Indian history: What happened to British relics removed from Indian Parliament & Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1950

The Viceroy’s House, which was renamed Government House after Independence, became Rashtrapati Bhavan on 26 January 1950. This building had perhaps the highest number of British Imperial insignias at the time. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

On 26 January 1950, India adopted its own Constitution and became a Republic. Although Independence from British rule was achieved on 15 August 1947, it took over two years for the process of adoption of the Constitution of India. So when Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, unfurled the tricolour, it marked the complete end of the rule of the British monarch. Between 1947 and 1950, India was a Constitutional monarchy with the British king George VI as head of state as New Delhi was still governed under the Government of India Act 1935, which was passed by Westminster.

However, in preparations for the Republic Day celebrations, symbols of British rule and monarchy were also taken down from the government buildings and departments which had them. The Viceroy’s House, which was renamed Government House after Independence, became Rashtrapati Bhavan on 26 January 1950. This building had perhaps the highest number of Imperial insignias, as it was the former official residence of the Viceroy of India, the topmost British official. It was occupied by C. Rajagopalachari who was appointed the Governor-General of India after the departure of Lord Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy in June 1948.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) had the task to remove all symbols of the British Empire from Rashtrapati Bhavan. The main gate had 44 bronze crowns of various sizes which were valued at Rs 8,000. An additional 16 crowns on the heads of English lions around the main gate were valued at Rs 1,000. From the various nooks and corners of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, around 50 more crowns were removed. These were of various weights - the heaviest weighed just over 19 kg and the lightest just under 2.5 kg - and were collectively valued at Rs 3,000.

The heaviest and most impressive of the crowns was dismantled from the flag post. It was made of bronze and weighed a massive 70 kg. The CPWD valued it at Rs 750, making it the one of the most expensive British insignia, apart from the paintings, of course, which they removed from the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The other building from where the CPWD removed British insignias, and the record of which I have been able to trace, is the (old) Parliament House.

The deliberations of the Constituent Assembly, the illustrious body that debated and passed the Constitution, which took place in the Central Hall of the Parliament, were done in the presence of British motifs. It was here that Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, K.M. Munshi, Gopala Swami Ayyangar, Mohammad Sadullah and other luminaries sat together.

The Constituent Assembly Hall had five paintings of previous Viceroys, and of King George V and the Prince of Wales. In fact, just behind and above the President’s chair on the wall in the Constituent Assembly Hall, was a prominent wooden British coat of arms. From various parts of the Parliament House, bronze and marble crowns were removed and so was a coat of arms made in Plaster of Paris from the wall of the Press Gallery.

The Chamber of Princes, which was turned into the Parliament library, provided space to representatives of the Princely States to officially meet the Viceroy once a year. In keeping with the denizens who came there, the British coat of arms had a gold polishing. These insignias had witnessed the zenith of the Empire but also got to see the making of India’s Constitution by her own people.

What was to be done with all these insignias that were removed? The UK High Commissioner in New Delhi expressed interest in receiving the insignias removed from the government buildings. His office showed special interest in the bronze crowns that were removed by the CPWD. Interestingly, Narhar Vishnu Gadgil, the Union Minister for Works, Mines and Power (or W.M.P, as it was called) was of the view that the bronze items could be retained and melted to make Republican insignia to replace the Imperial ones. Other items made of wood, stone or plaster could be gifted to the UK High Commission after keeping one of each such items as museum pieces. Gadgil, a Gandhian from Maharashtra, opined that the paintings could be either kept as museum pieces or displayed in a less prominent corner of Parliament House or the President’s House.

Narhar Vishnu Gadgil, 1958 portrait. (Photo via Punjab Raj Bhavan/ Wikimedia Commons)

The matter ultimately reached the office of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru turned out to be far more conservative than his cabinet colleague. Nehru’s personal private secretary Dharma Vira made it known that no decision regarding the disposal of insignias should be done in a hurry and that all such articles should be kept safely. This directive came directly from the PM. The UK High Commissioner was accordingly informed that while there was no way these items would be used anymore, the government needed more time to arrive at a definite decision.

But this stand was at an institutional level for the UK High Commissioner, which was the official representative of the UK government. The fact that the insignias were valued by the CPWD point out that the government must not have been inclined to hand them without any monetary consideration. It seems that the government also received personal requests from serving and retiring British officers. Usually, such requests were made for sentimental reasons to carry such items back to England as mementos.

One such request was made by Major-General Harold Williams, engineer-in-chief of the Indian Army. Williams had remained with the Indian Army after Independence and wanted some crowns removed from government buildings to be given to him. After some deliberations, it was inferred that a retiring officer of his stature could be obliged by giving a few crowns. However, considering Nehru’s blanket decision to keep British relics safe till a definite decision could be arrived at, Williams was advised to renew his request for the ornamental crowns just before his departure from India to the UK. It is clear that the bureaucrats were inclined to part with a few crowns for him. It is another tale that Lt General Williams, also a keen birdwatcher, remained in India after his retirement and died in 1971.