Day 1 of our 6 day stay in the town of Chiktan, located in Kargil, began with a mud brick workshop organized by local masons in Chiktan, Kacho (which means 'the king' as he is the descendant of the local royal family), INTACH (the country's largest historic preservation organization) and the Ford Foundation. Each student produced several bricks and left them to dry for 2-3 days in the arid desert sun--not without first signing their masterpieces of course.

Arrival in Leh

After a harrowing 4 day drive over mountain passes exceeding 17,800 feet, narrow winding muddy roads that fall precipitously down into oblivion, one sublime 10 hour traffic jam, 4 hospitalizations due to acute altitude sickness, at least 12 more unhospitalized instances of altitude sickness, 2 cases of 'Geography tongue' and some of the most extraordinary landscape imaginable, we finally reached the town of Leh.

Architecture or Revolution : A Critique on Le Corbusier's Chandigarh Design

by Fame Ornruja Boonyasit


Architecture or Revolution?

By the time of Chandigarh inauguration, the city was indeed praised as a forthcoming metropolis. The edifices made here, the Capitol Complex buildings have become the main focus in and off the architectural realm. Le Corbusier did not made himself an artist when he opened the show at Musée d’Art Decoratif back in his early years of immense friendship with Ozenfant. He declared himself as a genuine artist once Prime Minister Nehru set the inauguration bronze plaque. (fig.1)

Today, the Capitol Complex stands a Corbusian masterpiece. The three government buildings, The Palace of Justice, The Secretariat, and the Assembly, all share Brutalism in material. Although the forms and plans differ, there always exists the five points. The embedded idea of a universal Radiant City must have guided the signature style of all Le Corbusier buildings, in spite of contextual issues. Voided landscape between the Palace of Justice and the Assembly remains in awe, despite of the disposition of the Tower of the Shadows.(fig.2) The Trench of Consideration where The Open Hand stands an estranged ground.(fig.3) Clearly, the attempt to create ‘moving air under shaded condition’ has not been successful in all government buildings.(fig.4) The crowned top of the buildings are nothing but ornamental, yet the expressions of Le Corbusier’s plastic impression.(fig.5)

The sectors neglect to serve the initial intention of a complete district, resulting in vague, unused terrain that does not respond to the idea of privacy as Le Corbusier had dreamt of. If, by his attention, privacy means adequate space for a person, then the vast plateau is hence an invert which is over-exposed and non-private. The segregate land use has failed in synergetic Indian context. The only gratitude we should be granting is the traffic flow. Law and order came into the picture when Nehru envisioned the city that is an emblem of independent India. Contradictory here, is whether or not the idea of democratic independence should involve regulating the city’s inhabitants. In the identity economy, the roads seem to lose uniqueness, and feel like a labyrinth.(fig.6) Although Modernism was properly used as a tool to synthesize a Tabular Rasa city state.

Should one seek for an architecture, an architect, or a revolution? Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh design accomplished the architectural brief, but failed to manifest its own being through time. Nevertheless, the open hand is still revolving. When a revolution became its own art piece, one could only hope for a re-designated program, with which Indian customs are harmonized, hence the re-inauguration of a public precinct, a Musée Corbusier?

The History Of Islam In Northern India

by Napas Kitirattragan (O.J.)

Islamic influence had introduce new element to hindu architecture including innovation in terms of construction elements, ornamentation, and form.

Muslim influence started to penetrate India since the end of 12th century, when muslim slave king dynasty rule over Delhi. One of the first muslim complex, Qutb complex, exhibits a political statement of new power of muslim over hindu as built from ruin of 27 hindu temple. The construction technique had change from trabeate-post and beam to arch,vault and dome. However, the first arch ever built,the arch screen at the complex, was a false arch (fig.1) showing the lack of confident to accept practice of new religion in early times. Construction technique in India was different from Muslim architecture in other country,using indigenous material of mortar and masonry instead of brick and rubble. this preservation of indigenous material helps blend islamic architecture to the indian context-not giving an impression of abrupt change or alienation as Le Corbusier’s concrete Chandigarh. Another notable innovative element is double dome construction first practiced at Humayun’s tomb(fig.2), to create grandeur effect from outside and a dark enclosed space for muslim tomb on the inside.

However,what makes islam architecture Most remarkable in india than other country was ornamentation and repetition. The hybridizing of Hindu step pyramid temple excessive inscriptive carvings and muslim calligraphy, and stepping repetition of form i.e. Qutb minar victory monument(fig.3) made indo-islamic architecture more decorative and elaborate.

Architectural form is influenced by contradiction in Religious belief. Hindu believe in force of nature while Muslim believe in one god ,Allah, which affect on prohibition on hindu use of icon, form is restricted to geometric and calligraphy. For instance, Taj mahal with islamic style courtyard is asymmetrical. The muslim water feature is straightening meandering stream into geometrical course representing Allah’s power over nature. The two minarets were tilted outward(fig.4), playing with perspective, to give an impression of square frame when walk toward the palace/tomb. The repetition of octagon shape on plan link to the 8 step to paradise in muslim believe.(fig.5)
The positioning of Taj mahal at river meander was influenced from Iran-which made use of water for garden,however, it didn’t work at Agra due to geographical difference, therefore there is a question wether those islamic elements presented shows understanding of new religious, or just a mimic of originals.

However, the attempt to merge the two religious had not been recorded until akbar period where he uses architecture as a language for his attempt by synchronizing hindu organic form and muslim geometries i.e. hybridized flower with geometric pattern (fig.6), using pattern to form abstract elephant shape(fig.7). Similar approach continues in contemporary times at Jantra Mantra, where it tries to reconcile both hindu solar and muslim lunar orientated belief at the same time(fig 8),- reflecting on the forced harmony between contradicting religious, living together but in parallel to each other.

Islamic architecture had always been dictated by the monarch, from slave dynasty to Mughal, building were for a sole purpose/use of ruler i.e. tomb and fort, even the decision of material change from red sandstone to white marble is upon one’s,-Shajahan- preference. Therefore, there was a question of whether these architecture had left any impact on livings of population of the two religions, or were they just serving as monuments.



FIG.1 false Arch : darker weight line shows the muslim trabeate construction in the Islamic aruate construction



FIG.2 Humayun's Tomb one first double dome construction



FIG.3 Qutb Minar : Repetition of Islamic star pattern along the vertcal course and calligraphy decoration densely inscripted, tallest islamic victory of monument



Fig.4 Taj Mahal : Perspective Illusion for rectangular frame around the tomb to enforce Muslim's idea of geometry



FIG.5: Taj Mahal: form consist of repetition of Octagon relating Muslim idea of Geometry link to 8 step to heaven



FIG.6 Akbar Fort: rendition of Hybridization of Islamic geometry and Hindu organic floral pattern



FIG.7 Akbar Fort: darker line shows outline of Hindu-iconic elephant shape created from several repeated Islamic pattern.



FIG. 8 Jantra Mantra: different belief( Muslim to the moon Hindu to the sun) represented in in same space one next to the other reflecting the today's condition of Muslim and Hindu, the presence of two contradicting religious that live together but in parallel.

Napas Kitirattragan (O.J.)
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Akbar the Great: 'a Badass or a Great Guy?' and 'Akbar vs Le Corbusier'

by Nitayaporn S. (Prae)

To begin with, a man named 'Akbar' was surely different from others; a unique color. Akbar's empire is one of the most extensive empires in the medieval world as he was a fast learner and able to take care himself really well. Nevertheless, there are many kinds of rulers; some are good, some are bad. Thus people should make a judgment by their own, although Indians believe that Akbar is their prophet, base on the contemporary records whether he is worth for respect or not, and what knowledge we have gained from the story.

As an architecture student, I found it attractive and doubtful that Akbar seems to fascinate in numerous topics particularly art and architecture. The well-known architecture in Akbar's reign is 'Red Fort' (figure 1)and 'The Fateh Fur Sikri'. From our trip to Red Fort of Agra , we can see that it had been created with the massive red sandstone and decorated with beautiful lattice, carving, and pierced-stone screens (figure 2). Unlike the Modern architecture in Chandigarh by Le Corbusier, which we visited a few days after, buildings have less decorations as their characteristics are simplicity and clarity. Punjab and Haryana High Court (figure 3), the palace of justice, which also designed by Le Corbusier was inspired by Red Fort of Agra. However, Le Corbusier's buildings seem to fail in India, even though he used his 5 points, as his 5 points do not really suit to India's climate. It turns out that buildings can't use full ventilation as they then installed windows, air-conditioners, and etc. While architecture in Akbar's age is more ventilated even nowadays. Anyway, Le Corbusier studied, explored, and designed buildings by himself. On the other hand, Akbar claimed to construct lots of splendid forts, palaces, and monuments as these charming caught Akbar's eyes, which they were initially designed and constructed by Rajput, but not Akbar. Rajput, the major ruling warrior groups of the Hindu Kshatriya Vama, has distinctive style of architecture which are enclosing red sandstone gateways, an enormous defensive wall around the area, and an outstanding palace complex. With plenty of evidences, it can guarantee that Akbar did not built his significant buildings, but his obsession on a monumental scale made him filled the landscape with walled cities in order to overpower the native rajas and promoted the glory of his reign.

figure 1: Red Fort of Agra

figure 2: the amazing decoration on Red Fort

figure 3: Le Corbusier 'Punjab & Haryana High Court' vs Akbar 'Red Fort of Agra'

With his brave and command personality, he became a powerful man. It made everything simple for him as he never afraid to use that power. Akbar was such a talented warrior and smart in his language as he used it to control people's mind so people believed that he was a prophet. Besides, Akbar invented the harem that treated women like servants and prostitutes, and killed less trusted people by suspicious manners. Moreover, his cleverness of economics made his empire wealthy and it made lots of thins turn out pleasingly too. Ultimately, I will let readers to decide whether he is a super badass or a really great guy.

A part of the high ceiling design in one of the rooms

A courtyard of Red Fort

The Mughal Empire - Itthi Poldeenana

After I visited Delhi, and experienced the city I felt there are enormous gap between the rich and the poor. And after few minutes of walking, I easily witnessed the different urban fabrics right next to each other contrasting the different level of income. That stuck in my mind. The impression grew when a question was given to me by the two Ajarn, Taylor and Camille. It was the question related to the role of foreign architect and the change in politic.

From one point of view, there are ideas of foreign people, who has or has no experience in environmental and cultural understanding in certain context. From another point of view, there is no idea of foreign when dealing with land conquering. It is just a matter of time, when flux of certain people of empire take over the land, to be called native. The change of power from hand to hand would directly effected on how people live, through architecture, planning, and economic structure. From the reading, Mughal Emperor distributed the lands to amir, who would collect the tax from people who live within. The land was developed into haveli, which almost like a complete district, including every career within such as farmer, artist, doctor, etc. There would be three ranges of people the emperor, amir, and commoner.

After the British Raj, the city and its people changed. Emperor and amir system was demolished, leaving the capitalism behind. The change of the foreign power contributed to the denser population in Delhi, as a result of people flux and subdivision of haveli. Today from what I saw, people’s life condition is very disheartened. Kids beg for money, while other use the public park as their toilet. A lot of people eat unclean food, while some even find their meal out of garbage. Parts of Delhi is so packed and dirty when the clean and organize one is right next to it.

This raised me the question of whether the Mughal ruling or the capitalism structure would benefit for most of the Indian. Along with this question, does it matter for foreign architect to plan the most modern urban fabric or architecture. Where in the end most of the decision, for the people, is done by the ruling class. My thought is out of Modern or Mughal art and architecture style. Here foreign architect would be less concerned than the foreign power. And yet the different influential power is obtain by owning the land at different time.

From my point of view, people are just victim of these kind of power. I believed living under Mughal Empire would be much better than capitalism incase of Delhi.

Le Corbusier’s design for Chandigarh

By: Nithidon Kangsanan (Don)

A one-day trip in Chandigarh given me experiences and chance to learn and see the work of Le Corbusier, the greatest architects in a modern era who responded in planning the new city - Chandigarh.

Chandigarh is the city in India which built to replace Lahore – Punjab’s capital after the lost to Pakistan in the partition of British India in 1947. Chandigarh has been use to show the idea of India became independent and its move to modernity. This idea successfully shows through the use of material such concrete in illustrating India independent as the material itself already symbolize modernism. Thus, building also represents the adaptation of European Modernism in both styles and techniques.

During the day in Chandigarh, another important issue which clearly observed and shows the different between Chandigarh and other cities that we have been to is the traffic and how the road is being use and organized. The traffic in Chandigarh seems to flow better comparing to other cities. I think this can prove the success of 7Vs concept of road that Le Corbusier had planned. The roads which classify according to its functions to ensure efficient traffic circulation as well as giving the segregation from traffic’s pollution to residential areas.

However, I feel that Le Corbusier’s work in India seem to be his experimentation in working in hot climate. Also, India became a place where his attempt in maximizing the use of wind and sun in the building without mechanical devices occurred. The use of building elements such as brise- soleil (fig.1) has been use a lot onto his buildings as a shading device to control the amount of light to get into the building and this become one of Le Corbusier’s signature of façade design.

Though, in term of use – I think, it is not successful. Architecture; does not follow Le Corbusier’s planned. Thesedays, glass has been added-on to his buildings and fully air-con (fig.2-3). Due to climatic condition of strong sun, by allowing wind for natural ventilation it also brings heat into the building. This is where Le Corbusier’s intension in designing building without mechanical devices fails to perform its building function and interior air quality.

fig.1 - brise- soleil as a shading device

fig.2 - elevation and section drawings of the building where it shows glass windows have been added to the building together with air-con units.

fig.3 - The facade of the Secretariat - the building is now fully air-con

Mahatma Gandhi

by Pun

I would like to discuss further on the topic of Gandhi since I’ve just been visiting Gandhi Smriti or formerly known as Birla House or Birla Bhavan. This museum allow me to gain more perso

nal view of Gandhi life, instead of searching through the internet.

To begin with, Gandhi Smriti (or Gandhi Rememberance) is a museum dedicated to Mahata Gandhi situated on Tees January Road. In New Delhi. My experience with Amorn to this museum was abit crazy because I was lost for 30 minutes to an hour because there was Gandhi library and also Gandhi the president museum. Gandhi Smriti is the location where Mahatma Gaandhi spent his last 144 days of his life and was assassinated on January,30, 1948. In this Museum lies the spot where Gandhi was assassinated, ‘The Matyr’s Column’. The Martyr’s Column is now markeds the place where Gandhi, the “father of the Nation” was assassinated. While I was touring around the museum I was privileged to experience first hand on seeing the preserved room where Gandhi lived and also to experience the place on the ground where he was shot while holding his nightly public walk.

As I’ve already mentioned Gandhi practices and his belief involve

with many religion but mostly based on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. He even has some influence from Christ’s teaching too. In Gandhi own words: “….all religion are true………all religion have some error in them…….all religions are almost as dear to me as my own Hinduism…… My veneration for other faiths is the same as for my own faiths”. Gandhi political philosophy is based on two religious principle known in Sansakrit as Ahimsa (no harm) which is Buddhism teaching of a supreme principle by which actions are judged required that there must be no harm (physical or spiritual) done to other living beings either through words or action The second principle is known as Satyagraha, works by establishing a relationship with the oppressor in order to take that relationship to a higher level. This allow the moral power of the oppressor forces them to see their action and modify their action accordingly. Gandhi’s use of Satyagraha is best illustrated in the Salt March of 1930, a protest organized by him against the British monopoly on the production and taxation of salt. The march, led by Gandhi himself, brought it to the world’s attention and – given that Gandhi himself was imprisoned for organizing the event – marked the beginning of the end of British rule.

This is the reason why outside the house stands a pillar that contains a swastika symbol. The pillar is known as, and is used as, an example of how context can change the ethical nature of information and the interchangeability of symbols across societies. According to Lester and Koehler,) "for Hindus and Buddhists, the swastika symbol is a representation of good." The same pillar also contains the Sanskrit symbol for the meditation sound, Om.

by Amorn

Mahatma Gandhi (Great Soul) is remembered as the spiritual and political leader of India’s struggle to be emancipated from British occupation. His philosophy of maintaining non violence in the pursuit of independence has influenced contemporary thought and makes India’s attainment of independence particularly unique. Gandhi’s belief of practicing non violence was influenced by the Jain tradition he was brought up in. Jainism teaches one to treat others as you would yourself and to treat all living beings with respect. These beliefs of Jainism are apparent in the way Gandhi led his life since he showed a tolerance for all creeds and religion. Gandhi’s fight for India’s independence was fueled by his pursuit for a wider social justice brought upon by the Imperial rule. One of the tactics he undertook was to boycott colonial fashion and wear simple clothing made by him and fasted through periods of political upheaval; thus making him closer to all that he preached to, including the untouchables, the lowest social class. Gandhi was a great influence to other political figures such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela who both fought for justice through non violent means. To remember Gandhi is to be inspired by his life. He said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever”.

During our visit to the Gandhi Smiriti, the residence in Delhi where he spent the last part of his life in, I got to experience firsthand the importance that Gandhi had to this nation. The house had been transformed to a memorial divided into two parts, the first floor being dominated with written documentation and the preservation of the actual room he stayed in, while the second floor was more of a contemporary exhibition filled with various interesting interactive mediums. In my opinion I felt that the memorial was an interestingly successful because on one hand you have to simple and sentimental memory that Gandhi would have wanted to world to remember him by, while on the other hand you have a more updated means to keep the interest of numerous youths.

Partition of India

by Yoi

During my trip to India I have done a research about Partition of India, India was colonized

by Britain during early 1900, and at that time Britain uses laws and power to oppress Indian

people. And then there was a man named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi which had great

influence to the demanding independence for India, he formed a group of Indian to fight with British

til 1945 which there was an election and the British governors had a policy to give independence to

India, but they were afraid that India would take a revenge of them because they had taken

advantages on many occasion on Indian people. In one major occasion where The British had

taken advantage on India was when the British oppress the Indian by salt taxation and Indian

people where not able to pay for their on salt. This is when Gandhi play a major roll by a march led

by Gandhi himself, which brings the world to attention when Gandhi was imprisoned- this was

marked as the beginning of the end of the British rule.

After a few days India declare independence the British break India into two parts so that India

wouldn't be to powerful for a nation. The country was split into two parts by the difference in

religion. Indian was a nation with the belief of Hinduism and Pakistan country are people who

believe in Islamic values. The partition had left both India and Pakistan devastated because the

partition had left many lives rapped and robbed through riots which occur between the

disagreement of two religion. In june 2011, there are about 15 million refugees which had come

across the border. This people where mixed religion of hindu and Muslim. The division of Punjab

and Bengal had cause a castratophic riots and claims many lives of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs,

which also causes 15 million people in refugee. Kashmir is also part of India, but it is a liberal state

because King Hari Singha Dogra chose to be a liberal state because he is a Hindus but most of the

population in Kashmir are Islamic. The King chose not to be with anybody and signed a cease

peace contract with pakistan so that traveling, trades, and communication are still valid, while

peace between India is also agreed between the two state.

This partition in India had cause many wounds for India as a whole, including Kashmir and

Pakistan. This partition and violence against each other had causes castratophic economic

depression between the country which in actual fact the splitted country should be one and this

simulation of boundaries and the differences between religion which is also a simulation of belief

had causes many innocent lives to die, and many people in refugee. These partition causes many

important lost of their most dynamic, influential leader like Gandhi, Jinnah, and allama Iqbal. The

partition haven't just affected the country which have splitted themselves, but it had also strongly

affected the whole world because if the conflict haven't stop. I personally feel that this conflict may

cause nuclear war to be erupted because both countries had been collecting nuclear weapons.

India Independence

by Mim

From my previous essay, I talked about how India had became independence and then developed itself into a top ten professional computer skills country. They have been through a very hard time fighting and surviving, asking for their rights, equality, and most importantly their freedom which have been the question in them after the independence of India.

I have been studying about their long history of blood shedding and violence for one simple word, 'freedom', since the time of colonization to the end of world war II and finally, when India declare independence day on the 15^th of August 1947. The violent and difficult situation that England had put upon India which was not the only country which had been colonized but the empire of many colonial countries, had causing death and damage to the people of India. The most critical time occurs when Indians fought with non-violence method, or could be known as Buddhism as Ahimsa which Gandhi had been leading the march against the Government that have full weapons. This had lead the world attention when Gandhi himself was imprisoned. This marked the beginning of the british rule.

This is the India Gate which was created after the India independence day to praise all the indian fighters that sacrificed themselves for the sake of their country. It gives me a feeling of respective for those people, and the one who we should give all the respect to is, certainly, Mahatma Gandhi. He is the prototype of all independence fighters who brought up the Ahimsa and Satyagraha, which is to fight with non-violence and non-obedient. This method is complemented by all over the world. World iconic figures like Martin Luthur King, or Nelson Mandela who also follow the Ahimsa way.

After India independence day till now, Delhi has many places that still have to be developed but the only one place that I have seen so far that has got many electronic decoration technique is the Gandhi Museum which mean Gandhi is also the most respectful for all the indians to give him the highest technology they have got to praise him. However, on the contrary, Gandhi was remember but the essence of him which should be known through his teaching had been lost from Indian people. Instead, his influences had effected the whole world but India in the presence had no acknowledgment of his teaching and his belief at all.

After all, the liberation in India is different from America. They don't have military violence or blood shed. Indians is only damaged by England whenever their is a battle for people demanding their freedom for their own country but still after a long fight with non-violence although it takes a lot of time, it still should be venerable to all the fighters and the Ahimsa and Satyagraha they used.

The Mughals

By Vongsawat Wongkijjalerd

The Mughal Empire was the dominant imperial power in India from the mid-16th century until the early 18th century. The dynasty began with Babur, once ruler of Ferghana, descendant of both Genghis Kahn and Timurlane. The Mughals brought to India centralized government, periods of great religious tolerance, and a flourishing of the arts and architecture with influences from all over.

Religious tolerance was a trademark of the Mughal dynasty and brought with it a strong unifying force. Beginning with Babur Hindu temples were allowed to be built and the killing of cows, sacred to the Hindu faith, banned. His grandson Akbar the Great carried on this tradition, abolished the jizya tax, and integrated Hindus and non-Muslims into the government-proper. Akbar also invited numerous religious scholars of various faiths for lively debates during his reign. Not until Aurangzeb, the sixth and last Mughal ruler was this policy of religious tolerance discarded and not long after his rule did the Mughal dynasty fall in to terminal decline.

Mughal art and architecture is deeply rooted in a variety of sources. Elements of Hindu and Islamic arts were woven together since Babur’s reign, but other influences began even before that. Babur was descended from Genghis and Timur and so carried with him the culture of both Mongol, Timurid, and Turkish in origin. These roots had, at one time or another, become Persianized to an extent. Ferghana itself was also of Persian influence. It is from this melting pot of cultures that the Mughal style was founded from.

On top of the melting pot of cultures was also the Mughal’s propensity of tolerating other religions and cultures, a trait that encouraged then the mixing of cultures. With Humayun falling in love with the Persian arts and Sher Shah Suri, a Persian who conquered the Mughals for 15 years, whom the Mughals based much of their style upon, the Persian influence is heavy in Mughal at and culture.

Akbar was also very interesting in his architecture, prime examples in Fatehpur Sikri and the Agra Fort. During his reign Mughal architecture freely mixed elements from different styles to, in a sense, unify its people. From religious toleration to religious unification. On the right is Hindu style decorations that have been abstracted just slightly so as not to depict animals in Agra Fort. Elsewhere actual elephants and animals are depicted, against the Muslim belief, largely due to the Persian influence.

The British Raj in India

The British Raj is the name given to the period of British colonial rule in India between 1858 and 1947, after the fall of Mughal Empire. It started when the European acquire Asian trading, but over time, the acquisition of territory grew in importance. Britain had been trading in India since about 1600. During the Mogul emperor Jahangir, the East India Company was able to establish operations in India, where they traded cotton, silk, tea and opium. By 1700s, The East India Company established its own army in India, which was composed of British troops as well as native soldiers called “Sepoys”. In the 1800s English power expanded in India. The British rule in India became known as "The Raj," which was derived from the Sanskrit term ‘raja’ meaning king. During the period under the British control, there were many rivals of the Indian against the British commanders, for example, “The Indian Rebellion of 1857”, which was also called the ‘Great rebellion’, was a turning point in the history of Britain in India. There were a number of other underlying causes for the rebellion. Many Indians were distressed by the rapid cultural changes imposed by the British. They worried that Hindu and Muslim India would be "Christianized." Resentment toward the British had been building for some time, and new policies, which allowed the British to annex some areas of India, exacerbated tensions However, the rivals had to surrender to the British power because of superior weaponry. In 1858 which is the beginning of the raj, the system of governance was instituted when the rule of the British East India Company was transferred to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria (and who in 1877 was proclaimed Empress of India). It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign dominion states: the Republic of India, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the eastern half of which, still later, became the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

Architecture of the British Raj

In December 1911, the British announced that India’s capital, then in Calcutta, would return to Delhi where a new city would be built. Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, the English architects were assigned by Jawaharan Nehru, the first president of India after the independence to design the new city. They designed a grand capital in ‘imperial style’, spacious, symmetrical, with a few elements of Indian architecture. Buildings under the British Raj tended to emulate Roman styles with the addition of Mughal type commonly known as the 'Indo-Saracenic’, which composed of i.e. surface decoration, and arched gateways. The last legacy of the Raj includes imposing government buildings, such as Rashtrapati Bhavan, the ceremonial Rajpath, India Gate and the vast crescent of Connaught Place. The architecture of the British Raj was enduring and represented a means of ensuring that Indians were aware of British power and supremacy.

The Raj - Malin

The Mughal ruled Delhi until in the middle of 19^th Century, 1858. British Company took the royal splendor and patronage from the Mughal dynasty. From pre-the Raj to post-the Raj, people way of life and architectural style shifted from ‘the Persian and Islamic influenced’ to ‘the western influenced’. Education and domesticity of Indian was change gradually during hundred years of the British colonial.

During the period of colonial rules Indian learned English as the language for administration, the language of the new ruler. Also, Western style Education College spread very quickly in India during 1800-1850. Indian liked to send their children to this kind of educational system, because graduates would be paid well and get good job. That means the education of this country would develop as unique as it could follow the central curriculum in British way.

British had grabbed lands and propertied from Indians. The British did restructuring the domestic properties and spread it out to the elites, especially in Delhi. As like the farm land around Delhi, the British Company took it and redistributed by their system. Since that, Delhi city became a blending of British and Indian style.

However, the British intrusively invasion in India brought up ‘civilization’ which was a western way to the city. They brought in a new generation of transportation and a new way of economic system. Indian people as their subservience, has gradually changed their identity and their way of life through time during the siege of British Empire. Howsoever, it cannot be proved that the way of city changing during the Raj period got to the matter of good or not. Anyhow, the hundred years of the Raj had not long enough to cleanly vanish Indian essence. That is how Indian culture especially in Delhi presented as an ensuing result of the two cultures mixing and it made Delhi as Delhi today.