Soon, 'Civil Lines' may be relegated to history

NEW DELHI: The concept and nomenclature of Civil Lines, residential areas established by the British and long associated with their proximity to administrative power, may fade into history.

As the Centre intensifies its efforts to replace remnants of colonial-era laws and practices with alternatives that are of Indian origin and reflect the country's culture, the framework 'Civil Lines' has been identified as one such legacy for review.

TOI has learnt that an extensive exercise is being undertaken to identify vestiges of British rule, aimed at decolonising mindset and embracing indigenous identity. PM Narendra Modi, in Jan, had asked ministers and top bureaucrats to identify colonial-era practices and suggest alternatives that have Indian roots.

Originally developed in the 19th century, Civil Lines were planned as exclusive enclaves with better infrastructure, which signified power and proximity to colonial masters. These were built to house "senior colonial civilian officials". Civil Lines exist in Delhi and several cities across states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra.

For long, these remained different from other parts of "old" cities or bazaars.

"The development of Civil Lines was a part of planned development. On one side of the city, there was cantonment board, and on the other, Civil Lines. This is how cities have developed," said an urban planner and architect who has done extensively studied British-period planning and architecture.

Former DDA commissioner (planning) A K Jain said Civil Lines across the country have been completely transformed in all these years. "In place of bungalows, now you have multi-storeyed buildings; population has increased manifold and these have become part of main cities. So, changing names hardly has any significance."

"During the colonial era, about 75 cantonments were developed in India. Civil Lines were the counterpart of the military enclaves," he added.

In the past decade, govt has renamed certain key roads and offices whose original names were iconic to the British era. Some of these include changing the name of Race Course Road in Delhi to Lok Kalyan Marg among others.
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