COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA

Ar. Debashis Sanyal, Asso. Professor

Department of Architecture NIT Raipur
 COLONIALISM

Establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colony in one territory

by a political power from another territory.
It is a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony and often
between the colonists and the indigenous population.
Collins English Dictionary defines colonialism as The policy and practice of a power in
extending control over weaker people or areas.
The legitimacy of colonialism has been a longstanding concern for political and moral
philosophers in the Western tradition.
 TYPES OF COLONIALISM

Settler colonialism involves large-scale immigration, often motivated by religious, political, or

economic reasons.
Exploitation colonialism involves fewer colonists and focuses on access to resources for export,
typically to the metropolis. Slaves were often imported to the Americas, first by the Portuguese
Empire, and later by the Spanish, Dutch, French and British.
Plantation colonies would be considered exploitation colonialism; but colonizing powers would
utilize either type for different territories depending on various social and economic factors as well
as climate and geographic conditions.
Surrogate colonialism involves a settlement project supported by colonial power, in which most of
the settlers do not come from the mainstream of the ruling power.
Internal colonialism is a notion of uneven structural power between areas of a nation state. The
source of exploitation comes from within the state.
 INTRODUCTION (INDIA)

In the 15th century, with the discovery of the new sea route around Cape of Good Hope by
Vasco-da-Gama (in 1498), many European communities came to India for establishing trade that
resulted in colonization.
Amongst the colonists, the British, were the most successful, followed by the French, the
Portuguese, the Swedish, the Danish and the Dutch.
The British colonization started in 1639, with the East India Company establishing its
government in Madras (now Chennai). Within thirty years, the British were in control of the
three major ports of India, namely Madras (now Chennai), Bombay (now Mumbai) and Calcutta
(now Kolkata).
During the late 16th and the 17th Centuries, the other European companies competed with
each other fiercely. By the last quarter of the 18th Century, the English had vanquished all
others and established themselves as the dominant power in India.
DIFFERENT COLONIAL RULES

COLONIAL RULE PERIOD

Dutch India 16051825
Danish India 16201869
French India 17691954
Portuguese East India Company 16281633
East India Company 16121757
Company rule in India 17571858
British Raj 18581947
British rule in Burma 18241948
Princely states 17211949
Partition of India 1947
 HISTORY OF COLONIALISM

The historical phenomenon of colonisation is one that stretches around the globe and across
time.
Modern state global colonialism, or imperialism, began in the 15th century with the "Age of
Discovery", by Portuguese and Spanish exploration of the Americas, and the coasts of Africa,
the Middle East, India, and East Asia.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, England, France and the Dutch Republic established their
own overseas empires, in direct competition with each other.
The end of the 18th and early 19th century saw the first era of decolonization, when most of
the European colonies in the Americas gained their independence from their
respective metropolis.
 INTRODUCTION(INDIA)

At the onset, with western education and possibilities of job under the colonial
administrations, a loyal middle class of Indians developed, who formed the backbone of
colonial success.
In time, the odious nature of British imperialism, rude treatment of the Indians by the East
India Company, economic drain of Indian resources and disparities between justice between
Britain and India were creating antipathy among the Indians.
This lead to upsurge of 1857 and culminated in Indias freedom movement.
 IMPACT OF COLONIALISM

The colonial period was dynamic in nature and had shown many changes in the Indian society
a complete mutation, from the Mughal period to the Independence of India.
The changes in the social, technological, economic and political spheres, that took place during
the colonial period, had a great impact on the built environment of the then period.
 IMPACT OF COLONIALISM

Family Structure:
Joint family structure broke down into smaller families.

Religious and Cultural beliefs:

Education system and spread of Christianity broke the orthodox system .
Hindus started practicing Hindu religion on Christian Ethos (Raja Rammohan Ry Brahmo Samaj).

Revitalization of Hinduism by Swami Dayanand Saraswati , Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami

Vivekanand, Sri Bijoy Krishna Goswami etc. They sought to inculcate a sense of pride in the
traditional Hindu spiritualism and integrate traditions with modern technological
developments.
In twentieth century, nationalism and spirituality were amalgamated and leaders like
Aurobindo Ghosh led the way.
 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES

1850s showed changes in communication and manufacturing technologies. In 1853, the first
railway line between Mumbai (Bombay) to Thane was laid. 1854 first telegraph line between
Calcutta and Agra. Mass media developed with printing press (in vernacular languages).
Academic Institution for professional training, India was dragged in industrial era, new raw
materials like concrete, cast iron, wrought iron, corrugated iron sheets, glass opened up new
possibilities of construction.
 POLITICAL CHANGES

Bureaucratic structures of government, new legal systems, modernizations (i.e. adaptation of

British approaches to government even in the Princely states) were the root cause of changes
in the society.
The educated middle class gradually realized the discrepancy of the professed liberal attitude
of Britain and the British practices in India, this ultimately led to the freedom movement.
The works of Mahatma Gandhi and authors and intellectuals like Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhyay (1838-1894) and Rabindranath Tagore helped in formation of nationalist spirit
in the Indian minds.
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA

Colonial India is the

part of the Indian
subcontinent which
was under the control
of European colonial
powers, through trade
and conquest. The first
European power to
arrive in India was
the Macedonian army
of Alexander the
Great in 327326 BC.
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA

GOA:
In 1510, the Portuguese defeated the ruling Bijapur sultan Yousuf Adil Shah with the help of a local ally, Timayya. They set up a
permanent settlement in Velha Goa (or Old Goa). This was the beginning of Portuguese rule in Goa that would last for four and a
half centuries, until 1961.
KOCHI:
Known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the west coast of India from the 14th
century. Occupied by the Portuguese Empire in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in colonial India. It remained the
main seat of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen instead.
DELHI:
In 1803 British got control of Delhi but continued with Calcutta as the capital as The Mughal emperor was living there (Bahadur
Shah Jafar).
The modern city as we know it today developed only after 1911 when Delhi became the capital of British India.

CALCUTTA:
The city was a colonial city developed by the British East India Company and then by the British Empire.
Kolkata was the capital of the British Indian empire until 1911 when the capital was relocated to Delhi. Kolkata grew rapidly in the
19th century to become the second city of the British Empire.
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA

BOMBAY:
In 1687, the English East India Company transferred its headquarters from Surat to Bombay. The city eventually
became the headquarters of the Bombay Presidency. Following the transfer, Bombay was placed at the head of
all the Company's establishments in India.
The encouragement of the trade of Bombay with military successes in the Deccan paved the way for the
educational and economic progress which characterized the city during the nineteenth century leading to the
city development during 1817-1885.
By 1845, all the seven islands had been connected to form a single island called Old Bombay having an area of
435 km2(167.95 sq mi) by the Hornby Vellard project due to the water famine in 1824.
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA

MADRAS:
Modern Chennai had its origins as a colonial city and its
initial growth was closely tied to its importance as an
artificial harbour and trading centre.
When the Portuguese arrived in 1522, they built a port
and named it Sao Tome, after the Christian apostle St.
Thomas, who is believed to have preached there
between the years 1552 and 1570.
The region then passed into the hands of the Dutch,
who established themselves near Pulicat just north of
the city in 1612.
Both groups strived to grow their colonial populations
and although their populations reached into 10,000
persons when the British arrived, they remained
substantially outnumbered by the local Indian
population.
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA MADRAS (CHENNAI)

Chennai formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's
fourth largest city.
It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 8.9
million (2014), the 400-year-old city is the 31st largest metropolitan city in the world.
Chennai boasts of a long history from the English East India Company, through the British Raj to
its evolution in the late 20th century as a services and manufacturing hub for India.
The modern city of "Chennai" arose from the British settlement of Fort St. George and its
subsequent expansion through merging numerous native villages and European settlements
around Fort St. George into the city of Madras.
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA MADRAS (CHENNAI)

Francis Day and his superior Andrew Cogan can be considered as the founders of Madras (now Chennai).
Their small fortified settlement quickly attracted other East Indian traders and as the Dutch position
collapsed under hostile Indian power they also slowly joined the settlement. This area became the Fort
St. George settlement.
It is otherwise referred to as THE WHITE TOWN.
To differentiate these non-European and non-Christian area from "White Town", the new settlement was
termed "Black Town. Collectively, the original Fort St. George settlement, "White Town", and "Black
Town" were called Madras.
In the later part of the 17th century, Madras steadily progressed during the period of the East India
Company and under many Governors. Although most of the original Portuguese, Dutch, and British
population had been genocided during the Golkonda period, under the Mughal protection, large
numbers of British and Anglo-American settlers arrived to replenish these losses.
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA MADRAS (CHENNAI)

As a result during the Governorship VILLAGE YEAR

of Elihu Yale (168792), the large Madraspatnam 1639

number of British and European Narimedu (area to the west of

Madraspatnam) 1645
settlers led to the most important Triplicane 1672
political event which was the Tiruvottiyur 1708
formation of the institution of Kottivakkam 1708
a Mayor and the Corporation for the Nungambakkam 1708
city of Madras. Egmore 1720
Purasawalkam 1720
The expansion of Chennai lead to the Tondiarpet 1720
acquisition of other areas nearby. This Chintadripet 1735
confiscation of the areas developed Vepery 1742
which resulted the present day core Mylapore 1749
Chennapatnam 1801
area of Chennai we see today.
COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA MADRAS (CHENNAI)

Chennai in 1955
COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA MADRAS (CHENNAI)

Chennai in 1990
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA MADRAS (CHENNAI)

In the latter half of the 18th century, Madras became an important British naval base and the
administrative centre of the growing British dominions in southern India.
The British also fought four wars with the Kingdom of Mysore under Hyder Ali and later his
son Tipu Sultan, which led to their eventual domination of India's south. Madras was the
capital of the Madras Presidency, also called Madras Province.
Consequently, they expanded the Chartered control of the company by encompassing the
neighboring villages of Triplicane, Egmore, Purasawalkam and Chetpet to form the city of
Chennapatnam, as it was called by locals.
The development of a harbor in Madras led the city to become an important centre for trade
between India and Europe in the 18th century.
 COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA MADRAS (CHENNAI)

Spencer's started as a small business in 1864 and went on to become the biggest department
stores in Asia at the time.
Development of Railway station, High Court, Educational Institution and other major
administrative and commercial buildings had taken Chennai to its new heights.
In the 1900s Chennai acquired the status of a city due to its increased population growth and
advancements in terms of infrastructure and amenities.
The citys major economic activity was entirely based on the sea and other small scale
industries inside the city.
On the whole, the colonial rule provoked the growth of Chennai to a multi potential city which
attracted people from all over Tamilnadu for the past 40-50 years.
 STYLES OF COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE

1. As a symbol of European (British) imperialism throughout the Empire Buildings were consciously made to
differ from original native styles. These buildings were made as per the European Classical style because
the Europeans saw themselves as carrying the mantle of the Romans (Lang et al., 1997).
2. As adaptation of some elements of indigenous designs-- development of Bungalows.
3. Hybrid style Third culture as a referent to the Indian people and its influence on the Indian community.
The architectural symbols of British Imperialism, the Raj, also started to inculcate a sense of pride and
power in the minds of the nouveau riche. Thus, they were freely using the elements of Western
architectural vocabularies to create their own hybrid products. (Tillotson, 1989).
 STYLES OF COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE

The pattern of built forms, and their Referent

meanings depend on an association Idea

between the form and some referent. The + +

associations are learnt either through Personor Group

+ Symbol
Object

formal education, or informally through a

Positiveassociationbetweenideasandsymbols

Referent

persons day-to-day experiences (Rapoport,

Imperial Ideology

1982). Lang (1997) describes that the - +

meaning of architecture is understood by

- Symbol
Personor Group
Architectureof theRaj

the balance theory model as developed by

NegativeassociationwithImperial Ideology
creatednegativeattitudestowardsthesymbolsof theRaj.

Fritz Heider (1958), furthered in 1988

(Hershberger, 1988).
CHARACTER OF COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE

WESTERN STYLE: The early buildings that the Europeans made were picturesque to any
visitor, white in colour (by the use of lime plaster, made of sea shells, called chunam
(Everson, 1989)), with extensive porticos to the south, and windows closed by Venetian
blinds painted green (Valentia, 1803). These blinds also had wooden awnings (Everson,
1989).
 DESCRIPTION OF THE HOUSES AROUND 1770-1780

1. They were surrounded by a large garden.

2. The buildings were also symmetrical in plan.
3. They were single storied, rectangular, often raised above a basement that was used as a storage area.
4. These buildings had high porticos.
5. Columns of the portico followed Ionic or Doric order. .
6. Windows had heavy cornice.
7. A flat roof with balustrades was most common
8. Interior rooms were spacious and palatial. A drawing or dining room might be as long as fifty feet and
twenty-five feet tall. High ceilings were necessitated by the use of the punkah (Everson, 1989).
9. Bathrooms were always provided, and in large houses, it was common for a bathroom to be attached to
each room. The floors of the bathrooms were usually covered with stone or tile, with the surface sloping
toward an outlet connected to a drain. Bathing followed traditional Indian method of dipping water over
oneself from jars (Everson, 1989).
9. Meals were prepared in a
separate structure away
from the house. Utensils
were rudimentary, the
floor was employed as a
work surface, and cooking
was done on a low brick
hearth while smoke
drifted out through
openings below the roof.
(Everson, 1989).
10. The long verandas were
protected from the harsh
rays of sun and the driving A typical house having flat roof, Classical columns, Verandas protected by jhilmils and a porch.

rains by the use of tatties

and Venetian blinds
(known as jhilmils)
 BUNGALOWS

The description goes as double

roofed houses with verandas on three
sides (Nilsson, 1968). Nilsson also
says that the bungalows lie apart,
each in its own compound
surrounded by officers and often
separated from each other and from
the road by low walls. The houses
form the part of a road system; the
drivers leading up to the porticos of
the houses form characteristic figures
on the map, like bulls horns
(Nilsson, 1968).
The typical characteristics of the bungalows were:

1. They were set in large compounds. The compound walls represented supremacy of the colonial British; the
gateposts were symbols of status (Lang et al., 1997).
2. They were symmetrical in plan form.
3. Externally, the rooms were surrounded by verandas, which were used for various purposes like taking
lunches, teas and drinks by the family when they were alone and when they were entertaining or when
business was being conducted. A man greeted another of higher status than himself at the steps of the
bungalow, and one of lower status at his study. The bungalow often had a central hall off which the main
living rooms, the bedrooms and guests accommodation were located (Lang et al, 1997).
4. The verandas lead directly to a large drawing room, which were furnished with every modern luxury. The
hall of the bungalows functionally replaced the inner courtyard of the traditional Indian house as it
helped to segregate the circulation patterns of servants from those of the family (King, 1984).
5. The rooms at the centre were often more higher to allow ventilation and lighting from the top.
6. The colonnade of the verandas were protected from sunlight by tatties and khuss-khuss as in other
western buildings.
7. Kitchens and servants quarters were separate and placed behind the house, and a row of stables, carriage
rooms, and harness rooms stood at the rear of the compound (Lang et al. 1997).
 HYBRID STYLES

The courtyard type houses are characterized by:

1. A classical portico facing the street and forming the threshold (Prasad, 1998).
2. A main room is often placed coaxial with the entrance with smaller rooms in the sides.
3. If there are upper stories, there is another large room over the entrance, frequently with a gallery
overhanging the doorway.
4. The internal courtyard was surrounded by colonnaded loggias (Everson, 1989).
5. The purdah system required the seclusion of women from the eyes of the outside world, and, even,
within the dwelling itself, separate quarters for men and women were often maintained.
6. In eastern India, particularly in the houses of the rich, there are a number of entrances, each for various
purposes. On the entrances often led to the thakur dalan. Spaces with similar functions are clustered
together and internally are connected by verandas and corridors.
7. European architectural motifs could be found in many types of Indian buildings, often juxtaposed to
traditional styles (Everson, 1989).
 THE INDO-SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE

The Indo-Saracenic architecture combined the features of

Hindu, Islamic and western elements. The colonial
architecture exhibited itself through institutional, civic and
utilitarian buildings such as post offices, railway stations,
rest houses and government buildings.

The Italian Gothic was seen to be well adapted to

conditions in India. The architecture style recommended by
Sir Gilbert Scott for Bombay University proved crucial in
making the colonial architecture look more 'Indian'. Perhaps
this was the beginning of a truly imperial style that reached
its apex at New Delhi. The great public building campaign
launched in Bombay in the second half of the nineteenth
also resulted into great development of colonial
architecture. In this phase Sir Gilbert Scott's buildings were
significant products.
Other remarkable landmarks produced during this phase were William Emerson's Crawford Market, the Bombay high
court and the Victoria terminus (now Shivaji terminus).
The Victoria Terminus, once the headquarters of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, was the culminating
masterpiece of the phase. It was increasingly hybrid in style. The Classical and Baroque style furthered the innovation
in architecture.
Its best exponent was Walter Carnville's Calcutta General Post Office. The innovation in colonial architecture did not
stop here; in Victoria Memorial, William Emerson tried to emulate the Taj Mahal in material if not in form. This was
an indication of 'Indo-Saracenic' hybridization and was being increasingly employed at different places like St.
John's College, Agra and the Madras High Court, Madras.
 India Gate, New Delhi.

South Block, New Delhi

Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi

Secretariat Building, New Delhi.

Mosque of Tipu Sultan, Kolkata
Jain Temple Kolkata

Bhavatarini Temple, Dakshineswar,

Calcutta
Thank You