BRITISH ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA

Historians regard the year 1757 as the starting point of the British Empire in
India, even though large parts of the country remained under the rule of Indian
princes. It took nearly another hundred years for the East India Company and
the British government to extend British rule to northern and western India.
The British ruled over the Indians for nearly two centuries, when finally in
1947, India gained independence and became a sovereign state.
During these years, the British introduced innumerous reforms in India. They
developed roads, introduced better means of communication, built great cities
and buildings to facilitate their smooth governance over the large Indian sub-
continent. Renowned architects of the likes of Lutyens, Edward Frere, Le
Corbusier, etc. laid layout plans for some modern Indian cities and designed
exquisite buildings during this period. These buildings and monuments still
stand high glorifying the excellence of these icons of modern architecture.
When the British government had consolidated its position in India, it decided
to redefine its administration. A whole new Government architecture was
developed. During the initial phase, the East India Company's main interest in
India was to generate internal revenue for promoting its trade but under the
British government, India developed as a colony and British dominion.
The government developed a transport network to help its economic, military,
and administrative operations. Railway building in India was done for both
military and economic reasons. Government buildings were erected and new
cities developed. The foundation stone for British architecture was laid down.
The Madras Government House:The vestiges of the British
architecture can be traced to the times when the East India Company had
a firm hold over a large part of the Indian mainland. The Madras
Government House represents the architecture trends of the period. Unlike
its French equivalent at Pondicherry, Government House Triplicane, Madras
(now Chennai) is typical except for its later Banqueting Hall.
The Madras Government House was adapted for Lord Clive in the 1790s
from an earlier one, after the pattern set at Pondicherry by the residence
built for Duplex some fifty years earlier. There superimposed arcaded
loggias before clerestory-lit major spaces were articulated with Doric and
Ionic Orders in the Academic Classical manner of early 18th-century
France.
At Triplicane, however, much lighter colonnaded verandahs, elegant but
quite uncanonical in their intercolumniations, were erected around much of
the side as well as the front. The whole complex is dominated by the Doric
Banqueting Hall, which, even in its original form without the lower
arcading -but not least in the application of column to wall - was as remote
from its ostensible model, the Parthenon, as the main house is from
Academic Classical principle.
The Bombay Town Hall:Quite different in its exceptional Neo-Classical
gravitas is the Bombay Town Hall of Colonel Thomas Cowper, Bombay
Engineers. It is hardly inferior to many of the works of the masters of
French Neo-Classicism. The Greek Doric Order of its powerful temple-
fronts doubtless came from the principal source of the English Greek
Revival, the work of Stuart and Revett, and the dramatically lit staircase
leads to a splendid Corinthian Hall.
CHURCHES
Despite their airy porticos and slender steeples, the walled and pillared
later colonial churches, 'Palladian' in the English sense, ultimately Roman,
usually avoid the insubstantiality if not always the coarseness, of detail
characteristic of many secular works. St Martin in the Fields was to be an
enduringly popular model.
The most accomplished homage paid to it was certainly in St George's
Cathedral and St Andrew's Kirk, Madras. To the Gibbs's formula, Colonel
James Caldwell and Major Thomas de Havilland added side porches for St
George's and sturdy aedicules below the distinguished steeple. St
Andrew's, with an elegant, fluted Ionic order and a more purely classical
steeple, is adventurous in following Gibbs's alternative scheme with
circular nave
A revelation in Architecture:In the prevailing eclecticism of the age,
English design reformers, disgusted with the regurgitation of the
classical and mediaeval styles of Europe's past as the individual
architect thought fit for his particular purpose, had turned back to the
native vernacular traditions and produced the so-called 'Free-Style',
hybrid but non-historicist and of little interest to Anglo-Indians.
On the other hand, the hybrid aspect of the style Scott devised for
Bombay, though still essentially foreign and historicist was a crucial
pointer for Anglo-Indian public builders away from a narrow cultural
chauvinism towards Indian traditions. To that extent, it was reformative.
However, the synthesis that the Anglo-Indians were to evolve, far from
rejecting overt allusion to the monumental styles of the past, added a
resounding new dimension to historicist eclecticism in a truly imperial
style, which reached its apotheosis in New Delhi.
Reformative architecture in Bombay:The energetic Governor, Sir
Bartle Frere - of which Scotts buildings were so significant a product,
launched a public building campaign in Bombay in the second half of
the 1860s. The campaign opened with the Decorated Gothic scheme for
the rebuilding of St Thomas's Cathedral by the Government Architect,
James Trubshawe. This was only partially realized, but Trubshawe made
a weighty contribution, in collaboration with W. Paris,
Of other landmarks produced by the campaign, William Emerson's
Crawford Markets - in an elementary northern Gothic delineated in the
various coloured stones, which contributed so much to the success of the
Gothic Revival in Bombay - reflected the ideals of the early design
reformers at home more nearly than any other prominent Anglo-Indian
building of the period.
For the Public Works Secretariat, Colonel Henry St Clair Wilkins, Royal
Engineers, followed Scott's lead with a Venetian Gothic design in 1877
and his colleague Colonel John Fuller mixed Venetian and early English for
the stupendous High Court of 1879. The culminating masterpieces of the
series, increasingly hybrid in style, are Frederick Stevens' works,
especially Victoria 51 Terminus (1878-87), the headquarters of the Great
Indian Peninsular Railway.
This certainly rivals London's St Pancras in lan, but is more specifically
indebted to Scott's symmetrical scheme for the Government Offices in
Whitehall (1856), with its open forecourt flanked by three-storey turreted
wings and the German Houses of Parliament, Berlin (1872) with its
innovative dome. Like Scott's University buildings, the Venetian Gothic of
Stevens' splendid terminus is infused with Indian decorative elements.
Stevens was also responsible for the municipal buildings built in 1893
opposite Victoria Terminus and for the slightly later Bombay, Baroda, and
Central Indian Railway terminus at Churchgate. In these works, he took a
still more significant step towards the synthesis of Indian and European
forms with the incorporation of cusped arches and Deccani Muslim
domes.
Following the example, George Wittet achieved a thoroughgoing Anglo-
Indian synthesis for the Prince of Wales Museum in 1905 and the
Gateway of India some twenty-two years later. The Museum, Classical in
plan and purpose, prefers a full-blooded Adil Shahi revival, with its central
pavilion modelled on the Gol Gumbad at Bijapur. The Gateway is Neo-
Ahmad Shah, but recalls the Roman form of triumphal arch as much as
Ahmadabad's
ReformativeTin Darwaza, and
architecture at substitutes a Bijapuriand
Calcutta, Madras central
otherspace for
the trabeated the
cities:While one attention
provided of
byScott
the Guja
and his Bombay followers was
focused on Venice, the Government Architect Walter Granville ruptured
the Classical decorum of Calcutta with an excursion into the arena
favoured by Street at home and based his High Court (1872) on the
Cloth Hall at Ypres. Before the decade was out he showed his versatility
- not only at turning a corner - in the splendid General Post Office which,
if Classical in the purity of its forms, is certainly Baroque in scale and
movement. For the Victoria Memorial at the other end of the Maidan,
William Emerson embarked upon a quixotic attempt to rival the Taj
Mahal. It was built of a similar luscious material but the alien forms,
The potential of so-called 'Indo-Saracenic' hybridization, at best for
generating tension, at least for spinning mesmerizing fantasy, was
exploited all over the Subcontinent. Outstanding examples are W.
Brunton's bold reconciliation of Saracen castle and mosque for the
fortified railway station at Lahore, Samuel Swinton Jacob's cross-
fertilization of the English quadrangle with the Mughal court of audience
for St John's College, Agra, Robert Chisholm's Bizantino-Qutb Shahi
University Senate House, Madras, and the stupefying mlange of Gothic
and various permutations of the styles perpetrated by the late Deccani
Muslims with which Henry Irwin followed it for the Madras High Court.
Chisholm may lay claim to primacy in the late-19th century hybrid school
for his work on the conversion of the already 'Indo-Saracenic' mid-18th
Like the Government Houses of British territories, the early seats of British
century Chepauk Palace, former residence of the Nawab of the Carnatic,
power at the courts of indigenous rulers - such as the Residencies of
for the Madras Public Works Department.
Lucknow, Hyderabad and Bangalore - were modelled on the 'stately home'
to which the gentleman Resident would have been accustomed in Britain.
Many European merchants aped such works, often on a lavish scale quite
out of proportion with their status at home.
In Calcutta and Madras such are the mansions and club houses of
Chowringhi and Adyar, respectively, with their high ceilings and
verandahs. Native merchants went even further with their houses. Most
spectacular by far, is the Zimindari Mullick's 'Marble Palace' in Calcutta,
with its astonishing classical interpretation of diwan and court
Architecture of Princely homes and palaces:On a still larger and
often even coarser scale native rulers adopted western palace types in
whole or in part, with state rooms incorporating antechambers, salons,
banqueting halls and vast saloon-like durbar halls, designed to cater for
Westernized manners and European guests.
It was certainly not lost upon the 'Model Prince' that European building
types could be interpreted in a wide diversity of western, eastern and
hybrid styles and at their service the fecundity of the Anglo-Indian
imagination was to know no bounds.
Notable examples of princely residences in styles derived from the
repertory of Italianate Classicism range from the 'Palladian' Faluknama of
Hyderabad, taken over from a nobleman and expanded by the Nizam in
the last decades of the century - which belongs to the type represented
by Government House Triplicane - to the Neo-High Renaissance palace of
Cooch Behar and the Neo-Baroque one at Panna.
Most notorious is the Jal Vilas commissioned by the Maharaja of Gwalior
from Lieutenant Colonel Sir Michael Filose, Indian Army, to provide for the
visit of the Prince of Wales. With the fantastic 'La Martiniere' not far off at
Lucknow to emulate, Filose's achievement was prodigious.
The style might be called 'Venetian High Renaissance', though it hardly
recalls the sage deployment of the Venetian motif by Palladio or
Sansovino. Rather it suggests the infinite expansion of a Bibiena stage set
and to illuminate the prince's visit the durbar hall required the largest pair
of chandeliers ever made
Equally popular with their highnesses, predictably, was 'Rajput Revival'. The
palaces of Alwa or Varanasi, where major building campaigns originated
early in the 19th century, provide two of the many links between the two
great periods of princely building. The main compound of the Udai Vilas at
Dungapur falls into the same category but late in the century, the court
was paved and a tower pavilion constructed which, as at Datia, provides a
perfectly formal re-statement of the prasada (a large palace) prototype.
A similar model prasada provides the main tower of the accomplished new
palace, built early in the 20th century by Jaisalmer's Maharawal Salivahan:
the 'Rajput Revival' presides over a 'Saracenic' arcade with attached
debased Corinthian columns. Far purer - 'academic' if that word were
admissible in the context - are the great symmetrical piles produced for
Bikaner and Kotah by the master of the style, Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob.
Many other princes preferred the more daring Eurasian hybrid styles being
developed in the public buildings of the last decades of the 19th century. At
the turn of the century, the Maharaja of Mysore called upon Henry Irwin for
an extravaganza that ceded nothing in scale or prolixity to that master's
masterpiece in Madras.
Irwin's mentor, Robert Chisholm, was employed by the Gaekwad of Baroda
to complete his Lakshmi Vilas. This had been begun in the late 1870s by
Major Charles Mant, Royal Engineers, fresh from his triumph in the service
of another Maratha prince at Kolhapur. The latter work was a dazzling
asymmetrical composition combining late Mughal and Deccani Muslim
arcades and domes with Gujarati trabeation. In the confection at Baroda,
An essential ingredient in all these stupendous works of architecture was
the Classical portico, extended to form the sun-shielding verandah in
more elevated permutations, asserting the dignity of the ruler without
ostentation.
This modesty is equally well illustrated by the Viceroy's seat - for half the
year - at Shimla. Here the informal clutter of a minor English seaside
resort sprawls between the quaint little reproduction of a rural parish
church and the pseudo-Elizabethan great house - like that of some
newly-rich northern industrialist at home. How very different was to be
the last capital of British India laid out from 1913 by Sir Edwin Lutyens in
collaboration with Sir Herbert Baker, who was fresh from his imperious
triumph at Pretoria.

LAXMI VILLA BARODA

 It is reputed to have been the largest private dwelling built till date and
four times the size of Buckingham Palace. At the time of construction it
boasted the most modern amenities such as elevators and the interior
is reminiscent of a large European country house. It remains the
residence of the Royal Family, who continue to be held in high esteem
byornate
Its the residents
Darbar ofBaroda.
Hall, which is sometimes the venue of music concerts
and other cultural events, has a Venetian mosaic floor, Belgium stained
glass windows and walls with intricate mosaic decorations. Outside of the
Darbar Hall is an Italinate courtyard of water fountains. The palace
houses a remarkable collection of old armoury and sculptures in bronze,
marble & terracotta by Fellici. The grounds were landscaped by William
Goldring, a specialist from Kew Gardens. The palace is open to the public
Lalgarh palace bikaner
The palace was built between 1902 and 1926 according toRajput,Mughaland
European architectural styles, being largely in theIndo-Saracenic style. The building
was commissioned by theBritish-controlled regency forMaharaja Ganga Singh(1881
1942) while he was still in his minority as they considered the existing Junagarh Palace
unsuitable for a modern monarch. Ganga Singh decided that the palace should be
named in memory
The complex wasofdesigned
his fatherMaharaja Lall Singh.
by the British architect SirSamuel Swinton
Jacob. After a ritual blessing ceremony construction commenced in 1896
on empty land 5 miles from the existingJunagarh Forton what is now Dr.
Karni Singhji Road. The palace was arranged around two courtyards with
the first and most impressive wing, Laxmi Niwas completed in 1902.The
remaining three wings were completed in stages with final completion of
the complex accomplished in 1926.Lord Curzon was the palace's first
notable guest. Ganga Singh was legendary for his shikars (hunts) at his
hunting preserve at Gajner, in particular his Imperial Sand Grouse hunts at
Christmas.As a result the palace hosted many guests including
Georges Clemenceauin 1920, Queen Mary, King George V, Lord Harding
and Lord Irwin.
The palace was originally designed to cost 100,000 rupeesdue to the
planned use of cheaper materials including the suggestion of usingstucco
instead of carved stone in the construction. Soon however all cost cutting
was abandoned and by time of the completion of the first wing the cost had
increased to 1 million rupeesdue to the use of the finest materials
including the widespread employment of finely carved stonework.
The three-storey complex is coated in red sandstone quarried from theThar
Desert. The complex contains the features considered essential for a late
AMBA VILLA MYSORE
The architectural style of the palace is commonly described asIndo-
Saracenic, and blends togetherHindu,Muslim,Rajput, and
Gothicstylesof architecture. It is a three-stone structure, with marble
domes and a 145ft five-storied tower. The palace is surrounded by a
large garden.
The three storied stone building of fine graygranitewith deep pink
marble domes was designed by Henry Irwin. The facade has several
expansive arches and two smaller ones flanking the central arch,
which is supported by tall pillars.
Above the central
THREE PARTS arch is an impressive sculpture ofGajalakshmi, the
OF PALACE
goddessofwealth,prosperity,good luck, andabundancewith her
Ambavilasa
This was used by the king for private audience and is one of the most spectacular rooms.
elephants
Entry to this opulent hall is through an elegantly carved rosewood doorway inlaid with ivory
that opens into a shrine to Ganesha. The central nave of the hall has ornately gilded columns,
stained glass ceilings, decorative steel grills, and chandeliers with fine floral motifs, mirrored
in the pietra dura mosaic floor embellished with semi-precious stones.
Gombe Thotti (Dolls Pavilion)
Entry to the palace is through the Gombe Thotti or the Dolls Pavilion, a gallery of traditional
dolls from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The pavilion also houses a fine
collection of Indian and European sculpture and ceremonial objects like a wooden elephant
howdah (frame to carry passengers) decorated with 84 kilograms of gold.
Kalyana Mantapa
The Kalyana Mantapa or marriage hall is a grand octagonal-shaped pavilion with a multi-hued
stained glass ceiling with peacock motifs arranged in geometrical patterns. The entire
structure was wrought inGlasgow, Scotland. The floor of the Mantapa continues the peacock
theme with a peacock mosaic, designed with tiles from England. Oil paintings, illustrating the
royal procession and Dasara celebrations of bygone years, make the walls more splendid.
The new Capital of British India - New Delhi:King George V proclaimed
the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi at the climax of the 1911
Imperial Durbar. New Delhi was inaugurated early in 1931. Like Calcutta, it
was stamped with the hallmark of authority and like most other seats of
British power in India it stood apart from its Indian predecessors. This was
contrary to the original intention. The prevailing enthusiasm of Anglo-Indian
imperial designers for the synthesis of eastern and western styles quailed
before the problem of assimilating an urban order, devised in accordance
with the principles of the modern English Garden City, and the vital chaos of
Shahjahanabad: the latter seemed to be the very embodiment of all the evils
of laissez-faire growth that the formulators of the Garden City movement
most specifically deplored.The ceremonial, administrative and commercial
centres of the new metropolis define an equilateral triangle. The commercial
centre in the north forms the apex. Rajpath, the east-west axis of power,
provides their base. The northeast diagonal serves the Law; the north-west
diagonal bypasses the cathedral and the originally unforeseen Parliament.
Rajpath is aligned with the entrance to the Purana Qila. It runs through the
India Gate War Memorial and the portal buildings of Baker's Secretariat, from
the chattri in which the city's founder, the King-Emperor, stood in imperial
majesty to the durbarhall of the house where his Viceroy sat
Lutyens and his works:Lutyens had arrived in India to undertake this great
work with scant respect for the Subcontinent's architectural legacy, and his
views grew only the more derogatory with first-hand familiarity - especially
with the Anglo-Indian Imperial hybrids developed by his immediate
predecessors, but also with the traditions of 'veneered joinery' from which
those hybrids were drawn.
Lutyens' imperial eclecticism ranged from Wren's St Stephen's Walbrook (for
the Viceroy's library) to the Mahastupa at Sanchi (for the central cupola) and
the chahar bagh. On the way he took in the ubiquitous Indian chattriand
chadya, cross-fertilized acanthus and volute with padma and bell for his
Order and tethered Indian elephants at salient portal corners where the great
ancient Mesopotamian monarchies had ceremonial syncretic winged
monsters.
Baker was equally liberal with his Indian motifs in the Secretariats and the
massive, strangely unassertive, circular Parliament building, but Lutyens
Elsewhere the later official builders of the British Raj rejected the effulgent
thought him singularly insensitive to the spirit of the scheme as a whole in
fantasy of their predecessors in favour of a simpler Classicism. However, just
the angle at which he set Rajpath's ascent between the Secretariats to the
as the Viceroys' residence in Calcutta had set a standard to be emulated by
plane of the Viceroy's House.
the 'Model Princes' of the 19th century the challenge of Lutyens' great work
was taken up in the 1920s and 1930s by the most ambitious of their heirs.
There were occasional excursions into the style of the moment, like Lakhdiraj
of Morvi's Art Deco work of 1931, but quite outstanding is the new palace of
Maharaja Umaid Singh at Jodhpur. The architects of the Umaid Bhavan were
H.V. Lanchester and T.A. Lodge, whose municipal achievements in Britain's
richest cities had originally recommended their practice for the great Delhi
Centered on a vast circular hall like the Viceroy's house, Jodhpur's principal
audience and reception suites are entered from the east - in accordance with
tradition. Courts for the staff and the rawala are disposed to the north and
south respectively, the latter addressing an enclosed garden and the
expansive view.
Whereas Lutyens drew formal authority somewhat incongruously - if
persuasively - from Sanchi, Lanchester's great dome, with its unusually
vigorous projections and recessions,is generically appropriate in reflecting
our earliest image of the palace of the Gods.
With its roots in the ancient indigenous palace tradition and accommodating
Art Deco private apartments within a resounding Edwardian baroque pile
whose almost entirely tabulated ordinance manages to recall something of
the early Pratiharas, despite rather Islamic bnses-soleil, this building could
hardly provide a more fitting conclusion to a survey of Indian architecture and
it was completed in 1947, just as it attained redundancy with the emergence
of the new India
 Some Architectural Greats

Frere, Sir Henry Bartle Edward (1815-1884),a British colonial official,

entered the Indian Civil Service in 1834. He served as chief commissioner of
Sind (1850-1859) and governor of Bombay (1862-1867). His administration
promoted economic development in Sind. During the Indian mutiny of 1857,
his leadership kept Sind and the region of Punjab calm. For these
achievements he was honoured with a knighthood. He was made a baronet in
1876 for his improvement of Indian agriculture and education.
In 1877, he became the first high commissioner of South Africa with the task
of uniting the British and Dutch South African republics into a single British-
run Federation. Opposed by Boer settlers in the Transvaal and by Zulu tribes,
Frere tried to destroy the Zulus by provoking a war with them in 1879.
Following early British losses, Frere was recalled to England and publicly
criticized in 1880.
Lutyens, Sir Edwin Landseer (1869-1944),was one of the most
important English architects of the early 1900's. His designs show the
influence of Palladian Revival and other English architectural styles of the
1700's. Lutyens first became prominent for country houses he designed with
the English landscape architect Gertrude Jekyll.
Their best-known country houses included Munstead Wood (1896) near
Godalming, Surrey, and Deanery Garden (1901) in Sonning, Berkshire. Later
in his career, Lutyens turned to town planning. Two of his most important
projects were the village centre in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, and
Baker, Sir Herbert (1862-1946),was South Africa's leading architect in the
early 1900's. He was noted for the clean, classical simplicity of his buildings.
Baker was born in Cobham, Kent, in England. He went to Cape Town in 1892.
Cecil John Rhodes, a leading figure of the British Empire in southern Africa,
engaged him to restore his house, "Groote Schuur." Later, Baker designed
many public and private buildings in Cape Town and in the Transvaal,
including the Union Building. Baker returned to England in 1912. Later, he
designed public buildings in India, and South Africa House in London. He was
knighted in 1926. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London.

British Architecture at Calcutta:Many imposing structures still stand as

monuments to British rule in India. They include the Raj Bhavan, the official
residence of the governor of the state of West Bengal, which was modelled on
Kedleston Hall, a great house in Derbyshire, in the United Kingdom. The
Writers' Building, a civil service headquarters, and the High Court are fine
buildings in the Gothic style. The General Post Office and the Town Hall are
built in neoclassical style.
The Victoria Memorial, built between 1906 and 1921, is a huge structure in
the Renaissance style, faced with white marble. It seeks to mingle classical,
Western, and Mughal influences. The memorial contains Queen Victoria's
piano and writing desk and a fine collection of portraits of Anglo-Indian
leaders. Another interesting structure is the Ochterlony Monument, a granite
column 46 metres high
British Architecture at Bombay:One of the most famous landmarks in
Mumbai is the Gateway of India. This huge arch commemorates the visit to
India in 1911 of King George V. The original white plaster design was replaced
in 1927 by an arch of yellow stone in a mixture of Gujarati, Islamic, and
European architectural styles. Public buildings in Western neoclassical style
include the Mint and the Town Hall.
But Mumbai is most famed for its Indian-style Gothic buildings, such as the
Central Telegraph Office, High Court, General Post Office, and Chatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj railway station (formerly the Victoria Terminus). These
buildings were constructed during the city's boom period of the 1860's to
1880's. Many of them are decorated with carvings, including birds and
animals, made by Indian craftworkers.
British Architecture at New Delhi:New Delhi was designed by the British
architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, assisted by Sir Herbert Baker. It was laid out 5
kilometres south of Old Delhi on a well-drained site standing slightly above
the level of the surrounding plain. The builders used explosives to blast away
the top layer of the land to flatten it and provide earth to fill in the nearby
valleys. The resulting complex is a spacious, attractive, and carefully planned
city, with broad, treelined avenues and many open areas, parks, gardens,
and fountains.
Many of New Delhi's best-known landmarks lie on a line running east to west
through the city. The line starts at the National Stadium. Then it passes
through the Children's Park and the War Memorial Arch along the impressive
Raj Path, through Central Vista Park, to Rashtrapati Bhavan (the residence of
the president of India). A similar line running north-south, known as
British Architecture at Madras:Fort St. George was built in 1653 by the
British East India Company. Today, the buildings of the old fort house the
state administrative offices, the legislative assembly, and a museum
devoted to the history of the East India Company. A banqueting hall built in
the Greek style is still used for civic functions.
St. Mary's Church, the oldest Anglican church in Asia, dates from about
1680. The church was visited by a number of famous personalities linked
with the East India Company. They included Elihu Yale, after whom the
American university was named; Robert Clive, the British administrator
who took India into the British Empire; and Arthur Wellesley, who later, as
the Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo.
 PWD IN INDIA

In 1854, Lord Dalhousie created a public works department in each of

India`s presidencies (the three presidency areas being Bengal, Bombay and
Madras) and provinces consisting of civil and military branches. Dalhousie
also provided for a Central Public Works Secretariat in Calcutta. These
departments ramped up roads and bridges and carried out irrigation
projects, including canals, dams and reservoirs.
In the early days of public works in British India, P.W.D. was
responsible for construction and maintenance of building and
roads and irrigation projects like canals, dams and reservoirs etc.
The management of Public Works Department during this period
was not at all systematic and was under the control of Military
Board of Imperial Government. But the arrangement did not
prove to be much effective. Drawing attention of the Government
to the unsatisfactory management and state of affairs in public
works, the Court of Directors of the East India Company, in
early1850, instituted a Commission each of the presidencies for
investigation. The order became effective inDecember,
1850and the Bengal Commission submitted its report inMarch,
1851. The members of the Commission were unanimous on the
inability of the Military Board in the management of the public
works department. Lord Dalhousie founded the public works
department through which works programme like construction of
roads, bridges and other public utility works including extension
of irrigation projects were undertaken.
The Commission submitted a new proposal for department management. The
basic features of the proposal as accepted by the Court of Directors were as
under:

The Control of P.W.D. was removed from under the Military Board and placed
under the Chief Engineers.
P.W.D. came under the control of respective provincial Government.
The Chief Engineers to be assisted by the Superintending Engineer &
Executive Engineer.
The Governor General of India issued an order21st April, 1854by which
The
the responsibility officers
independent of the Chief
for management andEngineers
control ofwere dissolved.
the Public Works
Department was entrusted upon the Bengal Presidency with effect from1st
May, 1854:
In 1866, P.W.D. was divided into three branches namely, Civil (Roads,
Building & Irrigation), Military and Railway. This very year the then Governor
General, Lord Lawrence (1864-68) introduced the system of investing in
public works by borrowing from the public. The New policy saw
implementation of some important projects like Midnapore Canal (1872),
Orissa Coast Canal (1882), Rajapur Drainage Canal (1882) etc. During 1870,
local government system was introduced by the government. As per a
government decision taken inMay, 1882during the tenure of Lord Ripon
(1880-84), the local government body in India were recognized following the
British Rules. In1893, provincial services were created in each of the
provinces of India. The technical branch staffs were divided into three
categories: (i) Engineers (ii) Upper Subordinates (iii) Lower Subordinates.
And the engineers were divided into separate services, viz., Imperial
With the complete separation of the Military branch in1895, the P.W.D.
became an exclusive civil department. The P.W.D. became responsible for
public works relating to roads, buildings, irrigations and railways from this
time. Beside, with the integration and development of local government
system, Special types of public works were entrusted upon District Boards
and Municipalities.
In1905, the railways branch was segregated from the P.W.D. and was
converted into a separate department under the management and control
of Railway Board. The first railway line in India was commissioned in 1853
from Bombay to Thane and train services were introduced. Till 1905 about
3600 miles of railway track was constructed by the P.W.D.
Increased initiative by the British Government for more development
increased the work load of P.W.D. considerably. In1920, P.W.D. was
divided into two separate departments, viz., Public Works and Irrigation.
Surface Roads of pre-independence period were maintained by Works and
Building Directorate, which subsequently nomenclatured as P.W.
Directorate under the administrative set up of P.W. Department.