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Abstract
The late nineteenth-century Anglo-Indian settlement in Whitefield is about sixteen kilometres east of Bangalore, India. It was originally an independent village, but has since been co-opted as a city suburb.
This paper presents an overview of the research project carried out in Whitefield over a six month period from May to November 2009, involving documentation and analysis of the settlement, plots, and bungalows. At Whitefield we found a unique experiment, possibly of national significance: ‘a self sufficient Anglo-Indian Utopia where no man would own property and all would work towards the common good’, perhaps based on both European ideals and the Indian village model.
Today this place is under threat of indiscriminate development. The CDP (Comprehensive Development Plan) for Bangalore makes no mention of its historical nature. It is truly a forgotten chapter of India's colonial heritage. Moreover, as there is no heritage legislation in Bangalore, there is no legal protection for any historical area or structure in the city, and thus the onus is on local people to protect the town's remaining heritage. Furthermore, in the course of interactions with the local community in this settlement over the research period it seemed that the residents were truly aware of their past and the need to carry it forward for the benefit of future generations.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is extremely grateful to all the residents of Whitefield for their warm welcome, their willingness to spare time and share past anecdotes, and their overall help in making the research easier. Special thanks to Merlyn & Paul D'Souza, Deepa Peck, Cecil Dewars, Margaret Lunel, Latha & George Verghese, Sheila & Vivian D'Souza, Saam Mahabaleshwarwala, Mrs & Col. Thomas, Mrs & Mr Giddens and Dr Mani Chacko of the Ecumenical Christian Centre, Whitefield. The author acknowledges the INTACH Karnataka Chapter HQ and INTACH UK for the grant. Finally, thanks are due to the enlisted students of BMS School of Architecture, Bangalore for their help in the process of documenting the settlement and some of its significant structures.
Notes
1. All about Whitefield, a Report ([n. p.]: [n. pub.], [n. d.]) – sections retrieved from the collections of Reverend Peck, past Whitefield resident.
2. B. L. Rice, A Gazetteer, Compiled for Government (Mysore; London: [n. pub.], 1897; repr. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 2001).
3. Ibid., p. 93.
4. J. D. Rees, Narrative of Tours in India (Madras: Superintendent, Government Press, 1891), pp. 298–99.
5. Ibid., p. 311.
6. Ibid., p. 304.
7. Ibid., p. 311.
8. Campbell's Directory for Mysore and Bangalore ([n. p.]: Campbell & Sons, 1920), pp. 94–95.
9. All about Whitefield.
10. Rice, p. 93.
11. ‘The Story of a Church’ (Bangalore: Perpetual Help Press, 1977) – a pamphlet about the church, now out of print.