Rashtrapati Bhawan

A view of the Viceroy's Palace [Rashtrapati Bhawan]

Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944)

Delhi

1914-20

This red stone building, topped by a copper dome and standing on Raisina Hill, became the last palace built by the British and probably the largest of all modern palaces. [Commentary continues below. Mouse over the "Related Material" for links.]

Photograph 2000 and text Medha Malik Kudaisya

You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL, or credit the Victorian Web in a print document.]

Related Material

The Viceroy's House (Rashtrapati Bhavan): Part I (longer discussion and many more views)

The Viceroy's House (Rashtrapati Bhavan): Part II

Charles Sargeant Jagger's statue of George V

All-India War Memorial Arch (India Gate)

Ironically, the British used it as their Viceroy's Palace for not even two decades as Indian independence came in 1947. It is now the official residence of the President of India. The enormous complex covers almost 20,000 sq m and within its walls contains 12 separate courtyards. Three million cubic feet of stone was used to build it. Beneath its central dome, modeled upon the Buddhist stupa at Sanchi, lies the Durbar Room.

Sources

Chaudhuri, Nirad C. Thy Hand Great Anarch : 1921-1952. London, 1987.

Dalrymple, W. City of Djinns -- A Year in Delhi. London, 1993.

Frykenberg, F R (ed). Delhi Through the Ages. Delhi, 1986.

Gupta, Narayani. Delhi Between two empires, 1803-1921. Delhi, 1986

_____. "Kingsway to Rajpath : The Democratization of Lutyens' Central Vista." In Perceptions of South Asia's Visual Past. Ed. Catherine B. Asher and T. R. Metcalf. Delhi, 1994. 257-269.

Irving, R G. Indian Summer : Lutyens, Baker and Imperial Delhi. New Haven, 1981.

Metcalf, T R. An Imperial Vision. Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj. Berkeley, 1989.

Last modified 15 August 2015