interpreter, 2021. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/central-vista-project-raining-modi-s-parade] [9: Aarti Betigeri, “Central Vista Project: Raining on Modi’s Parade,” The Interpreter, 2021. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/central-vista-project-raining-modi-s-parade]

While many see the new project as a vanity project for Modi, the reality is that the new architecture is meant to symbolize the new India that Modi believes he is bringing into existence. Thus, his critics have raised “concerns that replacing the 1930s pre-Independence cultural and architectural landmark with something new is another plank in the Modi government’s ambitious agenda to reframe modern India. What better way to do this than with new buildings and a new urban space that can be showcased on websites and Instagram for years to come?”[footnoteRef:10] Modi realizes the power of suggestion that architecture has. There is no better to secure his own legacy than to create a new building that will stand long after he is gone: it will be a way for him to be remembered and for India to forget its old past and embrace its new destiny that Modi has planned. Modi is creating a new symbolism through new architecture and in doing so he intends to obliterate what is left of the British legacy from the built environment. The transfer of historical documents from museums, necessary for new construction to take place, is part of the plan—and concerns have been raised: “will history be rewritten, presented and represented to fit the agendas of the extreme Hindu nationalism of the present power base?”[footnoteRef:11] [10: Aarti Betigeri, “Central Vista Project: Raining on Modi’s Parade,” The Interpreter, 2021. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/central-vista-project-raining-modi-s-parade] [11: William Curtis, “New Delhi Central Vista: Regressive Urban Planning and Outmoded Architecture,” Architectural Record, 2021. https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15192-new-delhi-central-vista-regressive-urban-planning-and-outmoded-architecture]

Central Vista and the Obliteration of the British Legacy from the Built Environment

The British legacy in India is tied to the built environment. It lives on in the architecture from the colonial era. It is there to be seen in Mumbai. It was there to be found in New Delhi. But in New Delhi, the built environment is undergoing a transformation which is in turn transforming India’s character: “To potentially relinquish part of what makes Delhi’s cityscape unique will be a loss that will change not just the face of the city, but will erase part of its living history.”[footnoteRef:12] Modi views it as a matter of national importance.[footnoteRef:13] It is a matter of national importance because for him it is essential that India throw off the remains of its colonial vestiges—and that means bringing down the old buildings that serve as remembrances of India’s British past. [12: Aarti Betigeri, “Central Vista Project: Raining on Modi’s Parade,” The Interpreter, 2021. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/central-vista-project-raining-modi-s-parade] [13: Krishnada Rajagopal, “Central Vista Project of National Importance,” The Hindu, 2021. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/central-vista-project-of-national-importance-centre/article37798755.ece]

One issue with the new Central Vista project is that Indians are protesting that money is being spent on it while it could be spent on more practical things: as some at a protest meeting noted, India “needs hospitals and not a new mansion for the prime minister.”[footnoteRef:14] Blimal Patel is the chief architect of the Central Vista project, and he notes that “Central Vista will play an important role in defining new India.”[footnoteRef:15] This role is largely symbolic when it comes to the architecture of the Central Vista—but the sentiment behind the project is revealed by Patel when he states that the goal of the project is to move India out from under the shadow of its colonial legacy: [14: Niharika Sharma, “The Chief Architect of Central Vista Thinks Modi’s Project Will Define New India,” Quartz India, 2021. https://qz.com/india/2032660/chief-architect-explains-why-modis-central-vista-is-important/] [15: Niharika Sharma, “The Chief Architect of Central Vista Thinks Modi’s Project Will Define New India,” Quartz India, 2021. https://qz.com/india/2032660/chief-architect-explains-why-modis-central-vista-is-important/]

We would like the ongoing transformation of the Central Vista in New Delhi to symbolise that India, as it enters the 75th year of its independence, is confidently resolved to tackle the difficult problems that have plagued it for decades. That it is resolutely focused on meeting the needs and aspirations of its citizens by modernising itself. That it respects tradition but is not held hostage to it. That it is concerned about the environment but not paralysed by it. That it can be modern, without making a show of its modernity.[footnoteRef:16] [16: Niharika Sharma, “The Chief Architect of Central Vista Thinks Modi’s Project Will Define New India,” Quartz India, 2021. https://qz.com/india/2032660/chief-architect-explains-why-modis-central-vista-is-important/]

Patel aims to accomplish these goals via six steps in the Central Vista project. The first step is to modernize the buildings of the parliament. Next is a consolidation plan that will bring offices together into one building for improved efficiency and productivity. Then public spaces are to be refurbished and expanded with updated infrastructure; for instance, the National Museum will be relocated and reconceptualized in order to highlight India’s glories in the modern era. Another step focuses on reducing congestion and traffic in the Central Vista. New residences will be developed for the vice president and prime minister. And finally the vista’s architectural character is meant to be restored and the axis extended.[footnoteRef:17] [17: Niharika Sharma, “The Chief Architect of Central Vista Thinks Modi’s Project Will Define New India,” Quartz India, 2021. https://qz.com/india/2032660/chief-architect-explains-why-modis-central-vista-is-important/]

Patel states that far from attempting to obliterate India’s heritage the project aims to enhance it: “We are very mindful of the heritage character of Central Vista and the very important role that it plays in defining India. If anything, this project is aimed at addressing the many decades of neglect of the vista’s buildings and urban elements and restoring them.”[footnoteRef:18] The problem with this statement is that it does not explain the need to give the Central Vista a modern character in accordance with Modi’s wishes. Modi wants a Central Vista that will reflect his legacy, his politics, his political stance. He is using architecture to leave his stamp on India, just as the British did a century before him. He wants to replace the past with the present, just as Constantine did with respect to Trajan’s Arc. Yet in the process, he is uprooting all that India has done with the Central Vista since the British left. As Pradip Krishen points out, many new trees have been planted, and the Vista has changed substantially from the original design, even before Modi initiated his new project.[footnoteRef:19] [18: Niharika Sharma, “The Chief Architect of Central Vista Thinks Modi’s Project Will Define New India,” Quartz India, 2021. https://qz.com/india/2032660/chief-architect-explains-why-modis-central-vista-is-important/] [19: Shiny Varghese, “It’s a Lesson in How Not to Be Sensitive to Public Opinion.” The Indian Express, 2021. https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/its-a-lesson-in-how-not-to-be-sensitive-to-public-opinion-pradip-krishen-rajpath-central-vista-7355876/]

The Lutyens Trust

The opinion of the Lutyens Trust on the project is that the Modi plan will radically alter the Central Vista to such an extent that it loses all its appeal and architectural charm.[footnoteRef:20] However, some who opposed the project have actually come aboard the project as advisors to help guide it beneficially. Pradip Krishen is one. His goal was “how to find a sensible way of marrying heritage and pragmatism.”[footnoteRef:21] He wanted to bring a sense of what the original aim of Lutyens was and use that to help guide Modi’s project. Yet in the end, Modi has gone with what he himself has hoped to do with the Central Vista. He has sought to distance India from its colonial heritage and to become its own state in which it owns a new past. [20: Lutyens Trust, Facebook Post, https://ne-np.facebook.com/lutyenstrust/posts/3052722024972012] [21: Shiny Varghese, “It’s a Lesson in How Not to Be Sensitive to Public Opinion.” The Indian Express, 2021. https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/its-a-lesson-in-how-not-to-be-sensitive-to-public-opinion-pradip-krishen-rajpath-central-vista-7355876/]

But does the Lutyens Trust’s opinion even matter? It may object to the transformation and the politicization of architecture—but others have pointed out that the British Central Vista was politicization as well. Bhatt notes that Lutyens himself did not like India or Indians so there is no point honoring his architecture and those who criticize Modi do so out of dislike for his politics; but, as Bhatt notes, it does not mean Lutyens Central Vista should continue to be memorialized: “The government was accused of tinkering with his heritage. Only a supremely self-loathing individual will worship someone who referred to ‘Indians as black, blackamoors, natives, or even niggers’. He did not stop at that and termed ‘Indians dark and ill-smelling, with very strange and frightening food’. Lutyens’ extraordinary intolerance and dislike of everything Indian is well documented in his letters. While working in Delhi, Lutyens concluded that ‘Indians and whites cannot mix freely’ as Indians are very different and cannot be on the same plane.”[footnoteRef:22] These are the words of the man for whom the original Central Vista is remembered. Bhatt takes exception to these words and sees them as anti-Indian, and because they are anti-Indian he is fine with the Central Vista being demolished to create something out of Modi’s vision. [22: Alok Bhatt, “Criticism of the Central Vista Project,” Firstpost, 2021. https://www.firstpost.com/india/opinion-criticism-of-the-central-vista-project-is-a-derivative-of-perennial-narendra-modi-hate-9975431.html]