Author Description

This is a study of power and its bridge to knowledge and design in Colonial and Postcolonial India. Power that was first expressed in design through imperial monuments that indicated the greater significance of the European masters, and later demonstrated by the preservation institutions and regulations that perpetuate their image and power even beyond independence. Thus, this study questions modern power structures that protect colonial legacies represented in monuments such as the Gateway of India monument in Mumbai, a structure that symbolizes the golden footprint of the ruler deigning to visit his outlying imperial holding.Ultimately, this study asks, whose history are they validating? And for whom? And more importantly, what does this imperial monument tell us about cultural oppression, race,and class?