Centre for Historical Studies
School of Social Sciences
invites you to a lecture on
Walking the Streets and Making a Map in early colonial Delhi
Swapna Liddle
NTACH, Delhi
Room No:326, Committee Room, CHS, SSS-III
7th February 2018, 3pm
Abstract: A large map of Shahjahanabad in the British library is the most detailed cartographic record of the city before the major changes that were affected immediately following the Revolt of 1857. It depicts and names many details, including streets, gardens, places of worship and other important buildings, It is interesting to compare this cartographic picture of the city, dated to the 1840s, to a Persian work from the early 1820, Sangin Beg’s Sair-ul-manazil, a street by street detailed description of the city, its neighbourhoods and landmarks. The two sources, when put together, give us a more complete picture of the city of Shahjahanabad before 1857. They can help us to better understand the nature of early colonial map making. They can also give us clues about Mughal city planning – the place of bazaars, mohallas, katras, havelis, places of worship, and answer some important questions, such as, ‘was Shahjahanabad a Islamic city?’.
About the Speaker: Swapna Liddle studied for her BA degree in history at St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, and her MA and MPhil degrees at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU. She received a PhD degree from Jamia Millia Islamia, for her thesis ‘The cultural history of nineteenth century Delhi’. She is the Convenor of the Delhi Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
