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By: V. Basil Hans
Research Professor, Department of Management and Commerce, Srinivas University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
This article examines the progression of urban and residential planning in India before its independence in 1947, emphasizing on the socio-cultural, political, and economic factors that influenced urban growth. India’s pre-independence urban planning shows a long history of creative architecture and flexible design. For example, the Indus Valley Civilization had well-planned towns, while the Mughal and British colonial periods had well-planned cities. The research investigates indigenous planning ideas derived from literature, like as the Vastu Shastra, with exogenous influences established under Islamic and European dominion. It looks at how settlements are organized in space, the different types of housing, and how colonial infrastructure projects affected these things, especially the rise of hill stations, cantonments, and presidency towns. The article offers a nuanced knowledge of the conception, construction, and habitation of urban environments through the analysis of case studies like Mohenjo-Daro, Jaipur, Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi), and Bombay (now Mumbai). The research emphasizes the convergence of tradition and modernization, illustrating how pre-independence planning methodologies established a groundwork for current urban challenges and strategies in post-independence India.
Keywords: Vastu shastra, Indus valley civilization, colonial architecture, Mughal urbanism, traditional housing, and urban planning in India before independence
Citation:
Refrences:
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