Figure & Ground
Figure & Ground Representations of the Republic Gunraagh Singh Talwar Pranav Wahi Originally written for the Berkeley Prize Essay 2020 How do civic buildings create community? January 2020
Contents We 04 The People 05 Of India 06 Secure to its Citizens, Justice 08 Liberty 12 Fraternity 14 Equality 16 Give to ourselves, a Republic 17 Works Cited 20
We
Figure and Ground | 04
An architectural design student understanding buildings outside-in and a budding lawyer practicing within, collaborate to illustrate a sense of community created by two civic spaces; the Supreme Court—a Figure entity representing the judiciary as the highest court of appeal, and the Jantar Mantar—the city’s goto protest Ground. The essay is a tale of India through landmark legal cases where the Figure and Ground have acted symbiotically in shaping close-knit communities and furthering a democratic society.
Change life!’ ‘Change society!’ These precepts mean nothing without the production of an appropriate space. [. . .] To change life, [...] we must first change space. Henri Lefebvre
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A crime committed against a person is a crime against society.
Left Jantar Mantar, Delhi Supreme Court of India Below Protesters at Jantar Mantar
The People December 16, 2012 A 23-year-old girl faced gruesome physical assault. She became a prey to the cruel and bestial appetite of six men. People took their angst to the streets, and widespread protests broke out all across the country. At Jantar Mantar, the epicenter, thousands gathered expressing solidarity against gender-based violence. Determined, they sought stringent laws against sexual offense, effective means to ensure women’s safety in the capital, and above all, justice for Nirbhaya - the dauntless. The city witnessed solidarity marches, candlelight processions, and strikes till all six accused were in judicial custody. Life imprisonment wasn’t enough; the protesting crowd demanded capital punishment. After five years of judicial recourse and due process, the Supreme Court heard the convicts’ appeal for reduction of sentence in Mukesh & Anr v. the State of Delhi. It debated upon its practice of abstaining from imposing death penalty and weighed it against the public anguish and impairment caused to society. Seeing no scope of reformation, the court upheld the sentence. Expressing hope in a movement of ending violence against women, the court ruled in favour of the People.
Of India In a vast open landscape abutting Shahjahanabad— the Mughal city of Delhi—Maharaja Jai Singh conceived the idea of an astronomical observatory. Set in stone and lime, the Jantar Mantar (Image 1) is a complex of five monumental Yantras (stellar instruments). In a time when astronomy intertwined with astrology and myth, the Yantras contributed to a revised set of calendars for India, inextricably linking them to the then society. After the decline of the Mughal empire in Delhi and the untimely demise of its patron, Jantar Mantar became a picturesque ruin. Amidst oppression by a new white power and growing insecurity, people lost interest in the Jantar Mantar, the coming generations viewing it as an architectural oddity as “towering buildings with calibrations marked on their fantastically curved and inclined surfaces.” (Mukherjee) It was only after 1911 and the decision to shift the capital of British India to Delhi that the area around Jantar Mantar transformed yet again. The design of New Delhi, with its system of circular intersections and radial roads, ate up a substantial part of the Jantar Mantar. A central axial street that led to the Chamber of Princes cut right next to the observatory. A ‘dignified feature’ of the new Imperial city, Jantar Mantar, was conserved as an English landscape with architectural follies in space. “A colonial manipulation of the colonized perception of their past,” as suggested by archaeologist Dileep K. Chakrabarti. Reduced in function, the Jantar Mantar was now just a small part of New Delhi, where interest in the Yantras became perfunctory.
Figure and Ground | 06
“A colonial manipulation of the colonized perception of their past.”
Right The Jaiprakash Yantra Below The Jantar Mantar (earth.google.com/web)
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Figure and Ground | 08
JUSTICE
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“From architecture as oppressive and subjugating to architecture as liberating and emancipatory.”
Left The Figure of Justice Below The Supreme Court of India (earth.google.com/web)
Secure to its Citizens The colonial state’s institutions, speaking in a Foucauldian sense, instilled physical fear in the public. Post-colonially, the nation builders sought to replace the visual imagery of ‘might is right’ with ‘right is might’ through the Supreme Court. The citadel of judicial power, the court possessed a responsibility to uphold the rights of the society and educate the newly found republic. Reflecting temporariness and the colonial elitist outlook, the court initially functioned in the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament building. Its new permanent abode draped in unique architectural style was free from any form of colonial ancestry. Corroborating, as Rosenbloom states, “While the new society adopts a new ideology, it also adopts a new architectural style to serve as its physical manifestation.” The site for the courthouse was finalized in New Delhi, away from the Secretariat and the Parliament House, suggesting an incorruptible separation of powers. The design is in the shape of a balance with a pair of Scales of Justice, upheld in the inaugural speech by the first president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. “Traditionally we look upon justice as a pair of scales, the two pans of which have to be held evenly without allowing the beam from which they hang to incline to one side or the other. We see two wings on the two sides. They will accommodate the offices and the records. At the end of each wing is a semi-circular structure. They represent the pans, which are attached to the beam at the top. This beam will accommodate the courtrooms wherein the Hon’ble Judges will sit and dispense justice without inkling either to
Figure and Ground | 10
the right or to the left.” Chief architect Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar designed it in an Indo-British Neoclassical style. The mixed form had a stronger symbolic effect of an Indian interpretation of British-modeled laws. The color scheme of the building, chhatris (canopies), and chhajjas (projections) draw from the Mughal style of building. The portico decked with massive pillars adjacent to the courtrooms have imposing Corinthian-style columns in Grecian architecture, and the dome crowns the central wing illustrating a British connection. These features inculcate the Indo-British blend and seamlessly synchronize with colonial buildings of the President’s House and Indian Parliament. At a focal point of the building is a massive rotunda, a 90’ dome. The most identifiable feature of the entire structure—its panoptic presence—reproduces the court’s supreme authority. Facing it is the Mother and Child statue, humbling the complex’s scale and symbolizing justice to all. High walls that circumscribe the court’s premises form a parerga that frames the law, separating it from the outside. Multiple entrances act as thresholds generating a liminal space, and in an enclosed softscape, litigators interact with the public. It is here that 1.3 billion Indians, affixed to their televisions, witness the courthouse deliver Justice. Incorruptible and absolute, the Supreme Court exists to protect the society’s values. With a building monumental in both, scale and value, the institution is India’s last check on her democracy. As a symbol of justice, it is rendered as a backdrop to any legal
discussion in public. The Figure is about the power of architecture; it is space that creates community and fosters its aspirations.
Right The Massive Rotunda is the court’s supreme authority in public
The Figure is about the power of architecture; it is space that creates community and fosters its aspirations.
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Figure and Ground | 12
LIBERTY
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November 24, 2019 The Delhi Pride Parade culminated in performing bands, and street plays in the avenue of Jantar Mantar. “I can vividly recall when, right here, it was once a decade long protest for identity,” says Azeez, a participant. In 2008, hundreds marched to Jantar Mantar for Delhi’s first Pride Parade, expressing angst towards the regressive Section 377. The colonial rule that criminalizes carnal sex as against the order of nature. “When you are an electoral minority, and you have
Left A group recites the Preamble to the Indian Constitution
to take down the law. You do not have the means to change through the electoral process,” states Arundhati Katju, a litigator. On July 2, 2009, Delhi High Court in Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi held the section to be against the fundamental rights of citizens. As the court celebrated inclusive India, thousands took on the streets with pride. The celebration was short-lived as, in 2011, the Supreme Court overturned the judgment in Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation. Favoring an appeal by individuals protecting their conservative values, the court rejected pleas from the LGBT+ community. When hope was lost, Jantar Mantar became the hearth for the community to dissent— raising banners and voices with their identity in question. The Delhi Pride Parade took ablaze, gathering public attention in sensitizing society towards the community. “If you take recourse to the courts, how do you change the mind of the adjudicators?” adds Katju. Her question found a response when five individuals of the LGBT+ community filed a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Section in Navtej Singh Johar and others v. Union of India (2016). On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court prospered constitutional morality. It emphasized that the rule of the majority cannot find imposition on the minority. For a decade, the community continued its struggle peacefully while having faith in the court’s institution. “History owes an apology to members of the community, for the delay in providing redressal for ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries.” Justice Indu Malhotra said in the verdict.
Fraternity The three-tier formal system behind the court makes for public interaction through set representatives. A legal threshold and established procedures create a need for another kind of space. A Ground where people share a common, emotional sentiment—We want to be heard, we matter. Jantar Mantar, where all you need is a cause, a placard, and a voice became the capital’s Hyde Park in 1993. There was no ordinance, no official declaration. Yet, the tree-lined boulevard abutting the 18th-century observatory came to be the only place in New Delhi where Section 144 prohibiting unlawful assembly was not imposed. Since then, temporary cloth banners of the demonstrators against the groups of khaki policemen have taken over the physical foreground as well as the symbolic image of Jai Singh’s Jantar Mantar. Home for as long as they have their spirit to fight, Jantar Mantar is a stage for anyone to dissent. Protests, strikes, rallies, and marches, the people’s voice takes many forms. The open space, resonating with the nation’s hymn, adapts to their needs. While proximity to the Parliament adds to its significance, the avenue’s scale is small enough for a manageable crowd between its two main entry and exit points. Trees from the once imperial landscape provide ample shade against the harsh sun, and vendors stationed underneath offer food and water. In the evenings, the roar of the protests subsides, and the aroma of different regional cuisines fills the air. In the night, dissent takes a temporary break, only to reignite the next morning.
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“From architecture as an individual expression to architecture as an expression of multiple perspectives.”
Right A protest at Jantar Mantar Below The new foreground of Jantar Mantar
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“In the capital city of the world’s largest democracy, this is the last remaining site to air dissent. Such spaces exist in the heart of London, New York, and Washington DC, but here, you close it down? For what?” put Sohail Hashmi, a historian, and activist when in 2018, the NGT temporarily banned the site against protests. The proposed alternative was Ramlila Maidan, a large ground located away from central Delhi. Usually let out for a fee of ₹50,000 ($700) a day, the Maidan has a threshold that makes it inaccessible to individuals. Its scale and location also raised questions, as pointed out by Jivan Das, “It’s dusty and far louder than Jantar Mantar ever was. Who will come to listen to a lonely protester? No one.” At Jantar Mantar, democracy hears dissent. While some protests fizzled out, others have led to momentous shifts in realities, as discussed in the narrative. In amplifying the people’s voice, Jantar Mantar has regained its social value through a change in purpose and meaning. The Ground is about architecture at subservience. Genuinely democratic, it is a space created by the people, for the people. For fostering community, it is space to be fostered first.
Equality
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December 11, 2019
January 26, 2020
Indian parliamentarians chose to honor the World Human Rights Day by passing an amendment to the Citizenship Act of India. Paving a way to citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim from neighboring countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, the act received a contentious response. As lawyer Gautam Bhatia points out, “the bill explicitly and blatantly seeks to enshrine religious discrimination into law. It is contrary to our long-standing, secular constitutional ethos.”
Today, as protests continue at Jantar Mantar for the 46th day, the peoples’ resolve remains unshaken. Eager for the Supreme Court to deliver, they come together on the 70th Republic Day. The Ground shakes. When will the Figure heed?
Asserting their patronage with one community—India—thousands marched to Jantar Mantar. With the tricolor held high, the protestors read aloud the preamble, emphasizing on its values; Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. “Either we are a secular state, or we aren’t India at all.” put activist Yogendra Yadav, expressing the nation’s voice. Peaceful persistence progressed into a violent bearing when the state administered tear gas and batons to curtail citizens’ right to expression. The democratic breeze embraced country’s youth and demonstrations to condemn despotism engulfed the nation. “Voices of support from across the country are rising above hatred and vile bigotry. Maybe it will inspire those who stand against us to re-emerge with reason and humanity?” says Rikat Hashmi. With parliament’s blatant intransigence, tension has gathered over 144 petitions filed against the amended law.
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The Ground shakes. When will the Figure heed?
Left Anti CAA/CAB Protests at Jantar Mantar
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GIVE TO OURSELVES A
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A Republic Through the theorized Figure and Ground, one understands architecture as a complex system of social, cultural, and political imperatives. A realized dialogue between the two seemingly distinct spaces catalyzes the other, and fosters community. In creating civic spaces of the future, one must first understand the agency of the existing. Civic spaces reflect the values people hold important, reiterating as Lefebvre says, “space is the carrier and communicator of the dominant ideals that contribute to shaping it.�
A REPUBLIC
Work Cited Cabalfin, Edson. “’ Paradigm Shift: A Manifesto Towards an Architecture That Is Inclusive, Humane and Empowering.’” BluPrint Magazine: A Sourcebook of Architecture and Design, www.academia. edu/17982829/_Paradigm_Shift_A_Manifesto_Towards_an_Architecture_that_is_Inclusive_Humane_ and_Empowering_. “Citizenship Act Protests: ‘I Wait in Silence as My World Falls Apart.’” BBC News, BBC, 21 Dec. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50833355. Ghosal, Aniruddha. “End of a Protest: The Story of Jantar Mantar as a Protest Site Began in 1993.” The Indian Express, 26 June 2018, indianexpress.com/ article/india/jantar-mantar-protests-ngt-end-of-a-protest-2011-lokpal-agitation-anna-hazare-4922867/. “Jantar Mantar Turns into Ground Zero of Anti-CAA Protests in Delhi.” Hindustan Times, 19 Dec. 2019, www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/jantar-mantarturns-into-ground-zero-of-anti-caa-protests-in-delhi/ story-q5cN15LCNP2jFD9uY5zeLP.html. Katju, Arundhati. “Rights over Wrong.” The Indian Express, 8 Sept. 2018, indianexpress.com/article/ opinion/columns/rights-over-wrong-section-377-homosexuality-5345713/. Kumar and Shailesh. “Interpreting the Scales of Justice: Architecture, Symbolism, and Semiotics of the Supreme Court of India.” SSRN, 28 June 2017, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_ id=2993088.
Mukherji, Anisha Shekhar. Jantar Mantar: Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh’s Observatory in Delhi. Ambi Knowledge Resources, 2010. Yadav, Yogendra, et al. “CAB Protests a Battle for India – Either We Are a Secular State or We Aren’t India at All.” ThePrint, 12 Dec. 2019, theprint.in/opinion/ cab-protests-battle-for-india-we-are-a-secular-stateor-we-arent-india/333480/.