Impact on Visual Arts & Cultural Expressions: Motifs & Symbolic Significance of the Colonial Building in Delhi
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This paper examines the Indo-Saracenic architectural style, specifically as utilised by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the development of New Delhi (1912–1931), to elucidate its role as a deliberate political and symbolic instrument for asserting British imperial supremacy and establishing a visual assertion of historical Indian authority. The research investigates how the architecture, exemplified by the Viceroy's House (Rashtrapati Bhavan), established a manifestation of "hegemonic hybridity". The primary argument claims that Lutyens' design was fundamentally a Western classical structure, with indigenous features—specifically the chhajja, chhatri, and jali—integrated mostly as "superficial ornamentation" or "political concession". This method systematically removed the intricate cultural significances of native aspects, reinterpreting them as generic "Indian touches" to disguise a claim of logical, Western authority. The outcome was an aesthetic domination, characterised by a European structural framework complemented by Indian artistic adornment. Additionally, significant elements such as the Jaipur Column conveyed a distinct sense of "narrative subjugation" within the imperial environment.
Authors: Moumita Sarker Moon, Rajiv Mandal
Institution: Banaras Hindu University
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4415566588