Page 40 - Science India August 2022

COLLECTOR’S EDITION 2.0
Swatantrata ka Amrut Mahotsava
The buildings at Belur Math, by the banks of river Hooghly near Calcutta, were
an emphatic assertion of Indian architecture during the colonial rule
ARCHITECTURE
Rejecting Colonialism with Edifices Suffused with an Indian Soul
was not just an expression of faith or religion but the soul of Bharat that had been immensely impacted under the sustained invasion of foreign cultures. Buildings and built form being the gross manifestation of assertion of cultural identity, the story of ‘Freedom Struggle and Identity in Bharatiya Architecture’ was also scripted concurrently in a subtle yet impactful way.
Civilizations have always celebrated advances in science, technology, art forms and political might through the buildings and associated built form. Nineteenth century architectural styles, such as Indo-Islamic, Indo-Gothic, In- do-Saracenic and European Art Deco had already established technological superiority and catalysed cultural sub- mission in the Bharatiya psyche. The unsung struggle of resurrection of Bharatiya Architecture too needs to be acknowledged as we celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
All Images Courtesy: Prof Virendra Kumar Paul
The assertion of Indian identity during the freedom struggle was not restricted to the vanguard of politics alone but shone through in
all aspects of life, including architecture
n Prof Virendra Kumar Paul
he beginning of the freedom movement of Bharat from colo- T
nial subjugation in 1857 is well known. This also marks the renaissance of Hindu architectural identity, which
40 SCIENCE INDIA
AUGUST 2022