Shahjahanabad - Old Delhi: tradition and planned change

Author(s): Douglas E. Goodfriend

Source: Ekistics , NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1982, Vol. 49, No. 297 (NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
1982), pp. 472-475
Published by: Athens Center of Ekistics

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43621804

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 Shahjahanabad - Old Delhi:
tradition and planned change

Douglas E. Goodfriend

The author is an urban anthropologist and planner from the These serve many functions. They act as the represen-
University of Chicago, USA. He has previously served in the tative of the mohalladhar (residents) to civic authorities
New City Dept of City Planning and on the research faculty at such as the police, electric supply, water supply officials.
the School of Public and Urban Policy, University of Pennsyl- They maintain social order through formal and informal
vania. He was in India from 1979 to 1981 as a Social Science
systems of sanctions. They sponsor social welfare pro-
Research Council and Fulbright Scholar, conducting research
grams for widows, orphans and the poor. Some give
on sociocultural aspects of urban form, policy and development
in Delhi-New Delhi. scholarships to needy students of the locality. They
supply facilities and utensils for weddings and other
Shahjahanabad, the 17th century walled city of Delhi
family celebrations of the mohalladhar. They support
lying beside Sir Edwin Lutyen's (1911-1931) planned
social activities like festival feasts, athletic clubs and
capital city of New Delhi, presents a fascinating case karom competitions. Many associations give aid to the
study of the tenacity of urban traditions. It is one of the
local temple or mosque.
oldest continuous urban settlements in the region. WhileIn short, mohallas of old Delhi are self-contained,
newer Delhis have arisen and totally surrounded it, Shah-intimate social environments of families who have known
jahanabad remains the essential lively core of the metro-
one another for many years. It is critical to note that, for
politan area. Different sectors of the capital exhibit vast-
most of the people who live in the mohallas of old Delhi,
ly different life styles and cultures. The way of life in old
this is a culturally preferred way of life. It is a life style
Delhi remains a mystery or a curiosity to most of the resi-
which they do not wish to change. They do not consider
dents of south, west or bungalow New Delhi. While the
their homes and neighborhoods to be slums. To old Delhi
old city retains strong commercial ties to the entire
mohalladhar, the colonies of South and West Delhi may
metropolitan area and the North India region, it is social-
be wealthy, spacious and green, but they are socially
ly isolated. Old Delhi forms a distinct and separate social
sterile. And sociability is highly valued in old Delhi.
world. That world, with its social and architectural tra-
ditions, is now facing imminent destruction. Having sur- Architectural heritage: In addition to the living social
vived almost 350 years of continuous evolution, is Shah- heritage of Shahjahanabad, there is the architectural
jahanabad now obsolete? Is it worth saving? If so, what heritage. Beyond the monuments of Jama Masjid, Red
is worth saving, why and how? Fort and the many smaller historic structures, lie both the
heritage of evolved domestic architecture on the one
The living heritage of old Delhi - hand, and the heritage of the urban form of the entire
city on the other hand. The historic preservation of a
community pattern national heritage is involved. There are havelis (houses
Since very little sociological research has been done in of noble families), mahals (palaces) and katras (four-
Shahjahanabad, it may be useful to summarize here sided courtyard homes) in old Delhi of such beauty that,
some preliminary observations from 16 recent months but for their continued occupation, they could be dis-
of sociological field research there. mantled and reassembled in the National Museum. Great
Most of the mohallas (neighborhoods) of old Delhi are Mughal and Hindu traditions of house design and con-
socially cohesive, culturally valued residential environ- struction are embodied in their form. The overall mor-
ments. They provide residents with face-to-face famili- phology of the city is a rare example of an evolved indi-
arity with all of their neighbors. Residents tend to share genous tradition of urban form.
a traditionally evolved code of behavior. There is a A second aspect of the architectural heritage is its
strong identification and intimacy of person with place contemporary social significance. Katra and haveli style
due to the human scale of the built form. This form also houses continue to respond to the social requirements
creates an interplay of light and shade in the courtyards and cultural traditions of their residents. Both limit ac-
and lanes which is esthetically pleasing to residents. cess of strangers to the home while granting the benefits
Most mohallas are largely free of serious crime against of sunlight and greenery. Since the majority of old Delhi-
people or property. Residents' familiarity prevents out- ites prefer to maintain traditions of purdah , the internal
siders from intruding. courtyard space is especially important for women and
Most neighborhoods of old Delhi have formal associ- children. The katra style house form is particularly con-
ations for self-government, either Mohalla Sudhar Com- ducive to parosi (neighborly) relations which develop
mittees , Mohalla Samitis or community panchayats. between residents which share the common courtyard.

472 Ekistics 297, t ov./Dec. 1982

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Inside, the haveli or katra space can be further divided centers of the informal retail sector as are the major
in accordance with cultural attitudes about social rela- bazaar streets of the city.
tions between the various members of extended families. Despite its social isolation, it should be clear that
Shahjahanabad has, and has always had, a strong com-
Ecological features: The built form of Shahjahanabadmercial role in the region.
responds not only to social and cultural demands; it is
also a socioecological system in tune with the natural
environment. Past planning efforts:
The ecology of the high density compact-scaled urbanthe "untidy galis" and sanitary suburbs
dorm is such that the mohalla galis remain five to seven
degrees centigrade cooler in summer than the broad
of British development policy in Delhi
streets of South Delhi colonies. The irregular pattern Having examined the heritage, functions and positive
of lanes and bylanes blocks the duststorms and wind- values of old Delhi, it now remains to review past attempts
storms which sweep through Delhi for three months of at planning in the walled city, and then to examine cur-
every year. The compact settlement pattern is conduciverent socioeconomic trends which are affecting the quali-
to heat conservation in winter. The urban morphology ty of life.
thus meets the ecological requirements of each season Before the Revolt of 1857, the British followed a policy
which the region faces. of live and let live. While there were sporadic attempts to
Further, a considerable percentage of the population start suburban colonies outside the city walls (notably
of old Delhi both live and work in the old city. A sig- Ochterlony's Mubarik Bagh in 1819, Trevelyan's Trevel-
nificant percentage walk from their residence to their yanpur in 1830, and Diwan Kishan Lai's Kishanganj in
place of employment. For some, workplace and resi- 1837), these were more of the nature of personal fiefdoms
dence are the same. The transportation energy costs established by charismatic administrators than attempts
saved in this system are enormous for this sector of the to expand the walled city out of some concern for its
Delhi-New Delhi work force. In an era of scarce energy sanitary state. In the pre-1857 period, the British showed
resources, the value of this should not be taken lightly. great respect for the existing Shahjahani water supply,
For a city with as severe air pollution as that of New sewage and drainage systems. The effects of the events
Delhi, the fact that these workers do not require buses of 1857 on the physical structure of the city are well
is significant. documented: over one third of the built-up area was de-
molished and the entire population of the city was
Economic functions: Old Delhi is a central provider of ejected. This was followed by the construction of Edger-
goods and services to the Delhi-New Delhi metropolitan ton Street (now Nai Sarak) through Maliwara locality,
area, as well as the region. It is the wholesale center construction of Town Hall on the site of the destroyed
for dried fruits, grains, spices, cloth, housewares, elec- royal serai, and the development of Elgin, Nicholson,
trical goods, bicycles and plumbing supplies, among Esplande, Lothian and Queen's roads. The bringing of
other items. For many items, Delhi is an interchange the railways to Delhi in the mid-1 9th century led to the
point for products which do not even service the city demolition of Punjabi Katra and destruction of many
itself. In addition, it is a major "cottage industry" book- sections of the city wall. Mori Gate was demolished in
binding and printing center. It has the major retail cen- 1867 and Kabul Gate was dismantled in 1868. In 1866,
ters of Chandni Chowk, Nai Sawak, Chawri Bazaar and the British built a new Subzimandi to try to shift the vege-
Lajpat Rai Market. It caters with specialty goods for table sellers from within the city wall. They refused to
Muslims in Meena Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar and Matia Mahal move but were forcibly evicted in 1872, causing the first
Chitli Qabar Bazaar complex. planning related riot in Delhi's history. In the course of
A major pharmaceutical company is located in Lai the next 35 years up to the Delhi Durbar of 1911, the
Kuan. It is also a manufacturing center for shoes, san- British constructed new waterworks, new drainage sys-
dals, wooden crates, auto luggage racks, motor supplies, tems, new conservancy networks, and many many new
books, oils and perfumes, small scale metal components, roads. The city expanded rapidly to the north and west.
plastics, bangles and woven materials. It is the hand- With the decision to shift the Imperial Capital from Cal-
manufacturing center (handiwork and crafts) in the areas cutta to Delhi came new difficulties for the old city. The
of embroidery, leather, brass, copper, silver, gold and acquisition of land around the city for the capital
other jewellery, wooden and ivory handicrafts, cane hemmed it in without room to expand. The capital plan-
furniture, and drama costumes. It produces famous ning authorities tried to establish a cordon sanitaire a-
sweets, namkins and other foods for city-wide distribu- round the walled city, to, as Sir Edwin Lutyens put it, keep
tion. the rats of the old city out of the new. This attitude pre-
Old Delhi is probably the major recycling center of the vailed for years. Government officials also discriminated
metropolitan area. Within the walled city, used news- against the old city by refusing house rent, house build-
papers are turned into bags, auto and machine parts are ing and conveyance allowances to any government ser-
reprocessed, bottles are sorted and recycled to factories, vants living in old Delhi. The city was physically and
tin cans become broom handles, and animal byproducts bureaucratically isolated. The formation of the Delhi
are processed into fertilizer and other derivatives. Improvement Trust in 1937 made most development work
Old Delhi is the major distribution center for meat, fish in old Delhi impossible if it could not be self-supporting.
chickens and eggs. A major fruit and vegetable market The one major scheme in old Delhi was the Delhi-Ajmeri
is located in Daryaganj. Gate Slum Clearance Scheme which envisioned large
Sunday markets at Red Fort and Chandni Chowk are scale clearance of a major section of the historic city.

Ekistics 297, t ov./Dec. 1982 473

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This scheme was a continuation of an old Delhi Municipal were created for most areas of the old city. These zones
Committee plan to create a boulevard around the edge were considerably larger than the socially-identified
of the city from Kabul Gate to Delhi Gate. The first part units of mohallas. The ZDPs, though they involved dif-
of this grand boulevard, Burn Bastion Road from Kabul ficult and dedicated DDA analysis, were an inadequate
Gate to Lahori Gate, was completed in 1918. Garstin and inappropriate tool to deal with the complicated prob-
Bastion Road, from Lahori Gate to Ajmeri Gate, was lems in the old city's traditional morphology. As a result,
sanctioned in 1916 and finished in 1919. However, the they were never implemented and the old city has re-
remainder of the boulevard from Ajmeri Gate around the mained largely neglected.
southern flank of the city to Turkman Gate and past to The Jama Masjid Community Square scheme was
Delhi Gate was stymied by the new capital planning carried out in 1975. It significantly decongested the area
authorities who wanted to retain full control over the around the mosque and created both a pleasant park
wall and land facing the rising new city. By the timearea as well as less congestion in the crowded Urdu
the new capital was inaugurated in 1931, the Delhi-Ajmeri Bazaar area. The Kuccha bazaar was made more per-
Gate project still remained on the drawing boards. Al-manent in a new Meena Bazaar, sensitively built at the
though this scheme was never carried out in full, it has foot of Jama Masjid in such a way as to not detract from
continued to be a tentative plan with related suggestions the majesty of the mosque. The shopkeepers who had
in the 1962 Master Plan Work Studies' proposals for been located in the Kuccha bazaar surrounding Jama
Kuccha Pati Ram and Suiwalan, the Ajmeri Gate Re- Masjid were, by and large, relocated in the new Meena
development and Housing Scheme, and the 1976 demo- Bazaar. This involved minimum disruption and loss of
litions at Turkman Gate. In the time of the Delhi Improve- customers.

ment Trust, its major activity in the old city was the demo- A more massive urban renewal plan, the Jama Masjid-
lition of one third of the historic 17th century city wall. Chawri Bazar Redevelopment Scheme, which envisioned
This was accomplished in order to allegedly ventilate replacing the mohallas surrounding Jama Masjid with
and decongest that area. However, the DIT proceeded high rise apartment complexes, was never carried out.
to develop a five-story office complex on the wall siteThere was, however, a small scale clearance effort in the
which blocks the free flow of fresh air far more than theDjulana House area of Matia Mahal, in which "slum tene-
city wall ever did. ments" were demolished and replaced with rather prob-
The Delhi Improvement Trust was superseded in 1957lematical, boringly "modern" flats. Part of this plan was
by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), who were en- to also shift the fresh fish market from the Machliwallan
trusted with implementing the Interim General Plan for area by Jama Masjid to Djulana House but that part of
Greater Delhi of 1956 (IGP). The IGP had been the first the scheme never materialized.

responsibility of the newly formed central level Town This overview of urban planning in the old city reveals
Planning Organisation, which later went on to formulate a cyclical pattern of neglect followed by inadequate
the Master Plan for Delhi of 1962. The IGP was a stop- planning followed by ad hoc, ill-conceived projects fol-
gap planning exercise intended to give a general frame- lowed by neglect. A consistent, well articulated process
work for planning until more detailed research and anal- of policy development, perspective planning, detailed
ysis could be completed. Its recommendations for old surveying, project development and finally, implemen-
Delhi were thus abstract and generalized: 1) reduce old tation has, in fact, never been accomplished in old Delhi.
Delhi congestion and redistribute population, 2) remove 'The net result is that development has been left to the
incompatible land uses, 3) provide basic utilities to old chaos of the private sector.
Delhi, 4) develop recreation areas near Jama Masjid and
Red Fort, 5) declare the whole of old Delhi a slum for
redevelopment purposes, and finally, 6) establish a traffic
Unplanned change in Shahjahanabad
link between Jama Masjid and Connaught Place, a plan- The social and ecological balances which had evolved
ning goal in Delhi since the construction of the new capi- in the city of Shahjahanabad have been lost. The dual,
tal. These policies were never developed into project unregulated processes of 1) commercial conversion of
plans because a new planning exercise began in 1959. residential properties, and 2) overpopulation with re-
Beginning in 1959, the IGP was used as the framework sulting further subdivision of residential space, are con-
for the development of a more detailed comprehensive tributing to the widespread destruction of the traditional
plan, the 1962 Master Plan for Delhi. The Master Plan architecture, life styles, and urban form. Courtyards are
refined earlier proposals for the old city, recommending: being covered over to create new godowns, markets or
1) specific population density targets and balancing, flats. It is estimated by one former high DDA official that
2) land use zones, 3) elimination of specified "obnoxi- no less than 100 percent of the 5,000 katra courtyards
ous" industries, 4) a revised circulation pattern including under DDA or Municipal Corporation jurisdiction are
the Jama Masjid-Connaught Place linkage, 5) identifi- presently subject to these alterations. What was once
cation of areas of rehabilitation, conservation and re- considered an "inverted Garden City" is in the process
development, and 6) development of detailed zonal de- of becoming an industrial estate-cum-Super Bazar. Arch-
velopment plans for each locality in the old city. There ways and windows are being widened or sealed up to
were also special development plans for a Jama Masjid conform to the requirements of goods transit and storage.
Community Square, clearing the bazaar around the Bhaitaks are being transformed into shops, factories,
masjid and developing a park, and a revised form of the godowns and printing presses. Katras once housing
Delhi-Ajmeri Gate Scheme, involving clearance of 10 to 20 families have become cloth bazaars, forcing
Kuccha Pati Ram and Suiwalan. those families into even tighter quarters in nearby mo-
Based on the Master Plan, zonal development plans hallas.

474 Ekistics 297, t ov./Dec. 1982

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 It is not only isolated houses which suffer these un- have been so general in recommendation as to be worth-
planned and unregulated changes. The impact on the less. Equally, zonal development plans have been too
residential' localities is tremendous and unprecedented. unrelated to one another to be useful. All the ZDPs to-
gether do not add up to a common strategy or set of
Galis meant exclusively for residential pedestrian traffic
are constantly clogged with trucks, scooters and hand- goals. Meanwhile, neighborhood level microplanning
carts overloaded with goods in transit. The new markets has been entirely missing. The first requirement is thus:
and shops attract outsiders into the deepest areas of 1. To develop an overall strategy for the future of old
residential neighborhoods, disrupting the self-contained Delhi within a metropolitan and regional framework.
character, the quietness and the social intimacy of resi- 2. To do mohalla-level surveys and then develop plans
dents. Mohallas are losing both their traditional urban for every mohalla in accordance with overall stra-
form and their intimate social relations as well. Two con- tegy.
temporary examples should suffice to indicate the extent Based on an overall strategy and microlevel surveys, the
of the problem. inbetween level of zonal planning can then be success-
Deep in a once exclusively residential mohalla off offully deployed in a coordinated manner.
Jama Masjid Square, a five-story hotel is presently under Clearly the general planning approach to the old city
construction. It is one of the first attempts to build a com- should be Tri-level Strategic Conservative Planning. The
mercial hotel in a residential locality rather than on a overall principle is to effect maximum change through
main street. The construction violates every municipal minimal means. Based on the detailed mohalla-level sur-
law of the city of Delhi - it has an illegal basement, it veys, small scale improvements can be proposed in
is a commercial establishment in a residential zone, it keeping with overall strategy for the city and goals for
lacks the required "set-back," and its height is more than the zone. Overall strategy should join detailed mohalla
five times the width of the street. Further, it is multi-
survey work in the formulation of zonal plans.
storied above the height of surrounding residences thus Based on a developed series of strategies and plans,
invading their privacy and air rights. By the residents of the following municipal actions may be useful:
the mohalla, the building is considered a threat to law
and order. Similar establishments in a nearby bazaar 1. Enforce strict zoning regulations and building by-
are known for gambling, prostitution and liquor con- laws. (Other cities of the world do it, why can't
sumption, activities abhorred by the religiously-minded Delhi?)
Muslim inhabitants of the mohalla. The hotel is seen by 2. Accept high .population densities as inevitable. We
the residents as an outright assault on mohalla culture are dealing with long established historic communi-
which strictly observes the purdah of their women. Resi- ties. Use them to establish Urban Community De-
dents speak of the hotel construction as the rape of their velopment projects through their mohalla organiza- •
neighborhood, and they fear for the safety of their women tions to maintain and improve civic services and
and children. The earlier influx of kabariwallas and amenities.
karkhanas has already significantly lowered the quality
3. Allow landlords to increase rents to repair residen-
of life. The hotel's completion will likely end the nearly
tial properties, through amendment or elimination
300 year old residential settlement of this locality.
of the Slum Clearance and Improvement Act (1956)
In another residential locality, in Maliwara off Chandni
as applied to old Delhi.
Chowk, a once totally residential mohalla is now host
to a dozen cloth godowns, 6 to 8 small manufacturing 4. Alter property tax structure to create disincentives
units, 5 typesetting and printing establishments, and to 12prevent commercial conversion, and incentives
to 15 retail shops for cloth, saris and jewellery. Several to maintain property as residential. The system of
beautiful old katra-style houses have been convertedconcessions for building must also be reexamined.
into mini-retail cloth markets. Residents complain 5. of
Redefine what is "obnoxious" industry. Determine
traffic jams, rowdy elements and increasing insecurity. nonconforming uses in conjunction with mohalla
This mohalla's days as a residential neighborhood also surveys of residents' preferences, rather than im-
seem numbered. ported planning standards.
Both examples serve as indicators of the very real6. Designate selected domestic architectural master-
damage that commercial conversion is effecting on the pieces as "national historical artistic landmarks."
neighborhoods of old Delhi. This commercialization is Develop a necessary historic preservation wing in
closely tied to the second problem, of overpopulation and DDA.

high densities, since such conversions put further pres-

7. Coordinate development of warehouse areas out-
sure on the residential structures which remain. side the old city with sufficient incentives and dis-
incentives to force non-Delhi-bound interchange
Future planning strategies goods (and their trucks) to be kept outside the old
city.
As the evolved balance between residential and com-
mercial functions is lost, and population densities Shahjahanabad
es- is a grand panoramic urban master-
calate, unplanned growth has almost finished any piece.
pos-India is rapidly losing a social and historical heri-
sibility of addressing the problem with planning. tage of priceless value. The planners and policy makers
The basic problem with all past planning has been must decide soon if preservation through strategic con-
one of perspective. There has never been a clearly arti- servative planning is a worthwhile goal. If the future of
culated overall strategy for old Delhi. Solutions have old Delhi is to bear any continuity whatsoever to its past,
been piecemeal and uncoordinated. Broader visions the time to act is now.

Ekistics 297, Nov./ Dec. 1982 475

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