Urbanization and Town Planning in Colonial India
Census Data and Urbanization in Colonial India
Q1. To what extent are census data useful in reconstructing patterns of urbanization in the colonial context?
Ans. Census data are very useful in reconstructing patterns of urbanization in the colonial context.
- These data are useful for knowing the exact number of the population, as well as the total population of whites and blacks.
- These data also tell us to what extent the total number of people or the total population had been adversely affected by fearful or deadly diseases.
- Census data provide us with complete information about the total number of different communities, their language, their work and means of livelihood, as well as their caste and religion.
Civil Lines in Colonial India
Q2. What were Civil Lines during colonial rule?
Ans. After the Revolt of 1857, British attitudes in India were shaped by a constant fear of rebellion. They felt that towns needed to be better defended, and white people had to live in more secure and segregated enclaves, away from the threat of the “natives”. Pasturelands and agricultural fields around the older towns were cleared, and new urban spaces called “Civil Lines” were set up. White people began to live in the Civil Lines.
Public Spaces in the Colonial City
Q6. What were the new kinds of public places that emerged in the colonial city? What functions did they serve?
Ans:
- By the 18th century, Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay had become important points and cities. The settlements that came up here were convenient points for collecting goods. The English East India Company built its factories (i.e. mercantile offices) there and, because of competition among European companies, fortified these settlements for protection. In Madras, Fort St. George, in Calcutta, Fort William, and in Bombay, the Fort marked out the areas of British settlement, which were known as ‘White Town’. Indian merchants, artisans, and other workers who had economic dealings with European merchants lived outside these forts. These forts, in settlements of their own, were known as ‘Black Towns’.
- After the 1850s, cotton mills were set up by Indian merchants and entrepreneurs in Bombay, and European-owned jute mills were established in Rishra (1855) on the outskirts of Calcutta.
- Kanpur, specializing in leather, wooden, and cotton textiles, and Jamshedpur, specializing in steel, were prominent.
- In 1864, Viceroy John Lawrence officially moved his council to Shimla.
Health, Defense, and Town Planning in Calcutta
Q8. Assess the impact of health and defense needs on town planning in Colonial Calcutta.
Ans. In 1756, Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, sacked the small fort that the British traders had built to house their goods. Consequently, when Siraj ud-Daulah was defeated in the Battle of Plassey, the British built a new fort. Fort William could not be easily attacked. Around Fort William, a vast open space was left, which came to be known as the Maidan or aftermath. This was done so there would be no obstructions to a straight line of fire from the Fort against an advancing enemy army. Soon, the British began to move out of the Fort and build residences along the periphery of the Maidan. This was how the English Settlement in Calcutta started taking shape. The vast open space around the Fort became Calcutta’s first significant town planning measure. Lord Wellesley was concerned about the conditions that existed in the Indian part of the city: the filth, overcrowding, and poor drainage. He wrote a minute (an administrative order) in 1803 on the need for town planning and set up various committees for this purpose. It was believed that creating open places in the city would make the city healthier. Consequently, many bazaars, ghats, burial grounds, and tanneries were cleared or removed. After Wellesley’s departure, the Lottery Committee carried on with the work of town planning. In its drive to make the Indian areas cleaner, the committee cleared the riverbank of encroachment and pushed the poor to the outskirts of Calcutta. The outbreak of cholera and plague epidemics in the 19th century gave further impetus to town planning. The government believed that there was a direct link between living conditions and the spread of disease. Densely built-up areas were regarded as insanitary, as they obstructed sunlight and the circulation of air.