Download - Delhi Heritage City

Medieval And Colonial Capital Cities Of DelhiJUSTIFICATION FOR INSCRIPTIONruled a quarter of the globe, Colonial New Delhi was built as the new political capital to symbolise its pomp andglory.Being an important urban centre for the different dynasties gave Delhi a special aura . This aura is mostsignificantly palpable in the last two of the historic cities of Delhi, Shahjahanabad and New Delhi. Both cities werenewly built capital cities, representing unique examples of town planning and architecture of their times. They areliving cities that continue to function as important precincts of the contemporary capital of India, imbuing it withmuch valued historic significance.3.1.bCriteria under which inscription is proposed (and justification for inscription under these criteria)Criterion (ii) exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area ofthe world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town‐planning or landscape design;Shahjahanabad and New Delhi were built as capital cities to rule sub continental empires and this rolefacilitated the development of a cultural synthesis, which flowered into sophisticated and mature forms,representing unique advances in the contemporary ideas and ideologies of architecture of those times and inturn exerted an influence over a wide geographical area.Several factors were inherent in creating the city that we experience today as Delhi. The city’s composite cultureis a result of continuously evolving syncretic traditions on account of several centuries of coming together ofpeople of different regions of the Indian sub‐ continent, Arabia, Persia, Central Asia, Afghanistan etc, of differentreligions, sects, ethnicities, castes and professions, first within the walled city of Shahjahanabad, and later in whatwas the capital of the British empire In India. This coming together occurred through processes of assimilation,absorption, conflict, relativism and dialogue. Delhi became the refuge of a huge multi‐ethnic, multi‐religiouspopulace seeking security and lateral or vertical shifts in their politico‐ socio‐ economic positions.The Mughals had achieved a level of cultural grandeur that was the envy of the contemporary world at that time.In fact till today, the term “Mughal” has come to be a synonym for grandeur in any field and is used as sucharound the world. It is the power derived from such cultural grandeur that has invested Shahjahanabad with alegacy that has outlasted the duration of the empire and a few centuries since.Mughal architecture was the culmination of an evolving tradition of what is often known as Indo‐Islamicarchitecture. This had found its strongest expression in Delhi from the late 13 th century onwards, whenarchitectural forms and techniques brought by the Turk conquerors – arcuate forms, lime mortar and plasterconstruction, decorative use of calligraphy; combined with indigenous traditions of stone carving, and motifs suchas the kalash and the lotus to produce a composite building style. This style continued to develop under theMughals, with additional inputs, particularly from the Persian master builders and artists who formed andimportant part of the imperial entourage. In the time of Shahjahan this architecture reached an acme ofperfection.The buildings commissioned in Shahjahanabad by the imperial family – the emperor, his wives and offspring,prominently displayed this architectural style based on carved and inlaid sandstone and marble ornamentation,cusped arches, and layouts based on courtyards and arcades. This style was also emulated by others who builthomes and places of worship in the city, not only during the seventeenth century but until late in the nineteenthcentury. The style evolved subtly over time,for instance, with European decorative features such as Corinthianand Ionic capitals being incorporated into the carved sandstone facades of nineteenth century buildings. Presentday Shahjahanabad contains a large number of buildings displaying this particular Mughal style, with variantsdown the centuries.The layout and design of the city of Shahjahanabad too exhibits on the one hand a mixed legacy of Central/WestAsian and Indian forms (referred to in the section on the design and evolution of Shahjahanabad). On the other31‐07‐2012 INTACH, Delhi Chapter 3