IN-PERSON: Prague – Section B

Abstract

The exclusivity to Gothic and Classicism in British India ended by the mid-19th Century to find a new imperial style. Resulting in the development of Indo-Saracenic architecture, a term coined by James Fergusson to refer to India’s Islamic architecture. British architects denoted it as reviving the attributes of Indian Architecture predominantly the native Indo-Islamic architecture, combined with the Neo-Classical styles that dominated Victorian Britain. This urge to manifest the revival generated an argument on the originality of the Indo-Saracenic style as either being an authentic revival of Indian styles or an attempt at a fusion between Eastern and Western tradition’s synthesis (Tillotson, 1989). This research will deliberate on these two expressions in the case of the historic core of Karachi, a former part of the greater British Raj (1843 to 1947 Indian subcontinent partition). Historically palaeogeographers have marked Karachi since the time of Dalrymple’s Crotchey or Caranjee (1795), with Crocala or Krakala, and as Alexandri Portus (Burton, 1887). The annexation to the British Crown in 1853 reflected in expansion of the small (fishing) hamlet into a major port town attracting an influx of economic immigrants. This supported the British architects to experiment on the architectural expressions. Thus, the objective of this research is to comprehend the British approach of developing the Indo Saracenic architecture in Karachi, followed by the research methodology of studying and analyzing the certain number of buildings in Karachi through literature review, analysis of archival data, field surveys followed by pictorial documentation. The analysis will include British architectural theory in the context of Karachi with respect to the two Indo-Saracenic expressions.