Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s25.288

v6.c41.s25.288

It is needless to repeat what has been shown above, that nothing much of real Hindu village, town, or dwelling-house remained intact before the termination of the Mogul rule. All that survived comprise a few temples of later dates in the South, where the Muslim domination did not spread far and wide. Even in the South the civil architecture has been modified to suit the needs of villagers, who became largely converted to Christianity more through non-British agencies of other European conquerors. Thus, before the termination of the Mogul rule, what remained of civil architecture was exclusively of Muhammadan origin. If, therefore, in order to modernize Indian architecture, the British patterns are to be excluded, it will be necessary to demolish and rebuild not only the Viceregal palace at New Delhi and all the Council halls, secretariat buildings and offices in central and provincial towns, but also the bridges, railways, schools, colleges, universities, art galleries, museums, hospitals, maternity homes, down to the prison houses and lunatic asylums. Will the reform, if at all possible from the scanty materials of such structures that can be reconstructed from the Persian, Turkish, Pathan and Mogul patterns alone, the knowledge of the Hindu source being absent, satisfy our sanitary, economic, and utilitarian requirements?