Nation-building and Architecture:
By: Anu S K
Tags: Politics, Urban Planning, Urbanism, Architecture, Urban Design

Nation-building and Architecture:

Source: AFP Photos

Anu S Kumar Architect & Urban Designer, 17th July 2020

1. Abstract

Rapid urban shifts and hyper-globalism exert pressure on the design of cities and buildings, making them homogeneous and large-scale in character. Today, politicians formulate such development programs, as they are emblematic of what might be the ‘nation-building’. In numerous building construction and urban renewal projects, the concept of nation-building through architecture gets diluted, as the designers lose sight of the social and cultural values, people’s concerns and other fundamental philosophies that define the nation. Thus, architects today are in an unfortunate dilemma of what to comprehend, conclude and implement as projects on the ground. Therefore, this essay examines whether the architecture and urban design of the massive development projects contribute to the nation-building process in a democratic country like India. Secondly, the writeup also reveals how the architecture of the built landscape can be instrumental in shaping the ‘national identity’, which is a prerequisite for the nation’s development.

Keywords: Architecture; Urban Design; National Identity; Nation-building; Identity; Power; Politics; Democracy; Critical Regionalism

2. Introduction

Nation-building is a process by which people from various multicultural and geographical origins blend to form a unified national economy, an integrated public educational system, shared cultural values and above all a proper development scheme to work towards eradicating the injustices and malpractices of the past, to nurture integrity and promote a sense of belongingness to the nation. Throughout the world, constructing a ‘national identity’ has always been the backbone of the nation-building process. Hence, it becomes important here to understand the terms, ‘nationalism’ and ‘identity’ and conditions needed for its consolidation, since they directly link people to the nation. While deconstructing the word nationalism, we may tend to associate it with the extreme leftist ideologies, which are more dictatorial. But they are not perceived here as ideal models, as typically ‘leftist nationalism’ later becomes xenophobic and ethnic centric. Therefore, the essay argues for the concept of nationalism, whereby a group of people participate and gains purpose, to bring about a positive change within the nation. The write up also argues that the nation-states fabricate nation-building through the constant introduction, renewal and nourishment of the national identity: that its definition ought to be constructed based on fundamental characteristics like history, geography, sociology and benefit of the larger society.

On a general note, nationalism is perceived as a positive notion, since it indicates the national pride and emotions for one’s country, but ‘identity’ is complex as it must bring a sense of belongingness that is rooted in the cultural context. “Modern nations are Imagined Communities — people without face-to-face knowledge of other members but is bound by a shared perception of (national) identity” (Anderson). It takes generations of implementation, re-invention and glorification to establish a strong sense of identity. The architecture and urban design of the spaces within the cities, capital complexes, libraries and urban parks further nurture the national identity, when these get viewed and used by the people. As a tool that visually connects people, architecture is devised, developed, and controlled by the politicians to formulate programs that may resonate their ideologies. National- identity seeps in through the built landscape and permeates the social and cultural fabric. Therefore, this essay also examines whether architecture and urban design of the humungous built environments within India contribute to national development.

3. Background

The architecture in India dates back to 2600–1900 BCE (Indus Valley Civilization). The planning and engineering of these towns and buildings were remarkable, but all of them were “of a startling utilitarian character” (Rowland). On the contrary, from the period starting from 600BCE, buildings became habitable artworks in India as intricate detailing and craftsmanship adorned the buildings envelope. Therefore, on an overall, the architecture of the ancient and medieval India possessed a strong identity that reminded people of their nation’s glory. In the period between 1757–1947, the British rule commissioned multiple city development and building projects that were scaled up to wipe out the magnificent architectural history of India (see Image1). In this era, cities displayed symmetry, disciple and hierarchy, to which people may surrender and become obeyed. These cities not just showcased the European supremacy, but they crafted a new palette for city planning whereby, people get divided based on colour, race, religion, region and social status. Even though India became independent in 1947, its architectural style could not escape the trends set by the British.

IMAGE 1. Aerial View of Viceroy’s House, New Delhi| Image source: Old Indian Photos

The inclination towards the European city planning, became evident when the first government of India in 1964, invited the world-famous architect Le Corbusier to design ‘Chandigarh’, the capital city of Punjab and Haryana. Even though this project displayed great political vigour to build something new, it ended up being an inactive administrative capital that showed feeble consideration for culture, tradition and local architecture of the area. This historical past of India reinforces one statement here that the nation has gone through years of ‘constructive process’ and ‘deconstructive process’, eventually building up the national identity. While the former one embraces history, tradition and culture to nurture the memory of the past, the latter one relies on wiping out the past to create a brand-new identity. “Nothing in this world is more simple and cheaper than making cities that offer a better place for people.” (Gehl). Hence, when architecture of urban spaces is devoid of the elements that once represented history, culture and sociology, national identity gets diluted as such spaces may misrepresent what the nation and its people once stood for.

Undoubtedly, the nation-building exercise becomes fulfilling when it is ‘constructive’ in its approach. To cite an example here, from 1950 to 1970, the Indian government commissioned several institutes of technology and management to enhance the human resource capital within the country. Through them, a league of architects such as Charles Correa, B.V Doshi, Achyut Kanvinde and J. A Stein developed a new model for national identity, as they fused modernism with the vernacular style of the region (see Image 2). This era in Indian architecture history ended soon, as monumental architecture intertwined with the political symbols rose to prominence.

IMAGE 2. Salt Lake City Centre, Kolkata, Designed by Architect Charles Correa Photo: Ambuja Neotia

In this contemporary day, constructing cities and buildings have become a political exercise, with more focus laid on the mega development projects. The process of nation buildings moved away from the deep-rooted concepts like understanding the tradition, topography, regional sentiment and became a centrepiece of authority, power, politics and aggression. Thus, India must formulate building programs for the people’s betterment, instead of being a political device that segregates people into various entities. Also, even though India is the world’s largest democratic republic, the mega structures erected on the nation’s soil today reflects the power structure that manipulates people for the benefit of political parties. Hence, this study overlooks the connection between politics, the nation’s aspirations and architecture, to conclude the ways nation-building can be successful in India.

4. Architecture and the Creation of National Identity

4.1 Identity, Politics and Architecture

‘Identity’ is the quality that creates a definable and recognisable entity which has a set of characteristics dissimilar to others. Throughout the world, several patterns on steel, brick, concrete and mortar can be observed that may be highlighted, repeated and sometimes petrified to last forever. This addition may be done to the built environment to propagate an ideology or to convey some messages that are crucial for heightening the national consciousness. They are the ‘symbols’. Symbols are not minor additions done to the design of structures, but they are a concrete abstraction of characters, objects, political speeches, epics, cultural sect and so on. Here Geertz quotes “The images, metaphors and rhetorical turns from which national ideologies are built are essentially devices, cultural devices designed to render one or another aspect of a broad process of collective self-redefinition explicit, to cast essentialist pride or epochal hope into specific symbolic form, where more dimly felt, they can be described, developed, developed, celebrated and used” (Geertz).

Symbols have hallucinatory effects on the public as they are constantly viewed and represented. When, architecture bridge the gap between the ideology and the reality, ‘symbols’ define its physical conditions. The ‘architectural Identity’, of a nation is the one stabilized and legitimated through its symbols (Arendt). For instance, symbols in public spaces can promote scripted encounters with strangers in a democratic setting where non-scripted gatherings are bound to happen. But, when symbols prioritize one community over the other, space may become a setting for social and political contestation. Also, symbols are powerful tools that can control the access, use, and activities in a given space. Through them, people become obeyed and surrender to the most powerful. Also, its potential lies in the fact that it can exhibit the power structure in the society which may hide in plain sight. Hence, there must be clarity on how symbols and power create a national identity.

4.2 Symbols, Power and Architecture

Symbols are closely connected to the terms ‘power to’ and ‘power over’ (Luke)that strongly remains in the built spaces and landscapes of nations. When ‘power to’ is the general capacity to act and empower, ‘power over’ operates through manipulation, force, seduction and authority. The later one is evident in the Indian context, as politics force architects and planners to embed symbols within the structure of the buildings and spaces. Similarly, symbols are sometimes induced in a physical setting and propagated as national identities to give the ‘power over’ to the political regimes. In such a way, spaces and buildings are premeditatedly designed to influence public behaviour and their engagement with space. Moreover, in India, the political ideologies are immersed in the colours and symbols associated with religions, castes and languages. As a result, the spatial structure of urban areas, public building including the ones secular in nature, get persuaded by the dominant political parties and their religious collaborators. Thus, the architecture here blurs the focus on people, culture, landscape and many other facets that are crucial for national development. Over the past decade, the construction of monuments, statutes, urban parks and administrative complexes in India has escalated to an unmanageable level.

“Statues and monuments are political symbols aimed at voters” (Shahane). A wave of statue-building came in early 1990 when successful business-people funded religious sculptures as a gesture of public patronage — an intersection between India’s new-found economic liberalism and religion”. To provide a better insight into the same, the City of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, India can be brought to the centre of attention. Lucknow is a city which has the glory of both Nawab and Colonial Past. Adding to it, the structure of the city has a few distinct characteristics which are not visible in any other Indian cities. Through various eras, different parties with diverse religious affiliations commissioned several memorial parks, statutes and public gardens, as a tribute to the leaders of their political parties. To enhance the visibility of these monument complexes, built heritage was forced into the prime parcels of land within the city. Furthermore, the city is punctuated by statues that stand sentinel at crowded intersections, near the administrative complexes, and by the side of interstate highways, with smaller cement statues throughout the state’s rural areas.

Additionally, symbols of the political allies such as elephants, cycles and lotus get engraved in marble and granite so that they become timeless reminders of their dominance in the city. For instance, an example of the Ambedkar Park in the Lucknow city can be taken here (see Image 3). This public park built in the year 2008, dedicated to Dr B.R Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution is now emblematic of what might be commemorative architecture. The design of this place revolves around the symbols that relate to the most dominant political party of Lucknow, BSP (Bahujan Samajwadi Party). Earlier in 2008, The political party invested heavily on the building projects that promote their party symbol (Elephant), leaders and lineage that primarily serves the Dalits (Untouchables). In the Ambedkar park, thousands of Elephant statues are sculpted in marble stone to articulate the fundamentally exclusionary space (see IMAGE 4). Also, the sculptures and symbols of the political leaders are erected at the cross over points and raised platforms, thereby being the prominent visual markers of the city. Although these kinds of space empower one community, its visual language discriminates and silence the rest.

IMAGE 3. Ambedkar Memorial Park, Lucknow, Source: Velivada.com

IMAGE 4. Ambedkar Memorial Park, Elephant Statutes Lucknow, Source: Salman Ansari, DNA

In the state elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2012, the Election Commission of India ordered that the statues of Elephants, the symbol Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) must be wrapped in cloths to avoid unduly influencing of voters (Kant). The design and execution of these expensive parks are a burden to the society since the symbols promoted through them segregates people into religion and castes. Even though they may heighten the touristic value of the place, they fail in terms of cultural connection, historical significance and social and environmental responsibility, vital for the nation buildings projects. Hence, politicians who have the right intentions elevates the purpose and genuineness of the national identity.

In India, Power works predominantly through monumental landscapes, architecture and urban renewal projects being a backdrop for it to happen. So, the pressing question here is whether they enhance the social life of the people. When it comes to the nation-building exercise, every building that we craft on the ground is obliged to be socially responsible as defined by Woodcraft (Woodcraft),” combine the design of the physical realm with the design of the social world”. When it comes to the design of the Public realm, the spatial arrangements and the function of buildings should emancipate the people socially and economically. Therefore, the symbols that unify people and instil pride in them, irrespective of gender, religion, culture and politics should be ‘branded’ for the nation’s upliftment.

Symbolism can also have a positive impact on society if architects use them wisely in the spatial organisation of buildings. India has to look back and appreciate the works of architects such as Achyut Kanvinde, Charles Correa, Louis-I-Khan and B V Doshi displayed no intention to hurt the sentiments of one category of people over the other. their projects from 1950–1970, were mostly educational institutions that carried symbols from the ancient Indian Architecture. The step wells of Gujarat, the colored wall of Rajasthan Havelis, the wooden craftworks of India became abstract symbols whereby people connect to their memories of the past. The usage of symbols in their body of work enhanced people’s sense of being part of the nation as they overlapped the spatial qualities of the traditional architecture with new technology. Also, they formulated a series of closed, semi-open and exposed spaces that allows nature to flow through. When the symbols connect the past with the sentiments of the people the ‘Architectural identity’ is created that can empower the nation.

4.3 History and the Political Will

Throughout the world, nation-states and their political leaders have always tried to invoke the sense of a nation in the minds of its people. Since the buildings and spaces are everyday objects, constantly viewed by the people, the leaders of nations employ them as a way to reach the broader public. National leaders and their politics fabricate the ‘national identity’ and it can stand for a completely different ideology which may not blend with the history. But, when alien concepts take shape as buildings on the ground, over time, they may harm the habits, behaviour and other cultural attributes that the people are accustomed to.

To draw an example, When India became independent from the colonial rule in 1947, what remained in the capital cities were the massive palatial houses, geometric city fabric and streets that were aligned to highlight the centres of colonial power. The gigantic building structures which were designed by the European architects invoke a sense of sublime (Dovey)to which one may feel the presence of authority. To break away from this, 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru, the First Prime Minister of India, invited the world-Famous Architect Le Corbusier to design the city of Chandigarh, the new capital city of Punjab and Haryana. Many Indians believed that world-renowned architect’s presence will add ‘honour and glory’, and thus elevate the status of a provincial capital to the best city in the world. (Raghunandhan)The prime minister remarked, “let this new town symbolic of the freedom of India, unfettered by the traditions of the past… be an expression of the nation’s faith in the future (Nehru).” The pressing question here for the architects and planners is that should all the national development projects be iconic? If so, why the basic structure of it should move away from the tradition?

To cite an example, the grid plan of the city of Chandigarh is itself contradictory to the meandering streets and pathways of the culturally rich Indian cities to which people hold their memory (see Images 5). The airy courtyard houses of Punjab or squares were celebrations take place were not intended to be a part of the land-use plan. Moreover, the idea of segregating the land use to distinct functional zones was in stark contrast with the multi-use buildings and streets that prevailed in India. The city built on the ecologically sensitive foothills of the Himalayas is neatly finished in raw concrete to form gigantic structures, rivalling only the massive structures built by the British architects in India. Along these lines, even though attempts were made to inculcate the views of the Himalayan mountains, the cultural and historical layers of the foothills were completely neglected in the land use plan. “The buildings, grid plan and “Open Hand” symbol meant to symbolise the new city, came out of decades of experimentation in Le Corbusier’s native Europe. One could spot the hallmarks of Le Corbusier’s work in Marseilles, Paris and Ronchamp in the buildings of the capital complex. These contained ideas originally developed for urban plans in Moscow and Amsterdam” (Raghunandhan).

IMAGE 5. City plan of Chandigarh, India, Source: Jas Jasna, Pinterest

Furthermore, the entire city now just an administrative nucleus that has legislative assemblies and other buildings that embodies the expression of hierarchy, symmetry and discipline. Thus, one of the most ambitious projects of independent India, Chandigarh today stands as a city flawlessly designed for administrative functions where culturally rich spaces for the common people are a delusion. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that even though Chandigarh stands as an ‘urban fossil’ devoid of the soul of Indian cities, many planners are forced to consider it as a highly desirable for the ‘Smart Cities’ yet to sprout in the country’s soil.

The essay doesn’t argue that the culture, history and tradition must necessarily be preserved in its original format, but the well-intended aspects of the historical past can be re-injected into the new city palettes. On a level, the central place system in cities should serve homogenous people well settled in its historical lands. The capital must distil and formalise the common folk culture and re-inject the civilized product back into local life. (Landa). We may have to now look back into the spaces that we claim is brand new in our cities and assess how they link to the citizens who use, make and live in those spaces. Also, according to Henry Shaftoe (Convivial Urban Spaces), all successful cities share some common attributes, which can be broadly classified as cultural, physical, geographical, managerial and psychological. Therefore, nation-building should not advocate wiping out the past, neglecting the topography, or ignoring the emotional connect instead they must incorporate all of them in the development plans.

4.4 Democracy and Participation

Democracy as a political system has become an unstoppable force in this world as it gives more power to the common people. It is believed that the more practices of democracy be embedded in the structure of everyday life, the more effectively they convey the feeling of ‘we’ among the nation’s citizens. In the recent decade, there have been several incidents where politically charged citizens made their claims, took decisions, protested, narrated stories and debated in the physical settings of the cities reinforcing their freedom of expression. Thus, we can clearly say that most of the countries, democracy is just an illusion as the governments control the way the citizens must behave.

Although it’s widely accepted by many that democratic concepts put the people first, opinions differ when it comes to the extent to which people’s voices are heard in the development projects. On the contrary, many nations erect tall buildings and large plazas that express discipline, hierarchy and authority, which force people to modify their behaviour and become obeyed. Moreover, the general scenario today is that even though people are welcomed in the ceremonial pathways, assembly buildings, town squares, and broad avenues, access is controlled through a massive redesign of public spaces. This is an antidote to the concepts of democracy that views public spaces as universally accessible places where non-scripted encounters can happen (Parkinson).

India is a democratic republic, where ‘all citidens’ of the nation has the ‘right to spaces and right to the city’. ‘Citiden’ is a term introduced by Henry Lefebvre and it merges two terms namely citizen (a person belonging to the nation-state), and denizen (a city dweller who should not necessarily be a citizen) (Purcell 314). In an equitable society, every citiden possesses the ‘right to participate’ and the right to ‘appropriation’, the latter being the right to produce, use and occupy the urban scene. (Purcell 102)Therefore, it is clear that citidents have an absolute right to be a part of the decision-making process, especially in the case of mega-development projects that can affect the future of the nation. The burning question here is whether the government, architects and designers hear the voices of the people while formulating ambitious projects. Often, the public projects fail in transparency, when policymakers become decision-makers.

In trying to create a romanticized democracy, the central government of India in 2020 commissioned an urban renewal project for the historical precinct of the capital city, which included the redesign of the Rajpath Area (The Kingsway), the most celebrated axial street in India (Indian express 2020). This Kingsway is an axis that connects the Indian parliament to the historical ‘India Gate’, the architectural marvel to which people hold the memory of their victory against the colonial rule. The axial road and the gardens rose to prominence right after India’s independence in 1947, when the first Prime Minister of India opened this area for the common man of the nation, encouraging them to use, occupy, stay, and express themselves in this area. Till now, this spine stays as an economic generator for people in the informal sector, the most important ceremonial pathway where the republic day parades take place, the everyday space for families and the most visited built landscape in India (see image 6). The redesign of this remarkable historical precinct went to a well renowned ‘Star Architect’ of the country, and there is a great deal of wrong in the project’s initial conception.

IMAGE 6 : Kingsway (Rajpath), New Delhi, India. Source: https://travel.sygic.com/en/poi/rajpath-poi:22902

To start with, there were no discussion or debates on the design proposal of it, even though the precinct is extremely precious for the people of India. Neither there’s transparency on ‘how and why’ the particular architecture company was selected nor on the methodology used to bring design conclusions (see image 7). The Architect here gets the prime authority to swap, demolish and reconstruct the most powerful buildings of the nation that includes the Indian Parliament itself. Such political and architectural exercises hinder the nation’s growth since the taxpayer’s money get used for benefit of the chosen. Therefore, the architecture here fails as a design tool as it neglects ‘people’s participation’ in the design process. All architects must uphold their ethical and moral values when it comes to large construction projects in which citidents have the stake. Architects have, over time, been party to multiple instances where they turned out to be indirect agents who implement elite consciousness in the built environments (Shubhayan). While one might argue that the elite bureaucrats are democratically elected to power, it’s important to counter-note that most prestigious urban renewals today are initiated, conceived and implemented without public consultation.

IMAGE 7. View of Rajpath Area (Proposed),New Delhi, India, Source: Ar.Bimal Patel, HCP Architects

The repercussions of inappropriate decision-making by planners, architects and the government can make the nation-building process futile. In this modern-day, the engagement process becomes shallow as many voices go unheard, including the children, young generation, elderly, the marginalized, the ethnic groups, women and so on. The nation buildings schemes should expand outwards to include education, community building, and then physical change (Frisk). Moreover, the professionals should adopt techniques and languages that resonate with the people and is easy to comprehend. Furthermore, efforts have to be made to strengthen the community to make a collective decision on the public zones of the nation-state, since in ‘democratic countries’ people hold ‘power’

A perfect example can be drawn here to deepen the theory of people’s participation in public space. In the redesign of Lafayette Park in Oakland, which was primarily used by the drug users and ‘undesirables’, a minority were in an opinion that the new proposal should get rid of the undesirables. Walter hood approached the design from a democratic perspective, where he created a series of interconnected spaces, separated by berms while being visually connected. Such spaces organically change the behaviour of the ‘undesirables’ and also protects their ‘right to use and participate in a public space. Such development models can be adopted by democratic nations, to pave way for equitably shared spaces in cities. Every space should not have to perform every public role. It is important to look at the degree to which particular city provides space for a variety of experiences and performances of democratic practice (Parkinson).

4.5 Critical Regionalism and the Identity

Booming technology delivers easier construction of buildings throughout the world. Even though this may bring cross-cultural benefits, it may lead to the loss of ‘local identity’, since people connect with their buildings both visually and psychologically/sensually. The built environment traps nostalgia and memory that can touch the eyes of the observer and psyche of the inhabitant. In everyday scenes, the architecture of the built landscape delivers moments of pride in heart, as they may symbolize victory and celebrate national heroes. Therefore, successful nation-building programs will have ‘regionalist’ aspects as its core ingredient.

The term ‘critical regionalism’ was coined by the theorists Liane Lefaivre, Kenneth Frampton and Alexander Tzonis in the 1980’s. ‘Critical regionalism’ inculcate the tangible aspects of the site such as geography, history, sociology, culture and also the intangible features like the spatial quality, light, air and behaviour of the community for whom the design caters to. The best of regionalist works has succeeded in synthesizing indigenous wisdom drawn from the past with the emancipatory and progressive aspects of modernism (Frampton 327) (A.T. Nguyen) (M. Rashid) (Slessor). After the colonial rule, in the period between 150–1970, Indian architects struggled to get modernism accepted in the popular imagination as they could not appropriately address the complex local socio-cultural concerns in their designs (Mehrotra). A league of Architects devised a new style of architecture in India, which fused ‘Critical Regionalism’ with the modernist ideologies of design.

Works of Architects such as Achyut Kanvinde, Charles Correa, Louis-I-Khan and B V Doshi and Laurie Baker displayed no intention to compete with the ultramodern architecture of Europe and North America. Instead, their body of work enhanced people’s sense of being part of the nation as they overlapped the spatial qualities of the traditional architecture with new technology. Also, they formulated a series of closed, semi-open and exposed spaces that allows nature to flow through. Besides, the design features such as the overlapping courtyards, the buffer zones and the usage of cultural symbols lead to the discovery of a new ‘Architectural identity’ that reflected ‘Indianness’.

However, when the Indian economy went through ‘liberalisation’ in 1990, the global capital brought the notion of ‘Curtain wall buildings with air conditioning’, making it the focus of building development schemes. The constant inflow of international ideas and usage of high-tech building materials make the built environment look like a large spatial blob wrapped in steel and glass. Also, in the year 2020, several Information Technology Parks (a zone specially reserved for massive Corporate Office Buildings in large parcels of lands) were planted in the India soil, as an attempt to attract more international investors. Aforesaid advancements in the construction industry neglect the indigenous wisdom which is a part of the regional sentiment. The courtyard buildings, the openings on the wall, the colour composition and the texture of the buildings are all salient features of a culturally and aesthetically vibrant Indian building. In short, these supreme characteristics of Indian traditional buildings is lost in the steel and glass construction of the 21st century. The lack of humanity and urban sensitivity portrayed by this “globalised” architecture has engendered a strong reaction among certain Indian architects in favour of critical regionalism (Mehrotra)(Menon).

As the world is becoming more globalised, a common format of steel and glass architecture is being popularized among the young minds today, projecting them as the ultimate desirable building structures. Moreover, the popular media of India sub-consciously promotes the stylized buildings of the developed countries through prints, films and music albums. Because of these influences, the growing countries are forced to insert the palette of international style to its buildings and cityscapes. When a global design template is applied to public design projects, the ‘sense of place’ weakens as mentioned by Basso. “In general, the sense of place describes our relationship with places, expressed in different dimensions of human life: emotions, biographies, imagination, stories, and personal experiences” (Basso). When alienated design concepts get implemented with brand new buildings materials, it may affect the relationship of commoners with their surroundings, thereby degrading the ‘regional identity.’ This phenomenon can be seen clearly on the International competitions where architects who are unaware of the Indian context are prioritized over the local ones. Even though, the great cultural exchange happens when International architects and corporations are brought onto the Indian scene, it leads to a loss of local identity and sense of place, due to their cultural unawareness. An appropriate design proposal can only be generated if thorough research is done about the people, their lifestyle and everything that sums up ‘culture’.

In contrary to the opinion of Mahatma Gandhi that “the future of India lies in the villages”, the renewal schemes are centred around urban India, making the cities flooded with building proposals. According to the World Bank collection of development indicators 65.7% of India’s population lives in rural India. Hence, any government program must contribute an appropriate share of their funding for the benefit of the villagers. Moreover, there has been a downfall in the number of architectural design firms in the rural and peri-urban areas, since the city exhibits progressive construction activities. Therefore, it becomes unquestionable that architects, planners and politicians possess the ability to play a significant role in developing rural India that is now deprived of proper infrastructure.

The change is already visible in the practice of new architecture firms. A few of them try to be regional and contextual and avoid becoming a global which is monotonous. Good buildings make and are made by their settings, and they are appropriately different in different locations. Climate, culture, topography and materials have helped create regional architectural languages that seem curiously right for their locations and for all times (Robertson).

To cite an example, it is well-known that preserving the traditional craftsmanship and elevating them to suit the needs of the present is a tedious task when it comes to contemporary building construction. But, when these two aspects get fused, new building aesthetic is created. ‘Samskara’ a boutique designed by the Ar. Anupama Kundoo stands as an exemplary exhibit of ‘Handmade Architecture’ up winged to contemporary standards. The rustic marble, handcrafted floors and benches are in striking contrast to the shiny floors that are mandatory for global acceptance. Such initiatives employ native techniques and act as livelihood generators for neglected societies, affected communities and people employed in the traditional sector. On a similar note, nation-building projects should employ the local artisans, craftsmen and builders to promote the idea of ‘Go Local’, contrary to ‘Go Global’.

Like the previous example, nation-building through architecture can become fulfilling if architects and artists dissolve their identities and expand their field of expertise for the greater acceptance of the regional characteristics. Moreover, in developing nations, architects also bear the responsibility to raise awareness among the commoners of their culturally rich regional and national heritage.

5. Conclusion

Nation-building is a multi-faceted exercise that may take up years of implementation. Constructing a national identity is a pre-requisite for any nation development project, and it requires constant engagement and renewal. The national identity must uphold the national values, to bring a sense of pride in the minds of the people. Furthermore, sustenance of national identity should ensure unification of the nation despite creative, political, regional and geographical differences. People trust the nation-state and its regimes more when they live in settings that back up the right principles the nation has followed for years. Hence, architecture and urban design heavily contribute to national development as they are significant carriers of symbols.

When the symbols thrive in everyday built spaces, they become talking abstracts to which people respond. The leaders of nation-states masterfully implant these symbols to the built space, making architecture an instrument for the propagation of ideas and philosophies. These thoughts possess the ability to enhance the national values or destroy them. No matter how democratically the members of the elite are chosen, they justify their existence and other actions in terms of collection of stories, ceremonies, insignia, formalities and appurtenances. That mark the centre and give what goes on there its aura of being not merely important but in some odd fashion connected with the way the world is built (Geertz).In India, even though the widely propagated ‘symbols’ today tend to disparage a few specific communities, the nation holds the capacity to foster unity if it brings in people’s participation. Participation is the key to the creation of national Identity and nation-building projects gain purpose when no voices go unheard.

The spatial framework of cities, towns and villages stabilise the ‘national identity’ and illustrate the ‘power structure’ within the society. When the buildings become trappings of ‘power’, forced on the people, the concept of nation-building through architecture weakens. Hence, the architecture of a democratic country like India must prioritise ideologies of the people over the concerns of the political elites, so that new relations and realities get established. Thus, nations get befitted through architecture, if it enables non-biased cultural, social, economic and historical continuity, to form a collective memory that sub-consciously gets inscribed in the minds of the people.

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