The document provides information about the city of Delhi, India. It discusses that Delhi was destroyed and rebuilt seven times, and ruled by successive empires over many centuries. It also notes that New Delhi is India's second most populous city. The document then focuses on the history of Delhi, describing that the British gained control in the early 1800s and established New Delhi as the capital in 1911, demolishing much of the existing city of Shahjahanabad. It highlights the stark differences between the architecture, planning and living conditions of Old Delhi versus New Delhi.

1. http://www.free-powerpoint-templates-design.com
Colonialism and
the City
The Story of an Imperial Capital
Prepared by – Parna Banerjee

2. Some Facts About Delhi
The city of Delhi was
destroyed and rebuilt seven
times, and ruled by successive
empires and dynasties.
The city is believed to be the site
of Indraprastha, the legendary
capital of the Pandavas in the
Indian epic Mahabharata.
New Delhi is India's second most
populous city after Mumbai, the
fourth-largest city in the world,
and it's also one of the most
polluted cities in the world.
01
02
04
03
 Delhi won the United States
Department of Energy’s first ‘Clean
Cities International Partner of the
Year’ award in 2003, for ‘‘bold
efforts to curb air pollution and
support alternative fuel initiatives’’.
Hindi, English, Punjabi,
and Urdu are the most
common languages in
Delhi today.
 Delhi is derived from the word
“Dhillika” which had around 18
different sites of various kings and
emperors.
 The Delhi bridge makes Delhi the
world’s second most bird-rich
capital city, after Nairobi in Kenya.

3. • In most part of the Western world,
modern cities emerged with
industrialization.
• In the late 18th century, Calcutta,
Bombay, and Madras rose in importance
as Presidency cities (centers of
administration) .
• De-urbanisation took place in many cities
in 19th century and those cities were
Machlipatnam, Surat and Seringapatam.
• De-urbanisation occurred due to
reduction of demand of goods, reduced
trade and establishment of new centers of
administration. ·

4. How Many
'Delhis'
Before
New
Delhi?
 The area now known as Delhi has been a capital for
more than a 1000 years. As many as 14 capital cities
were founded in a small area of about 60 square miles
on the left bank of the river Jamuna, and of them, the
major ones are the capitals built between the 12th and
17th centuries.
 The most splendid capital of them all was built by Shah
Jahan. He started building Shahjahanabad in 1639,
and it consisted of a fort-palace complex, now known
as the Red Fort, and a city adjoining it.
 Delhi during Shah Jahan’s time was also a centre of
Sufi culture, and it had several dargahs, khanqahs,
and idgahs.
 But even that was no ideal city, as there were sharp
divisions between the rich and the poor.

5. Timelines
1947
Happenings
Start of the city
of
Shahjahanabad
Happenings
1792
Delhi
College
established
Happenings
1877
Viceroy Lytton
organised a durbar to
acknowledge Queen
Victoria as the
Empress of India
Happenings
1857
The Great
Revolt
Happenings
1639
The
Partition of
India.

6. The Making of New Delhi
 In 1803, the British defeated the Marathas
and gained control of Delhi. But the capital of
British India was Calcutta, so the Mughal
emperor was allowed to continue living in the
palace complex in the Red Fort.
 The modern city of Delhi developed only after
1911, when Delhi became the capital of
British India.
Demolishing a Past
 In the first half of the 19th century, unlike in other cities such as Calcutta and Madras, the
British lived along with wealthier Indians in the Walled City (Shahjahanbad). They learned
to enjoy Urdu and Persian culture and poetry, and also participated in local festivals.
 The establishment of the Delhi College in 1792 led to a great intellectual flowering in the
sciences as well as the humanities, largely in the Urdu language, and the period between
1830 and 1857 is often called a period of Delhi/Urdu Renaissance.
 But during the four months starting with the Great Sepoys' Mutiny of 1857, Delhi was
controlled by rebels who killed many British and declared Shah Jahan as the emperor of
India.
 So when the British regained control of the city, they either demolished mosques or put
them to other uses; Zinat-al-Masjid, for example, was converted into a bakery. No worship
was allowed in the Jama Masjid for five years, one-third of the city was demolished, and
its canals were filled up.
 In the 1870s, the western walls of Shahjahanabad were broken to establish the railway
and to allow the city to expand beyond the walls.
 The British then began living in the sprawling Civil Lines area that came up in the north,
away from the Indians in the Walled City.
 The Delhi College was turned into a school, and finally shut down in 1877.

7. Planning a
New Capital
In 1803, the British gained
control of Delhi after defeating
the Marathas and the modern
Delhi developed after 1911
when it became the capital of
British India.
British tried to rule through Delhi as it had been the seat to administration since
Medieval time period and people always saw it as the place of central authority.

8. Planning a New Capital:
After the revolt of
1857, many
spectacular events
were held there. In
1877, Viceroy Lytton
organized a Durbar
to acknowledge
Queen Victoria as
the Empress of
India.
In 1911, when King
George V was
crowned in
England, a Durbar
was held in Delhi to
celebrate the
occasion and the
decision was taken
to shift the capital
of India from
Calcutta to Delhi.
Edward Lutyens
and Herbert
Baker-architects
were called on to
designing New
Delhi and its
buildings.
British wanted to
give importance to
Delhi as a center of
power because it
has always been as
a center of
administration under
various rulers and
people still
considered it as seat
of rulers.
• When the new capital was designed emphasis was given to Roman-Greek architecture and old Delhi was left
to expend without any plan
• A stark contrast was visible in between the old Delhi and new Delhi in terms of development and
administration.

9. Life in the Time of
P a r t i t i o n
In 1947, India got independence from the British,
but at the same time it was partitioned into India
and Pakistan. This led to such a huge migration of
refugees from Punjab that it changed the social
background of Delhi, and the previous urban culture
(largely based on Urdu) was overshadowed by new
tastes and sensibilities, in food, in dress, and in the
arts.
Partition of India was the
story written with blood on
the dead pages of the
History…..

10. One day I asked my soul, what
is Delhi and it replied- if world is the
body then Delhi is its soul.
Mirza Ghalib
Inside The Old City
The Old City's excellent system of water supply and drainage was neglected and left
out of maintenance by the British in the 19th century.
The system of wells or baolis also broke down and channels to remove household
waste were damaged.
• The broken-down canals could not serve the needs of the
Shahjahanbad's ever-growing population.
• At the end of 19th century, a new system of open surface grains
was introduced, but that system too was soon overburdened.
• The Delhi Municipal Committee was not willing to spend money
on a good drainage system in the Old City, whereas millions of
rupees were being spent on a new drainage system in the not-
so-populated New Delhi area.

11. 1. The Mughal aristocracy in the 17th and 18th centuries
lived in grand mansions called havelis.
2. Havelis had large walled compounds with mansions,
courtyards and fountains and many families housed in
it.
3. Many of the Mughal amirs were unable to maintain
these havelies under the conditions of British. As a
result havelis began to be subdivided and sold. the
street fronts also get converted in shops.
4. Havelis were soon occupied by emigrants and were
subdivided. Soon, they lost their significant architecture
and got converted into small and cojusted houses.
Facts about Havelis :

12. The Decline of Havelis
The glory of Delhi's havelis (grand mansions in which the Mughal
aristocracy lived in the 17th and 18th centuries) also gradually
declined.
In fact, the Mughal amirs were unable to maintain these large
establishment under conditions imposed on them by the British
rule, and they gradually started sub-dividing and selling them off.
The colonial bungalow (made for British officers) was quite
different from the haveli; it was a large single-storeyed structure
with a pitched roof, and it was usually set in one or two acres of
open ground.

13. The Municipality Begins To Plan
Streets were made to
strictly follow the grid
system and were of
identical width, size
and character. Land
was also divided into
regular areas for the
construction of
neighborhoods. But
even that scheme
could not de-congest
the Old City.
In 1888, an
extension scheme
called the Lahore
Gate
Improvement
Scheme was
planned by
Robert Clarke for
the Walled City's
residents.
The Delhi Improvement
Trust was set up 1936,
and it built areas like
Daryaganj South for
wealthy Indians. There
the houses were grouped
around parks, and within
even those houses space
was divided according to
European ideas of
privacy.
The census of
1931 revealed
that the Walled
City area was
horribly over-
crowded, with as
many as 90
persons per acre,
while New Delhi
had only about 3
persons per acre.

14. Difference between the old and
new Delhi architecture:
Architecture
Delhi
No pattern of markets was present in
old Delhi, instead in New Delhi a well-
developed pattern could be seen.
Buildings were old with haveli
style and in New Delhi Rome
and Greek style was followed.
Old city was very congested
and no pattern of housing was
seen, but New Delhi was
constructed with wide roads
and large mansions.
Dirty roads and bad sewage
conditions were hallmarks of
old city but New Delhi saw a
better planning of sewage and
cleanliness.
There was no existence of parks, trees, and gardens
but in New Delhi source of fresh air and a peaceful
life were given consideration.

15. .
Raisina Hill was
chosen to
established the
New Delhi as a
symbol of
supremacy.
.
Before Independence it was
formerly known as the Viceroy’s
House and is the largest
residence in India

16. Kabhi Kitabon se Nikal ke is dil mein bas
kar dekho … yeha Pattharon mein bhi
kahani milega … aur mahalon mein
Jawani hai…
Kabhi Delhi mein aa kar to dekho …Yeh
Sheher Nehi Mehfil hai …. !!

17. Elsewhere
Sir Herbert Baker was an English architect remembered a
s the dominant force in South African architecture for two
decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's m
ost notable government structures.

18. THANK YOU
Any Queries ? Please contact – 2parnabanerjee@gmail.com