NCERT Class 8 History Chapter 6: Colonialism and the City YouTube Lecture Handouts
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NCERT Class 8 History Chapter 6: Colonialism & City
- Many new cities with industrialization emerged
- Leeds & Manchester in Britain grew in 19th & 20th century with housing and job
- Late 18th century β Calcutta, Bombay & Madras β Presidency cities (administrative) which developed from East India CompanyΥs factories at Surat, Madras and Calcutta
- Many smaller cities declined, many towns manufacturing specialized goods declined, old trading ports couldnΥt survive
- Machlipatnam, Surat & Seringapatnam β deurbanized during 19th century & by early 20th century β 11% Indians were living in cities
- Historic imperial city of Delhi became provincial town in the nineteenth century before it was rebuilt as the capital of British India after 1912
- Delhi remained capital for more than 1,000 years
- 14 capital cities were found in 60 square miles on left bank of Jamuna River
Shah Jahan built Shahjahanabad in 1639 with fort palace complex
- Lal Qila & Red Fort made of red sandstone contained palace complex β to its west was Walled City with 14 gates β big bazaars of Chandni Chowk & Faiz Bazaar & a canal down the center of Chandni Chowk
- Jama Masjid (first mosque in India with minarets and full domes) was largest & grandest mosque & was highest in city
- Dargahs (tomb of Sufi saint) , khanqahs (sufi lodge) and idgahs (open prayer hall)
- Open squares, winding lanes, quiet cul-desacs (street with dead end) and water channels were the pride of DelhiΥs residents
- Sharp distinction b/w rich & poor
Delhi
- 1803 β British defeated Marathas but capital was Calcutta & Mughals were allowed to live in Red Fort, Delhi
- After 1911, Delhi became capital of British India
- Madras, Bombay & Calcutta β living spaces of Britishers and Indians separated as whites and blacks
- 1st half of 19th century β Britishers lived along Indians in walled city & enjoyed learning Urdu/Persian
- 1830 to 1857 was period of Renaissance
- After 1857 β rebels gathered and persuaded Bahadur Shah to become leader of uprising (Delhi remained under rebel control for 4 months)
- 1792 β Delhi College established for humanities and sciences in Urdu
- After 1857, Britishers plundered the city & exiled Bahadur Shah to Burma dismantling his court
- Britishers cleared area around forts like garden, pavilion, mosque for security reasons, mosques were destroyed
- Zinat-al-Masjid was converted into a bakery
- No worship was allowed in the Jama Masjid for five years
- 1β3rd of the city was demolished, and its canals were filled up.
- 1870Υs β Western walls of Shahjahan abad were broken to establish railways & British started living in Civil Lines in north away from walled city
- Delhi College was converted to school and shut down in 1877
Planning a New Capital
- After 1857, many events were held
- 1877- Viceroy Lytton organized Durbar to acknowledge Queen Victoria as Empress of India (Grand Durbar in Delhi but capital was Calcutta) β celebrate British power with pomp and show
- 1911 β King George V was crowned in England & durbar in Delhi, capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. New Delhi constructed as 10 square mile city on Raisina Hill by Edward Lutyens and Herbert Baker β 2 mile avenue as Kingsway (Rajpath) leading to ViceroyΥs Palace (Rashtrapati Bhavan) with secretariat buildings on both sides β looks from classical Greek (5th century) , central dome form Sanchi & red sandstone from Mughal architects
- New Delhi: Broad, straight streets lined with sprawling mansions set in the middle of large compounds; sense of law & order; clean and healthy with proper water supply, drainage, green areas
Life During Partition
- Massive transfer of population, population increased and jobs changed
- After 1947, rioting started, Many Muslims left for Pakistan while Sikhs and Hindu Refugees moved from Pakistan
- 2β3rd Muslims migrated and 40,000 homes were abandoned β mainly artisans, petty traders and labourers
- 5 lakh people added as migrants form Punjab β stayed in camps, schools with aim to build new homes β new colonies like Lajpat Nagar and Tilak Nagar was established - rural landlords, lawyers, teachers, traders and small shopkeepers
- Urdu urban culture was overshadowed by new tastes and sensibilities
Inside Old City
- Past β canal system for drinking and domestic supply
- 19th century β baolis and wells & channels to remove waste; Shahjahani drains were closed and open surface drains were introduced (too overburdened & it overflowed) β municipal committee was not willing to spend on good drainage
- Mughal period β havelis and open courtyard & fountains β declined in 17th & 18th century β amir (nobleman) unable to maintain it & havelis got subdivided & were taken over by mercantile class
- Colonial bungalows β large single storeyed structure with pitched roof for nuclear family in 1 - 2 acre area β separate living, dining & bedroom with veranda β kitchen, stable and servant quarter in separate space
Municipality Plan
- 1931 census β old city crowded with 90 persons/acre while New Delhi had 3 person/acre
- 1888- Lahore Gate Improvement Scheme by Robert Clarke for Walled City residents β keep them away from old city to new type of market square where shops would be built
- Streets in grid pattern with identical width, size and character
- Land divided into equal areas to construct neighborhoods
- Clarkegunj as development was called remained incomplete & couldnΥt decongest old city
- 1936 β Delhi Improvement Trust was established β Daryaganj South was built for wealthy Indians β with houses grouped around parks & within houses were new rules of privacy - different members of the same family had their own private spaces within the home.
- Hebert Baker, architect went to South Africa & got connected with Cecil Rhodes (Governor of Cape Town)
- He designed city of Pretoria in South Africa β used same in Secretariat building in New Delhi
- Union Building & Secretariat were both built to house imperial offices
β Manishika