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Historical Background
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'SOMETHING GOOD COMETH OUT OF EVIL'; thus goes the Biblical saying. This legendry
proverb aptly describes the birth of the city of Chandigarh, which was conceived
immediately after India's Independence in 1947. With the partition in the subcontinent,
Lahore, the capital of undivided Punjab fell within Pakistan, leaving East Punjab
without a Capital. It was decided to built a new Capital city called Chandigarh
about 240 kms. north of New Delhi on a gently sloping terrain with foothills of
the Himalayas the Shivalik range of the North and two Seasonal rivulets flowing
on its two sides approximately 7-8 kms apart. The geographical location of the city
is 30 degree 50' N latitude and 76 degree 48' longitude and it lies at an altitude
varying from 304.8 to 365.76 meters above sea level.
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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Independent India's first Prime Minister, laid down the
founding principles of the new city when he said "Let this be a new town, symbolic
of freedom of India unfettered by the traditions of the past.. an expressions of
the nation's faith in the future". The city is a product of Nehru's vision.
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To select a suitable site, the Govt. of Punjab appointed a Committee in 1948 under
the Chairmanship of P.L Verma, Chief Engineer to assess and evaluate the existing
towns in the State for setting up the proposed capital of Punjab. However, none
was found suitable on the basis of several reasons, such as military vulnerability,
shortage of drinking water, inaccessibility, inability to cope in flux of large
number of refugees etc. The present site was selected in 1948 taking into account
various attributes such as its Central location in the state, proximity to the national
capital & availability of sufficient water supply, fertile of soil, gradient of
land for natural drainage, beautiful site with the panorama of blue hills as backdrop
& moderate climate.
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He was assisted by three senior architects, Maxwell Fry, his wife Jane B Drew and
Corbusier's cousin, Pierre Jeanneret. These senior architects were supported by
a team of young Indian architect and planner consisting of M.N. Sharma, A. R. Prabhawalkar,
U.E. Chowdhary, J.S. Dethe, B.P. Mathur, Aditya Prakash, N.S. Lanbha and others
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The Master Plan was developed by Le Corbusier who also designed the Capital Complex
and established the architectural control & design of the main building of the city.
The design of housing for Govt. employees, schools, shopping centers, hospitals
were disturbed among the three senior architects.
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Maxwell Fry and Jane B. Drew worked for about three years on the project and then
left due to their engagements elsewhere. Pierre Jeanneret who ultimately became
the Chief Architect and Town Planning Adviser to Govt. of Punjab returned to Switzerland
in 1965. M.N. Sharma took over from Pierre Jeanneret as the first Indian Chief Architect
of the Project and after the reorganization of the State of Punjab in 1966 and the
establishment of Union Territory, Chandigarh, he was appointed as Administrative
Secretary of the Department of Architecture in the Chandigarh Administration. The
major buildings designed by these architects are the important landmarks in the
city.
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Le Corbusier
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Pierre Jeanneret
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Maxwell Fry
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Jane B. Drew
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