A joint enterprise : Indian elites and the making of British Bombay

'It was the era of the Raj, and yet A Joint Enterprise reveals the unexpected role of native communities in the transformation of the urban fabric of British Bombay from 1854 to 1918. Preeti Chopra demonstrates how British Bombay was, surprisingly, a collaboration of the colonial government and the Indian and European mercantile and industrial elite who shaped the city to serve their combined interests. Chopra shows how the European and Indian engineers, architects, and artists worked with each other to design a cityùits infrastructure, architecture, public sculptureùthat was literally constructed by Indian laborers and craftsmen. Beyond the built environment, Indian philanthropists entered into partnerships with the colonial regime to found and finance institutions for the general public. Too often thought to be the product of the singular vision of a founding colonial regime, British Bombay is revealed by Chopra as an expression of native traditions meshing in complex ways with European ideas of urban planning and progress. The result, she argues, was the creation of a new shared landscape for BombayÆs citizens that ensured that neither the colonial government nor the native elite could entirely control the cityÆs future.' "It was the era of the Raj, and yet A Joint Enterprise reveals the unexpected role of native communities in the transformation of the urban fabric of British Bombay from 1854 to 1918. Preeti Chopra demonstrates how British Bombay was, surprisingly, a collaboration of the colonial government and the Indian and European mercantile and industrial elite who shaped the city to serve their combined interests. Chopra shows how the European and Indian engineers, architects, and artists worked with each other to design a city--its infrastructure, architecture, public sculpture--that was literally constructed by Indian laborers and craftsmen. Beyond the built environment, Indian philanthropists entered into partnerships with the colonial regime to found and finance institutions for the general public. Too often thought to be the product of the singular vision of a founding colonial regime, British Bombay is revealed by Chopra as an expression of native traditions meshing in complex ways with European ideas of urban planning and progress. The result, she argues, was the creation of a new shared landscape for Bombay's citizens that ensured that neither the colonial government nor the native elite could entirely control the city's future" -- Publicaciones Arquitectura y Arte Introduction -- A Joint Enterprise -- Anglo-indian Architecture And The Meaning Of Its Styles -- The Biography Of An Unknown Native Engineer -- Dividing Practices In Bombay's Hospitals And Lunatic Asylums -- An Unforeseen Landscape Of Contradictions -- Of Gods And Mortal Heroes : Conundrums Of The Secular Landscape Of Colonial Bombay. Preeti Chopra. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. An in-depth look at the urban history of British Bombay.