Delhi- A plural reality . . . .

The city of Delhi is a composite of many diverse cultures and societal classes, which gives it a unique character and makes it a mixed bag of different socio-cultural realms. Historically as well, Delhi has been ruled by so many different dynasties and rules, including the colonial and the Mughal era. Through all these centuries of constant explorations by so many different rulers and eras, Delhi has witnessed over 7 transformations or physical establishments from different dynasties, each manifesting and building their cities to live, administrate and rule, and sporadically smaller towns during each of the reigns manifested themselves, making the city of today in a constant dialogue with its rich history and animates its current reality not only physical, but social and cultural as well.

Figure 1: An Illustration of the Shajanabad city(Old Delhi). Illustrated by London News, January 1858

More popularly, the 4 cities of Lal Kot built-in 1060 under the rule of the Tomar dynasty, followed by the city made by the Khilji Dynasty in 1300 A.D; then the fortified city Tughlaqabad under the Tughlaq dynasty and then the last of the ancient cities and perhaps the most popular one was Shajanabad under the reign of the Mughal dynasty, before the colonization of the British East India Company in early 19th century.

Figure 2: Jama Masjid- a heritage stamp by the Mughal Dynasty from 17th Century

Figure 3: Qutub Minar- a replica of Delhi's Historical from the 13th Century by the Slave dynasty

The Central Delhi as we know today, was developed and planned by Sir. Edwin Lutyens where most of the government offices and residencies are located to date. Parts of Northern Delhi which reflects a different kind of urbanistic appearance than from the rest of Delhi. Under the British regime Delhi, like most of the other cities saw a huge development of road and rail infrastructure setups. Apart from these strategic developments it also saw a lot of urban development done by the Britishers, probably more than that of the other major cities like Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, which were also strategic locations for the British East Company.

Figure 4: India Gate- a modern urban landmark by the British Colonial rule made in the early 20th century after Delhi became the new capital of the country

Based on the accounts of so many different eras, dynasties and kingdoms, Delhi never did see a long term singular vision development under one proper governance that makes it an accumulation and amalgamation of so many mixed cultural, social and architectural definitions. This huge blend of various socio-cultural mix as a result of its vast dynamic history is one of its most cherished characteristics. The notion of pluralism and diversity is automatically reflected and disposes of at every corner and major areas of the city. It is seen that the city itself has come of ages and eras, giving it such a plural essence and colours of different ages. 

Figure 5: Timeline of Delhi through different dynasties and rules

The story however does not end after the end of various dynastic rules, neither with the evacuation of the British rule from India, as the freedom came with the cost of Partition of the Indian sub-continent.  Especially after the independence in 1947 and the subsequent partition, led to dystopian conditions in the country then. The most affected parts were the North-Western border of India, especially the Punjab and Sindh regions that witnessed a mass exodus of refugees and concentrating in Delhi, the capital city of the newly formed independent India. 

Figure 6: Refugee Camps in Kingsway Camp in 1947, were created soon after a large exodus of people started to migrate from the North Western frontier after the Indian Partition. Source: Nehru Memorial Library

Since freedom, there has been a sudden influx in the population, majorly migrant population as a result of India’s partition, which thrust itself immensely in the immediate urbanization process. The aftermaths of the partition had led to a ghastly situation in the entire country and its newly born government, which was supposedly underequipped to handle such a large exodus of people. Delhi was receiving thousands of refugees from all over the North-West frontier of Pakistan and the Punjab region in hope of shelter and food, and the city had to accommodate millions of refugees after the partition. I strongly believe that it ought to be one of the prime reasons which gave birth to a new socially and culturally driven urbanism trend, majorly highlighted by the formation of emergency rehabilitation settlements for the refugees, sporadically located on the sub-urban parts of Delhi, outside the bounds of the Central Delhi.

Figure 7: Connaught Place- the first planned Urban Commercial District of the City under the British rule in 1933

The establishment of such rehabilitation settlements in the capital gave a lot of opportunities to a large populace for a new life. This paved the way to not only a new characteristic of city form, in terms of its socio-cultural mix, but also gave way to the development of new services, institutions, and a new urban mix. The idea of a diverse social environment, domiciled by various groups of different socio-cultural roots, defined and animated the new urbanization processes in Delhi since then, making Delhi as an ever-evolving, dynamic, and a robust physical reality, at a constant dialogue with the diverse and plural populace that it is hosting till date and will continue to do so, which may constantly alter and redefine the urbanism of the city, making the built fabric and the social spaces more plural as always.

Article by: Spandan Das

Architect-Urbanist-Strategic Planner

M.Sc Urbanism & Strategic Planning, K.U. Leuven, Belgium.

B.Architecture, Gujarat University, India