New Delhi The Last Imperial City

Johnson provides an historically rich examination of the intersection of early twentieth-century imperial culture, imperial politics, and imperial economics as reflected in the colonial built environment at New Delhi, a remarkably ambitious imperial capital built by the British between 1911 and 1931.

Johnson provides an historically rich examination of the intersection of early twentieth-century imperial culture, imperial politics, and imperial economics as reflected in the colonial built environment at New Delhi, a remarkably ambitious imperial capital built by the British between 1911 and 1931.

Johnson provides an historically rich examination of the intersection of early twentieth-century imperial culture, imperial politics, and imperial economics as reflected in the colonial built environment at New Delhi, a remarkably ambitious imperial capital built by the British between 1911 and 1931.

The rapid expansion, urban form and development of the built environment in the world’s second most populous city, Delhi, has been the consequence of social, political, economic, planning and architectural traditions that have shaped the city over thousands of years. Whilst seamless at times, these traditions have often resulted in the fragmented development of the city’s built environment. This book charts the political, economic and social forces that drove development in India generally and in Delhi in particular, and investigates the drivers and constituents of Delhi’s urban landscape. The book provides a lens through which to examine the development path of a mega-city, which can be used as a guide in the development of emerging urban centres. Furthermore, the strengths and weaknesses of Delhi's built environment are critically analysed, with consideration to the role of the market, finance and policy over time. This book not only provides valuable insight into the physical evolution of Delhi and its surrounds, but it also asks broader questions about how people, power and politics interact with urban environments. It is essential reading for planners, architects, urbanists and social historians.

Bestselling author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera explores the global legacy of the British Empire, and the ways it continues to influence economics, politics, and culture around the world. 2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies. The empire's influence upon the quarter of the planet it occupied, and its gravitational influence upon the world outside it, has been profound: from the spread of Christianity by missionaries to the shaping international law. Even today, 1 in 3 people drive on the left hand side of the road, an artifact of the British empire. Yet Britain's idea of its imperial history and the world's experience of it are two very different things. ­­Following in the footsteps of his bestselling book Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain, Empireworld explores the ways in which British Empire has come to shape the modern world Sanghera visits Barbados, where he uncovers how Caribbean nations are still struggling to emerge from the disadvantages sown by transatlantic slavery. He examines how large charities--like Save the Children and the World Bank--still see the world through the imperial eyes of their colonial founders, and how the political instability of nations, such as Nigeria, for instance, can be traced back to tensions seeded in their colonial foundations. And from the British Empire's role in the transportation of 12.5 million Africans during the Atlantic slave trade, to the 35 million Indians who died due to famine caused by British policy, the British Empire, as Sanghera reveals, was responsible for some of the largest demographic changes in human history. Economic, legal and political systems across the world continue to function along the lines originally drawn by the British Empire, and cultural, sexual, psychological, linguistic, demographic, and educational norms originally established by imperial Britons continue to shape our lives. British Empire may have peaked a century ago, and it may have been mostly dismantled by 1997, but in this major new work, Sathnam Sanghera ultimately shows how the largest empire in world history still exerts influence over planet Earth in all sorts of silent and unsilent ways.

‘Very impressive ... It will enrich the understanding of those interested in the history not only about these buildings but also more widely about historical monuments and their preservation’ – Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Chancellor and Professor of History at Ashoka University ‘The first real attempt to bring historical sites and buildings of the past within the reach of the masses ... A must-read for all’ – Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, author of Fathpur Sikri Revisited ‘Offers an excellent academic–public interface for the study of monuments, the cities in which they are located, and their extended geocultural connections’ – Rana Safvi, author of The Forgotten Cities of Delhi and Shahjahanabad ‘A book to be read several times, in different ways’ – Swapna Liddle, author of Connaught Place and the Making of New Delhi Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, historic cities of legend and lore and home to six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, have captured the imagination of Indians and the world at large for centuries. In this ambitious book, Shashank Shekhar Sinha traces the extraordinary pasts of the three imperial capitals, their monuments, settlements and extended geocultural connections, while presenting a graphic account of the iconic heritage sites – from the life and times of rulers who built them, their survival through periods of war, turmoil and conquests, to their present afterlives. Packed with intriguing and little-known stories about the monuments – busting several myths around them along the way – the book takes us on a journey from the pillared galleries of the mosque at the Qutb Minar complex, the majestic double dome of Humayun’s tomb, the bastions of the impenetrable Agra Fort, the picturesque pavilions at Fatehpur Sikri, the tapering minarets of the Taj Mahal, to finally the Mughal court of the Red Fort, giving us the full measure of their dazzling grandeur. ABOUT THE SERIES Combining powerful storytelling with deep, recent scholarship, the Magnificent Heritage series uses multidisciplinary approaches to showcase a fresh perspective on heritage sites and storied cities, locating them in their larger geographical, sociocultural and historical contexts.

In 1914 almost one quarter of the earth's surface was British. When the empire and its allies went to war in 1914 against the Central Powers, history's first global conflict was inevitable. It is the social and cultural reactions to that war and within those distant, often overlooked, societies which is the focus of this volume. From Singapore to Australia, Cyprus to Ireland, India to Iraq and around the rest of the British imperial world, further complexities and interlocking themes are addressed, offering new perspectives on imperial and colonial history and theory, as well as art, music, photography, propaganda, education, pacifism, gender, class, race and diplomacy at the end of the pax Britannica.