Leaving behind the symbols of slavery: Kartavya Path

Leaving behind the symbols of slavery: Kartavya Path

why it is in the News?

 Recently the Kingsway, or Rajpath, was renamed Kartavya Path, by the honorary Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi. Stating that the symbol of slavery has become a matter of history from today and has been erased forever.

How did Delhi become the capital? 

  • In 1911 the British Imperial Government and the Viceregal administration intended that the capital of the British Indian Empire should be shifted to Delhi, from Calcutta.
  • The British government believed that ruling India from Delhi believed India from Delhi was easier and more convenient than from Calcutta
  • As a consequence, New Delhi was constructed according to a New capital that year, so that it would serve as the purpose-built administrative capital of the Indian Empire.
  •  The British Raj duly gave responsibility to  Sir Edwin Lutyens to construct the new city.
  •  New Delhi was inaugurated by Lord Irwin as the capital of India, on February 13, 1931, 86 years ago.

The story behind Rajpath:

  •  Rajpath runs in an east-west direction. Roads from Connaught Place, the financial center of Delhi, run into Rajpath from the north.
  • When the road was built, it was named King’s Way, or Kingsway, in honor of the Emperor of India George V, who had visited Delhi during the Delhi Durbar of 1911.
  • After Independence, the name was changed to Rajpath, the Hindi translation of the world Kingsway.
  • Edwin Lutyens the architect of that time, came up with a modern imperial city centered around a “ceremonial axis”, such axis being the large boulevard now named Kartavya Path. 
  • Lutyens wanted a panoramic view of the city of Delhi from the viceregal palace.
  • Most of the buildings surrounding the Kartavya Path were designed by Lutyens and the second architect of the project, Sir Herbert Baker. The importance of such buildings in the government of India ensures the road’s importance.

The Kartayva Path

  •  PM Modi renamed it Kartavya path on the 7th of Sept 2022 which means the duty to serve
  • .It was redeveloped under The Central Vista Redevelopment Project, which started construction on 4 February 2021 and is planned to be finished in 2026 in phases.
  • A statue of  Netaji subash Chandra Bose was installed, 28 feet tall, that is, a little taller than a two-story building.
  • The jet black granite statue was placed under the Grand Canopy to the east of the India gate, halfway on the east-west axis to the National War Memorial.
  • The statue has been carved out of a monolithic block of granite weighing 280 tonnes.

 

Sources :

https://bit.ly/3Bq0kkG

https://bit.ly/3RRGi84(the Indian Express)

Plutus IAS current affairs eng med 9th Sep 2022

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