75 years on, Chandigarh’s unsung Indian builders finally get recognition

Seventy-five years after they laid the foundations of independent India’s first planned city, 12 Indian architects, engineers, and administrators who built Chandigarh from the ground up were finally felicitated on Tuesday — in what is the first formal recognition of their contributions since the city’s making began in 1951.

Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria conferred mementos on the 12 legends at a special ceremony organised by the Chandigarh Administration in association with the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation at the Auditorium of the Government Art Museum, Sector 10, here.

Of the 12 honoured, only one — architect S D Sharma, now 94 years old — was present to receive the memento in person. The remaining 11 were represented by their family members.

The Indian professionals felicitated were ICS officers M S Randhawa, P N Thapar and A L Fletcher; architects Aditya Prakash, A R Prabhawalkar, Jeet Malhotra, B P Mathur, J K Chowdhury, M N Sharma, U E Chowdhury and S D Sharma; and Chief Engineer, Capital Project, P L Varma.

The event, officials said, rectified a long-standing anomaly — the disproportionate global recognition accorded to foreign professionals such as Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, while the equally pivotal contributions of Indian professionals who executed the city’s founding vision on the ground remained largely unacknowledged for seven decades.

Speaking at the event, Governor Kataria said it is because of the extraordinary contributions of these pioneers that Chandigarh today stands as India's most modern and most liveable city. He stressed that it was now equally important to preserve and protect the city's fundamental characteristics as it faces the twin challenges of growth and development.

Marking 2026 as the 75th year of the beginning of Chandigarh's making, Kataria called upon all citizens, institutions and organisations to join a three-year-long commemoration through 2026, 2027 and 2028. He said the Chandigarh Administration was preparing a detailed proposal under the theme '75 Years of Making Chandigarh' and appealed to professional bodies, resident welfare associations, schools and colleges to organise events and programmes at their own level as part of the citywide movement.

The Governor also complimented the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation, describing it as a rapidly growing platform that brings together citizens, institutions, and professionals from diverse fields, and said its experts could help facilitate city-wide dialogues to evolve sustainable solutions to urban challenges.

Prominent gathering

The ceremony saw the participation of several prominent citizens, including Justice S S Sodhi, retired Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court; Panjab University Vice Chancellor Renu Vig; Directors of IISER and Punjab Engineering College; heads of various city colleges; retired General V P Malik, President of the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation; and a large number of students.

The felicitation is part of an ongoing exhibition titled ‘Chandigarh's Indian Modernists’, organised by the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation at the exhibition hall of the Government Art Museum, which runs from February 28 to March 29.