Review: The Architecture of Lucknow and Oudh, 1722–1856: Its Evolution in an Aesthetic and Social Context, by Banmali Tandan

Abstract

The architecture of Oudh, and particularly its capital city of Lucknow—legendary for its magnificence and the refinement of Indo-Islamic high culture under its rulers, the nawabs of Oudh—is the subject of Banmali Tandan's The Architecture of Lucknow and Oudh, 1722-1856: Its Evolution in an Aesthetic and Social Context. Starting in the thirteenth century in northwestern India, the region known as Oudh came under the rule of a sequence of Delhi-based Muslim dynasties. By the late sixteenth century the area became part of the mighty Mughal empire. In 1722 Saadat Khan, a Shi'a nobleman from Persia who was employed by the Mughal emperor, was appointed Subahdar (governor) of Oudh. From 1722 to 1856, these rulers and their successors came to be known as the nawabs of Oudh.While putatively remaining loyal to the Mughal emperor, Saadat Khan worked to consolidate his position and assert control over his domain by undertaking campaigns against the largely Hindu landlords of Oudh. These semi-independent feudal barons were not entirely suppressed. They were forced to pay tax on a regular basis even as their hereditary rights to their lands remained undisturbed. Some of the landed chieftains would become Nawabi courtiers and officials. Despite the Nawabi overlordship, most continued to grow in strength under Nawabi rule. Their belief that they were independent rulers of their domain was signaled by the construction of numerous mud-forts in their lands during this period. After his death in 1739, Saadat Khan's nephew and son-in-law Safdar Jang (1739–1753) succeeded him as governor.At this time Oudh had grown to be a rich province; one that yielded vast revenues, estimated in the 1750s to be twice that of the Mughal empire at its zenith. As governor, Safdar Jang resided in the Mughal capital of Delhi or Shahjahanabad, but also in the cities of Faizabad and Lucknow in Oudh. When Asafuddaula (1775–1797) became nawab of Oudh, he made Lucknow his permanent capital in 1775. Safdar Jang's successor Shujauddaula (1754–1775) came into conflict with the East India Company and was defeated by the latter (in 1764, in Buxar and 1765 in Jajmau) While Oudh was informally independent of the Mughal emperor before 1765, after this date, through treaties and other agreements, it was progressively shaped by the control of the East India Company. The influence of European architectural styles on the local architecture was increasingly evident after the 1770s, and these Indo-European and even Indo-Islamic buildings have come under much criticism. In 1856 the British deposed Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab, and annexed Oudh, making this once vibrant independent region just one part of the global possessions of the expanding British empire.This is the context and background to Banmali Tandan's ambitious book. In it the author examines a vast terrain as well as a great number of diverse buildings and other elements of the built environment. In doing so, he explores the architectural patronage of the nawabs and their courtiers—including Europeans, Muslims, Hindus, and Jains—in Oudh in the changing political climate of over a century and a quarter of nawabi rule. This book is the author's second on the subject. According to the author, they can be read independently. However, this book builds on The Architecture of Lucknow and Its Dependencies, 1722–1856: A Descriptive Inventory and an Analysis of Nawabi Types (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 2001) and is the product of the perusal of a greater array of sources and intensive fieldwork.Throughout this book Tandan shows a strong commitment to observing and describing the built environment: spatial and living arrangements, gender segregation, response to tropical climate, materials, native building technologies, construction details, finishes, and stylistic and spatial genealogies. The book also discusses an impressive range of secular and sacred building types. Many of the buildings have been documented and drawn by the author, a valuable resource for future scholars.According to the author,