SHAHJAHANABAD

SALIENT FEATURES
ECONOMIC STRUCTURE:
•Trade and commerce flourished
•Markets grew along the streets.

POLITICAL:
•Reign of powerful dynasty of Mughals-Powerful monarchy.
•Monumental structures were built for the imperial rulers.

CULTURAL:
•Emergence of Urdu language from Urdu Bazaar of Shahjahanbad.
•Remarkable growth in Architecture and art.
•Hub of Muglai Cuisine.

SOCIAL:
•Walled city was divided into separate quarters on the basis of social and occupational
groups ,such as the baidwara, daiwara, naiwara, hobiwara and maliwarafor doctors
,midwives ,barbers, washermen and gardeners respectively.
•There were separate wings or kutras or each class of tradesman and the various guilds of
craftsmen
• The rich merchants and the aristocrats lived along the river with there large residences or
havelis near the fort, while the relatively under privileged were pushed towards the outskirts
.
SHAHJAHANABAD -LAYOUT

•Polygonal plan with four main

gateways Delhi Darwaza, Ajmeri
Darwaza, Lahori Darwaza and
Kashmiri Darwaza positioned on the
cardinal points according to the
basic network of the city.
•The main focal point of the city was
conceived atop in the form of a
mosque, Jama Masjid that
dominated the walled city as a visual
as well as a spiritual symbol of the
supreme God.
•The two major streets, Chandni
Chowk and Faiz Bazaar running
east-west and north-south
respectively, were designed wide
and straight for processional routes
and assumed importance for ritual
events and for commercial activities.
•. Chandni Chowk, 1.4km long Street, connected the Lahori 73 Darwaza of the fort to the
Lahori Darwaza of the city wall. It was built as the central axis of the city forming a wide
boulevard with a broad vista with fort at one end.
•They streets were mainly built as access roads to residential areas and meant for
pedestrian traffic only

Residential planning:
•People settled settle by ethnic affiliations.i.e.had
led to the formation of districts or wards, known as
mahallas and katras, with each katra having an
enclosed space created between residential and
commercial buildings with entry through a gate.
•There were 36 mahalls in the walled city defined
by cultural and socio economic activities.
•Courtyard houses of various scales, complexity
and ornamentation signified the owner’s status and
social ranking in the society.
•Inner courtyard of the havellis were not only
suited climatically but acted as spill out area for
day to day activities, thus enhanced the living of
people.
Planning
Transformations:

•Firstly the First War of Independence of 1857 resulted in major destruction of the
traditional urban fabric. Its reconstruction coincided not only with far-
reaching architectural and spatial changes in the old city, but even more so in the fort
and its imperial Mughal architecture.

•Second and probably more important, its traditional population structure was more
or less totally changed as a result of British retreat and the partition of the Indian
subcontinent into an Islamic Pakistan and a predominantly Hindu-populated India in
1947. The exodus of muslims from Shahjahanabad/Old Delhi and the irreplacement
by Hindus have, of course, greatly changed the Islamic· character of the city.

•The Palace-complex (hereafter called the Red Fort) was emptied of its inhabitants.
The army moved into the Fort, bulldozed most of the palaces and erected tall dreary
barracks. Many houses, shops and public buildings were destroyed and the organic
link between the palace and the city was broken.
Need and relevance of future proposal
•With the fall of the Mughal Empire during the mid-18th century, Delhi faced raids by
the Marathas(a people of peninsular India), invasion by Nāder Shah of Persia, and a
brief spell of Maratha rule before the British arrived in 1803.
•Under British rule the city flourished, —except during the Indian Mutiny in 1857,
when the mutineers seized the city for several months, after which British power was
restored and Mughal rule ended.
•Introduced railways which cut through Shahjahanabad, railway stations and railway
yards were built next to Chandni Chowk and gardens (Begum ka Bagh) were destroyed.
•The key architect on the committee was Sir Edwin Lutyens; it was he who gave shape
to the city. The British moved to the partially built New Delhi in 1912, and construction
was completed in 1931.
 PROPOSAL

•Lutyens had initially

designed Delhi with all the
streets crossing at right
angles, much like in New
York.
•However, Lord Hardinge
told him of the dust storms
that sweep the landscape in
these parts, insisting on
roundabouts, hedges and
trees to break their force,
giving him the plans of
Rome, Paris and
Washington to study and
apply to Delhi.
•destroyed the area between
Delhi Gate and Kashmere
Gate. The Old City wall
was demolished to build
Asaf Ali Road
Image Source: http://www.wmf.org/sites/default/files/wmf_article/pg_38-43_new_delhi.pdf
Image source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-lutyens-delhi
• Lutyens laid out the central administrative area of the city.
• At the heart of the city was the impressive Rashtrapati
Bhawan, located on the top of Raisina Hill. The Rajpath
connects India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan, while
Janpath, which crosses it at a right angle, connects
South end with Connaught Place.
• The Secretariat Building, which houses various
ministries of the Government of India including Prime
Minister's Office are beside the Rashtrapati Bhawan and
were designed by Herbert Baker.

Image Source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-lutyens-delhi

Thank you

Presentation by
Aayillya,1401,s9