The Idea of Delhi

Abstract

The year 1911 marked an important point in the history of Britain’s rule over India. It was when the colonial state took the important decision to shift the capital from Calcutta to Delhi, a move that was seen as “a bold stroke of statesmanship”.A recent study of the official correspondence through which this resolution was finally adopted, reveals the complex motivations that led to it, the most important being to craft an image of an empire that would be more acceptable to the Indians themselves, and thus help to counter the rising national movement.