Anchoring Heritage with History—Minto Hall
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Oprint from & PER is published annually as a single volume. Copyright © 2014 Preservation Education & Research. All rights reserved. Articles, essays, reports and reviews appearing in this journal may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, except for classroom and noncommercial use, including illustrations, in any form (beyond copying permitted by sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law), without written permission. ISSN 1946-5904 PRESERVATION EDUCATION & RESEARCH Preservation Education & Research (PER) disseminates international peer-reviewed scholarship relevant to historic environment education from fields such as historic EDITORS preservation, heritage conservation, heritage studies, building Jeremy C. Wells, Roger Williams University and landscape conservation, urban conservation, and cultural ([email protected]) patrimony. The National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE) launched PER in 2007 as part of its mission to Rebecca J. 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NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR PRESERVATION EDUCATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Lauren Weiss Bricker, Chair, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Trudi Sandmeier, Vice Chair and Memberships, University of Southern California Andréa Livi Smith, Vice Chair and Web Site Editor, University of Mary Washington Steven Hoffman, Secretary, Southeast Missouri State University Robert Young, Treasurer, University of Utah Cari Goetcheus, Internships, University of Georgia Michael Tomlan, Special Projects, Cornell University Paul Hardin Kapp, Chair Emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Anchoring Heritage with History— Minto Hall (Bhopal, India) MANJUSHA PATNAIK ABSTRACT— Since relative degrees of cultural significances may lead to different conservation actions at a given time, it is of utmost importance to understand heritage in its totality. From a conservation perspective, the historical approach to the interpretation of heritage has proven to be a valuable tool. But over the past few decades, the tradi- tional notion of history as a linear narration of events of the past has evolved into a broader analytical interpretation called “cultural history.” What impact does this have on heritage that is firmly anchored in history and ancestry? Is our definition and interpretation of heritage also evolving? To seek answers, this article takes a closer look at the socio-cultural context of Minto Hall, an early twentieth-century Indo-colonial heritage building located in Bhopal, India. It further explores “cultural construction” as a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to the interpretation of heritage culminating in new significances and a pluralization of values. Caught amid the British Raj and India’s struggle for independence, Minto Hall proclaims an exceptional story of a female ruler and the changing political landscape of the princely state of Bhopal. INTRODUCTION he Australian ICOMOS Charter for Places of all the reasons why a building or a place should be pre- Cultural Significance, the Burra Charter, de- served, why it is meaningful or useful, and what aspects scribes conservation as a holistic approach that require most urgent protection (or intervention). Once Tincludes all processes of taking care of a place so as to defined, it is used as a basis for policy, planning, and de- retain its cultural significance, that is, its aesthetic, his- sign decisions (Mason 2004). Historical approaches have toric, scientific, and social values for past, present, and proven to be valuable tools for the interpretation of heri- future generations. The first step toward safeguarding1 tage and establishing the statement of significance. They any heritage resource is establishing its cultural signifi- help in locating a particular site, place, or built form in cance. A “statement of significance” gathers together its temporal context, providing insights into past val- Volume 6 | 2013 • Preservation Education & Research 73 ues and tracing how perceptions and significances have of heritage, permeating into different degrees of signifi- changed over time (de la Torre 2002). Aided by other eth- cances and a pluralization of values. As evident from nographic approaches, historical approaches2 form the the numerous international charters and doctrines for foundation for a holistic understanding of cultural re- conservation of cultural resources, the concept of heri- sources, leading to a value-based conservation approach. tage is no longer limited to artifacts and monuments, relevant to and valued only by the local culture. It has THE CHANGING NOTIONS OF HISTORY AND HERITAGE rather expanded in both scale and depth. On one hand, The terms “heritage” and “history” are often confused it has broadened to include human and the natural envi- with each other. Although traditionally history is the nar- ronment, or cultural landscapes that sometimes stretch ration of the past while heritage is concerned with the beyond the international boundaries, while on the other, repackaging of the past for some purpose in the pres- it is enriched by the inclusion of ordinary or vernacular ent (Lowenthal 2009), the understanding of both terms architecture and the nonphysical or intangible heritage. has been enriched with new findings and changing per- Heritage is being increasingly perceived as “constructed spectives. The traditional paradigm of history and its values of the past,” a culmination of the sociocultural historiography has been evolving into new kinds of his- context from which it emerges. What had previously been tory. History is no longer restricted to the linear narration considered as unchanging is now viewed as a “cultural of the events of the past. It has emerged as an approach construction,” subject to variation over time as well as in for a broader analytical interpretation of the past, often space (Burke 1992). 4 encroaching on the boundaries of other social sciences Cultural construction as an approach for the inter- like sociology, political science, and anthropology; it is pretation of heritage can be illustrated by an in-depth more aptly called “cultural history.” Consequently, his- understanding of the broader past of Minto Hall, or the tory is no longer objective and limited to the record of Old Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly), in Bhopal, wars, politics of yesteryear, or the history of the elite. It India. The colonial facades with the medieval Nawabi has given way to new kinds of historical narratives such interiors of the building herald an exceptional story as the history of everyday life and ordinary experience, of the political turmoil of the princely state of Bhopal, popular history, history of women, overseas history, and caught amid the British Raj and India’s struggle for other such realms that were previously unknown to the independence. traditional paradigm. The philosophical foundation of A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO MINTO HALL— this new history is the idea that reality is socially or cul- THE LINEAR HISTORY turally constituted (Burke 1992). But what role do these new kinds of history play in shaping our understanding Bhopal holds a unique place in the sociocultural and of heritage, which is anchored in history and ancestry? political history of India, being the only princely state Heritage is often described as a set of values or prin- with four generations of successive female rulers, or ciples that relate to the past (Harrison 2009). Like any begums.5 The turn of the twentieth century (1901) was other inheritance, heritage has two defining components: marked by succession to the Bhopal sultanate by Nawab what is inherited and who inherits. Often, the inheritors Sultan Jahan Begum, the twelfth ruler of the state of define what is inherited. Consequently, the value of heri- Bhopal and the fourth in the lineage of female rulers. The tage is not an intrinsic quality that