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TOPIC INFO – UGC NET (History)
SUB-TOPIC INFO – History (UNIT 8)
CONTENT TYPE – Short Notes
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1. Growth of New Urban Centres
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Presidency Cities: Core Colonial Urban Centres
1.3. Growth of Port Cities
1.4. Cantonments
1.5. Irrigation and Canal Colonies
1.6. Railways and Railways Towns
1.7. Hill Stations
2. New Features of Town Planning and Architecture
2.1. Segregation and Dual Town Structure
2.2. New Urban Typologies Introduced by the British
2.3. Architectural Styles Introduced or Promoted
2.4. Grid-based Urban Planning and Street Layouts
2.5. Development of Public Infrastructure
2.6. Public Institutions and Symbolic Buildings
2.7. Monumental Architecture and Imperial Symbolism
2.8. Introduction of Bungalows and Garden Suburbs
2.9. Construction of Planned Capital: New Delhi (1911-1931)
2.10. Industrial and Railway Architecture
2.11. Use of Local Labour, Materials, and Adaptation
2.12. Urban Expansion and Peripheral Growth
3. Urban Society and Urban Problems
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Growth of New Urban Centres in British India
UGC NET HISTORY (UNIT 8)
Growth of New Urban Centres
The colonial period in India (especially between the mid-18th and mid-20th centuries) witnessed the emergence and growth of new urban centres, driven by British administrative, military, commercial, and infrastructural priorities, not indigenous economic or cultural needs.
The development of urban centres during this period was selective and uneven, with new cities emerging primarily as administrative capitals, port cities, military cantonments, railway hubs, and commercial depots.
These urban centres were closely linked to the British colonial economy, acting as nodes for extraction, export, and governance, rather than for indigenous industrialization or modernization.
Introduction
The development of towns and cities in India was significantly affected by colonial rule, although elements of continuity from the past remained.
Medieval towns and cities in India were founded as centers of administrative and military power, trade and commerce, or religious importance. This pattern continued during the colonial period.
The changes brought by colonialism led to the decline of certain centers of power like Delhi and Agra, places of artisanal production like Dacca and Murshidabad, and older port cities like Surat.
The British were responsible for changes in the organization and development of cities and towns based on the needs of a European colonial power.
Colonial port cities like Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta supplanted older port cities like Surat, Calicut, and Dacca.
While many old centers of industrial production declined, new market towns and towns serving new needs emerged during the colonial period.
Scholars like Atiya Habeeb referred to this process as dependent urbanisation.
Christopher Bayly argued that towns like Mirzapur and older ones like Benares flourished due to the demand for Indian commodities created by the East India Company in the early 19th century.
Bayly highlighted the role of Indian merchant capital in creating vibrant corporations in both old and new towns.
By the late 19th century, the British were responsible for the decline of artisanal production and many urban centers.
Some new centers, such as Moradabad, which produced brassware, emerged in the 20th century due to railway transport at reasonable costs and an increase in consumer demand for brass utensils.
Traditional rural industries like leather goods moved to bigger centers or towns.
Traditional textile industries in rural areas employing unskilled workers declined, while textile producers in towns improved their chances of getting better terms for credit, better prices for their products, and access to skilled dyers, as pointed out by Tirthankar Roy.