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12:00 AM, February 19, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 02:29 PM, February 19, 2018

British Colonial Architecture in

Bengal

The Writer’s Building, Kolkata. Source: Calcutta: Then and Now by Rathin Mitra

Farhat Afzal

The art and architectural style of Bengal has been rich and magnificent long before
the British came to rule. It is evident from the ruins of various archaeological sites
of Bengal that the art of building has been a long running practice here, since the
earliest times of the region's history.

The ruins of Mahasthangarh, for instance, is proof that even during the ancient
period, the builders were already working with highly developed techniques in
making and use of bricks. In Somapura Mahavihara, deemed the largest Buddhist
monastery in the Indian subcontinent, the orientation and proportions of the
structure show the extreme sensitivity of the builders when it came to
architectural techniques. Architecture, sculpture, terracotta and painting
developed extensively during the Pala Dynasty rule from 8th to 12th century. In
the Sultanate Period, Bengal had already developed a distinctive language, culture
and architecture.

Panorama of the City of Dacca. Source: Lithographed and published by Messrs. Dickinson

With the advent of the Mughals, political centralisation took place. For the region's
architecture style, this meant that ideas and ideals were being enforced by the
Governor of Bengal from Delhi. For the first time, the architectural tradition of the
region was broken, which further continued with the rule of the British.

The next pivotal point came with the arrival of the Europeans. The Portuguese
were the first to arrive in India for commerce and as missionaries. A century later,
the Portuguese were followed by the Dutch, the British and the French. The Danes,
the Armenians, the Greeks and the Germans also set up settlements in the region.
However, colonial architecture became almost synonymous with that introduced
by the British, since they occupied the largest territory.

During the initial period of British occupation, Calcutta rapidly achieved

importance as a city because of greater trading opportunities, owing to better
communication by water. As a result, it remained the British capital of India from
1773 to 1912. Hence, it is no surprise that during the two hundred years of British
reign, many of the architecturally significant structures, like the Belvedere House,
the Writer's Building and the Victoria Memorial, were erected in West Bengal.

Belvedere Estate, Kolkata. Photo: Alok Mittro

By definition, colonial architecture is the architectural style borrowed from a

country of origin and then integrated into the structures located in far off regions.
This particular architecture style evolved when colonists created a fusion by
blending the architectural vocabulary of their country of origin with the design
principles of the region they colonised.

Before we delve further into the grandiose and magnificence of British Colonial
architecture, we must stop and reconsider the purpose behind building these
structures. The architecture style of a particular time period is a reflection of a
region's social standing and political power. As a display of power, Louis XIII built
the Palace of Versailles, the Greeks built the Parthenon and the Mughal emperor
Shahjahan built the Taj Mahal. Since the British considered themselves to be the
successors of the Mughals, they too decided to use architecture as a symbol of
power.

Old High Court Building

These chain of events began with the Indian Rebellion of 1857. When the Indian
soldiers openly revolted against the British, the mutiny was mowed down by the
colonists. The overthrowing of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar of
India, marked the end of the Mughal Empire. Then it was time for the British to
show they were the new rulers.

Historian and professor at the Department of History at University of California,

Berkeley, Thomas R Metcalfe wrote in his book titled, An Imperial Vision: Indian
Architecture and Britain's Raj:

“In the public buildings put up by the Raj, it was essential always to make visible
Britain's imperial position as a ruler, for these structures were charged with the
explicit purpose of representing the empire itself. Since they wanted to legitimise
their rule, they decided to justify their presence by relating themselves to the
previous rulers, the Mughals.”
Greek Memorial at TSC, University of Dhaka. Photo: Biswarup Ganguly/Wikimedia

The colonial architecture style, thus, aimed to represent awe and power of the
British Imperial rule in India. In order to be seen as powerful by the commoners,
the colonists realised they must come up with a hybrid design style that the
general public were already familiar with.

In the late 19th century, Indian British architects developed an architecture style
that was a synthesis of Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture with borrowed
elements of Gothic revival and Neo-Classical styles that were still in favour in
Victorian Britain. Thus began the architecture movement known as Indo-Sarcenic
Revival architecture—Sarcenic being a medieval Latin term for "Muslim".

At this time, the region which is present-day Bangladesh remained largely

overlooked by the colonists, because of its lack of urbanisation and
industrialisation. However, despite all this, a number of remarkable structures
were built by the British, which remain notable today because of their
architectural and historical significance.
Diwan-I-Khas, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra. Photo: Diego Delso/Wikimedia

When the British colonists changed their role from traders in 17th century to the
new rulers in mid-18th century, their building art went through a series of
development phases. Initially, British churches in Dhaka and its suburbs were built
in the European Renaissance style, which was later also used for secular buildings.
The next phase witnessed buildings with semi-octagonal or rounded corners and
tall Doric columns become more favourable during the late-18th and early-19th
century. The Classical orders—Tuscan, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian—also gained
popularity in this region.

During the 19th century, some newer architectural elements were introduced such
as the semi-circular arch, the triangular pediment built over the semi-Corinthian,
Doric or Ionic columns and leaf-like motifs on plaster. The old High Court building
is a notable example of this time period. In the wake of the partition of 1905, this
building was designed originally as the official residence of the governor of East
Bengal and Assam. The building has a typical European Renaissance style facade,
and a triangular pediment over a large porch that is held up by Corinthian
columns. The structure is topped off with a graceful dome that is supported by thin
columns and piers in a ring formation. This is one of the colonial buildings in
Dhaka built with little or no Mughal features in its architectural style.

These features can be still seen today in structures like Ahsan Manzil and the
Greek Memorial located on the grounds of the Teacher Student Centre at
University of Dhaka.

Curzon Hall, University of Dhaka. Photo: Biswarup Ganguly/Wikimedia

Following the first partition of Bengal in 1905, between the late 19th and early 20th
century, a combination of the Mughal and European style of architecture made an
appearance. This was carried out under the authority of Lord Curzon, the Viceroy
of India from 1899 to 1905, who also happened to be a Mughal art and architecture
enthusiast. Perhaps the most exemplary structure that defines this style would be
the Viceroy's namesake, Curzon Hall. It consists of traditional artistry combined
with modern design elements preferred by the Mughals such as horse-show and
cusped arches and stunning domes. Appreciation of Mughal building style is also
apparent in the red colouring, decorative brackets, deep eaves and domed chattris
(terraced pavilion); all of this can be seen as borrowed elements from Diwan-i-
Khas at Fatehpur Sikri, built by Emperor Akbar.

The building, which has been housing the Faculty of Science at University of Dhaka
since its inception in 1921, became a reality due to Lord Curzon's dream of creating
a magnificent town hall for the city. Even though his dream remain unfulfilled, the
building still remains a key witness to some significant events in the history of
Bangladesh, notably those during the Language Movement from 1948–56.

Other spectacular examples of this hybrid Mughal and European architectural

style can be seen in Dhaka even today in Northbrooke Hall, Dhaka Medical College
and Salimullah Muslim Hall.

Despite all the influences from European building styles, the colonial architecture
era was able to successfully come up with a distinct architecture style, which was
truly original on its own. This was the "bungalow", a remodelling of the deltaic hut.
The bungalow exemplified the notion of living in nature inside a secluded hut
covered by a roof, while being able to look at a distant horizon. Soon enough, the
bungalow became a popular building style in the subcontinent and then
afterwards, in other parts of the world.

It would be fascinating if we take a moment and look at the way architectural style
developed since the earliest points of history in this region. Ever since the Mughal
dynasty, this region has struggled with keeping its tradition and culture alive in
their building style. With the introduction of colonial architecture, it was even
harder to keep our roots intact. Architecture is supposed to give identity to a
region. However, for Bangladesh, because of its complicated history, that has not
been the case. Lack of historical materials makes the narration of the region's
history difficult as well.

This is why it is of greatest urgency now to preserve all old structures that are still
standing today. These works should be documented as much as possible by
historians who are researching on these regions. Only then, maybe, we will reach a
point where we have a clear understanding about this region's architecture, the
complex history behind it and the consequences of that history on our building
style.
Farhat Afzal is working as the Academic Associate at Bengal Institute for
Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Ahmad, Nazimuddin. Buildings of the British Raj in Bangladesh. University Press

Ltd. 2000. Print.

2. Ahmed, Nazimuddin. Regionalism in architecture: proceedings of the regional

seminar in the ser. exploring architecture in Islamic cultures ; sponsored by the Aga
Khan Award for Architecture, Bangladesh Univ. of Engineering and Technology
and Inst. of Architects, Bangladesh ; held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec. 17-22, 1985.
Edited by Robert Powell, Concept Media, 1985.

3. Ashraf, K. K., Saif Ul Haque, Raziul Ahsan. Pundranagar to Sher-E-Banglanagar :

Architecture in Bangladesh. Chetana Sthapatya Unnoyon Society, 1997. Print

4. Ashraf, K. K., Islam, Muzharul, Saif Ul Haque. Introducing Bangladesh, A Case for
Regionalism. Regionalism in Architecture. Proceedings of the Regional Seminar in
the series Exploring Architecture in Islamic Cultures. Concept Media and Aga Khan
Award for Architecture, 1985.

5. Campos, Joachim Joseph A. History of the Portuguese in Bengal. Janaki

Prakashan, 1979. Print.

6. Datta, Kalikinkar. The Dutch in Bengal and Bihar, 1740-1825 AD. Motilal
Banarsidass, 1968. Print.

7. Guaita, Ovidio. On distant shores: colonial houses around the world. Monacelli
Press, 1999.

8. Mamoon, Muntasir. "Dhaka Smriti Bisritir Nagari (Dhaka the Memorable and
Historical City)." Dhaka: Ananya (2000). Print.

9. Metcalfe, Thomas R. An Imperial Vision: Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj.

Berkeley and London. University of California Press.1989.

10. R. Sengupta. “Historical Context Preservation and Interpretation of Colonial

Gothic Architecture at Allahabad in India”. Old Cultures in New World: Monuments
in their Built Environment

11. Raja, Tousif. “Architecture as a symbol of power - SlideShare.” Slideshare.net,

29 Sept. 2013, www.slideshare.net/Tousifra1/architecture-as-a-symbol-of-power.

12. Why the British creation of Indo-Saracenic architecture was a shrewd imperial
move, Scroll.in, 20 January, 2018. <https://scroll.in/video/852107/why-the-british-
creation-of-indo-saraceni...

13. “The History of Curzon Hall - Bangladesh Blog | By Bangladesh Channel.”

Bangladesh.com - Bangladesh Channel, www.bangladesh.com/blog/the-history-of-
curzon-hall.

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