The problem

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WHEN talking about most historic city centres in India, the words/phrases most often deployed are dirty, dangerous, unsightly, poor, disorganized, lawless, opportunist, corrupt, careless and inhumane – all less than flattering. It need not have been so and definitely does not need to continue to be so. In order to turn around our urban historic centres, not merely to restore their past glory but more to ensure a high quality of life for their inhabitants and an enhanced visitor experience, planners, architects, city administrators, civil society organizations, academics need to ensure that the cultural context of our cities is better understood. The fact that our planning measures are based, not on the cultural context defined by centuries of sustainable growth but on alien norms is what led to developments such as the demolitions in Turkman Gate area of Shahjahanabad during the dark years of Emergency. This is what has resulted in so many of our city centres, even the Mughal imperial city of Shahjahnabad, being designated as slums.

A city such as Ahmedabad can only be understood from a very specific cultural context that has allowed the coming together of several centuries of built heritage, living culture, livelihoods and an enviable quality of life and prosperity for its citizens who still celebrate their builders and poets. Ahmedabad should count amongst the several cities designated as World Heritage Sites such as Florence, Rome, Naples, Edinburgh, Bath, to list a few. But it is a testament to the destruction that we in India have inflicted on our historic cities over the past three decades that not a single Indian city makes the cut simply because as we are today is far removed from what our cultural context has really been.

The INTACH Delhi Chapter has made persistent efforts over the last five years, with considerable support from the Delhi government, to bring the coveted world heritage designation to Delhi’s imperial cities – Shahjahanabad and British New Delhi. Though it remains to be seen if the bid to achieve this status will be successful, there is already a fear – created by the builder-official-politician nexus – that this would lead to a total curb on new development or ‘freezing’ these city quarters. Nothing could be further from the truth. World heritage status only comes with the country’s assurance that the law of the land will be respected. It’s another matter that in India this might be too much to ask for!

Failure to implement laws is the single biggest curse on our historic centres – multi-storeyed glass towers spring up next to 14th century tombs, and protected monuments are knocked down (Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, Delhi, demolished Nili Chattri, a monument considered of national importance and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, in the 1980s to build a badminton court!). Corruption is only one reason for this blatant violation of building regulations. A far greater challenge is that our laws are rooted in the colonial times – designed to control and restrict possible misuse rather than welcome and facilitate citizen participation.

The recent formation of the National Monument Authority and the creation of a 100 m zone around each monument as a ‘no build zone’ is a good example of a law that is designed to fail. Without a proper understanding of what is possible, what is really required, and without a structure of adequate incentives to compensate those who are affected, such interventions only add to the problem. Incentives could include transferable building rights, sale of ‘air’ rights (allowing construction of additional floors in other areas), change of land use, monetary compensation, tax incentives, amongst a host of other possibilities, if the authorities are serious about ensuring protection to monuments considered to be of national importance.

In 2007, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture entered into a MoU with the Archaeological Survey of India, Central Public Works Department and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to undertake a major urban renewal project in the Humayun’s Tomb-Sundar Nursery-Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti area of Delhi. A principal objective of the project from the onset was to improve the quality of life for local residents in the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. Yet, probably inspired by developments in America in the 1960s, a senior officer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi created panic amongst the residents by expressing his desire to ‘build 20 storey apartment blocks on the peripheral parks of the basti and create parks in the areas currently inhabited by the residents – adjoining the monuments.’

Fortunately, the AKTC, with the help of elected leaders, was able to clear the confusion and dispel the fears of the residents. Project initiatives have involved significant interventions in the field of education, health, sanitation, urban infrastructure, housing, waste management, early childhood care, vocational training and promoting cultural revival for a community living within a designated conservation area that exemplifies seven centuries of living culture.

It is in the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti that Amir Khusrau, the 14th century genius, created the qawwali traditions; it is here that Mirza Ghalib lies buried; it is here that for over 700 years food, craft, ritual traditions have helped nurture pluralism. Yet, by 2007, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti was referred to as nothing more than a Muslim ghetto, taken over by drug lords and land mafias. However, in recent times, performance spaces have been created here within the historic precincts such as the Akbari era Chausath Khamba, enticing thousands to visit and enjoy music and eat at the local restaurants. Mirza Ghalib’s tomb is once again the place for mushairas. Much remains to be done, but there is hope; hope also for the practising qawwals.

The conservation of our built heritage needs to be coupled with improved city infrastructure for our historic cities such as Agra, which have experienced major job losses with the shutting down of trades. Worse, the residents have increasingly come to see these momuments and heritage as a curse since the ‘protection’ laws make it extremely difficult to carry out any improvement, be it in civic spaces or individual homes. While there is no reason why the citizens of Agra, with three World Heritage Sites, should not benefit from the tremendous economic prosperity that comes with well planned tourism, as has happened in many places around the world, yet ‘Agra bachao, Taj hatao’ is a popular Agra slogan.

It has been repeatedly demonstrated all over the world that cultural projects lead to significant economic prosperity; yet we in India, rather than provide adequate space for our traditional street performers, seek to ban them under colonial era anti-beggary laws! Use of city spaces such as parks or community halls for artists is impossible as the process of getting permissions is frustrating. Our city administrators need to take immediate steps to encourage artists to work with communities and enable meaningful art to suffuse our neighbourhoods, as it did in the past and as it does in every civilized society. The pigeon towers of Ahmedabad, the ornamental gateways of Shahjahabad, the objects of everyday art as seen in the Sanskriti Museum – need to once again inspire and force us to think about the consequences of the mindless addition to built space.

Sensible conservation is good economics and leads to much needed revenue generation. The conservation of neighbourhoods in Mumbai has demonstrated that, as has the manifold increase in visitor numbers during the conservation effort at Humayun’s Tomb (1997-2014).

This issue of Seminar draws upon city planners and conservation architects to explore the relationship between the preservation of our cultural heritage and the improvement in the life and livelihoods of residents. It is time that our historic cities once again become a source of joy and pride to both residents and visitors rather than allowed to decay. The conservation and regeneration of cultural heritage – built and intangible – through a rewriting of rules and regulations, innovative public-private partnerships and empowering sensitive officials is possible. What we require is to free our citizens and trust them.

RATISH NANDA

 

* Several papers in this issue were presented and discussed at ‘Culture as a Tool for Urban Development’, a seminar hosted by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in partnership with the Planning Commission and with support of the Ford Foundation and the Ministry of Urban Development.

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