Planning a new capital


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Planning a new capital

 Planning a new capital: In 1877, Viceroy Lytton organised a Durbar to acknowledge Queen Victoria as the Empress of India. Remember that Calcutta was still the capital of British India, but the grand Durbar was being held in Delhi.

Symbolic Importance of Delhi :  The British had realised that the Mughal emperor was still important to the people and they saw him as their leader.  In 1911. when King George V was crowned in England, a Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the occasion.

Change of the Capital:  The decision to shift the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi was announced at this Durbar. New Delhi was constructed as a 10-square-mile city on Raisina Hill, south of the existing city. Two architects, Edward Lutyens and Herbert baker were called on to design New Delhi and its building.

Fusion of Different Architecture  :  The features of these government buildings were borrowed from different periods of India’s imperial history. But the overall look was kept Classical Greece (fifth century BCE).

  • For example, the central dome of the Viceroy’s Palace was copied from the Buddhist Stupa at Sanchi.
  • The red sandstone and carved screens or jails were borrowed from Mughal architecture. The Viceroy’s Palace was made higher than the Jama Masjid; in order to assert British importance.
  • New Theme of the New City  :  New Delhi took nearly 20 years to build. The idea was to build a city that was a stark contrast to Shahjahanahad. There were to be rio crowded mohallas, no mazes of narrow bylanes.

  • The architects wanted New Delhi to represent a sense of law and order, in contrast to the chaos of Old Delhi. The British saw overcrowded spaces as unhygienic and unhealthy, the source of disease. 
  • This meant that New Delhi had to have better water supply sewage disposal and drainage facilities than the Old City. It had to be green, with trees and parks to ensure fresh air and adequate supply of oxygen.
  • Sample Questions
    (More Questions for each concept available in Login)
    Question : 1

    Who was Herbert baker?

    Right Option : C
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    Explanation
    Question : 2

    _______and_____________were called on to design New Delhi and its building.

    Right Option : B
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    Explanation
    Question : 3

    Two Durbars were held in Delhi in the years :-

    Right Option : D
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    Explanation
     
     


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