Chandigarh, Sept. 23 — Few cities in India carry the weight of both history and architecture as Chandigarh does. Conceived in the aftermath of Partition, designed by one of the world’s most celebrated architects, and later thrust into the role of shared capital for two rival states, the city stands as both utopia and compromise — a living laboratory of modern India.
The story begins in 1947, when Partition left the newly formed Indian state of Punjab without its historic capital, Lahore, which went to Pakistan. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru envisioned a new city that would not just serve administrative needs but also reflect the spirit of a modern, forward-looking India.
“This will be a new city, unfettered by the traditions of the past — an expression of the nation’s faith in the future,” Nehru famously declared.
American planner Albert Mayer was first tasked with designing Chandigarh, but after his partner Matthew Nowicki died in a plane crash in 1950, the project was handed to Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier. What followed was one of the most ambitious urban design experiments of the 20th century.
Le Corbusier laid out Chandigarh on a grid of sectors — each self-contained with schools, shops, and open spaces. The Capitol Complex, with its High Court, Secretariat, and Assembly, became the architectural heart, blending monumental concrete forms with sweeping landscapes. The city’s rational design, human scale, and integration of green spaces earned it the moniker “The City Beautiful.”
When Punjab was reorganised in 1966, the Hindi-speaking regions were carved out to create Haryana. The new state needed a capital, but building another city from scratch was politically and financially difficult. The solution — and compromise — was to declare Chandigarh a Union Territory, serving as the capital for both Punjab and Haryana.
The arrangement, meant to be temporary, has lasted nearly six decades. Each state has its own secretariat building in the city, while Chandigarh itself is governed by the central government through an administrator. Over the years, disputes have flared, with Punjab long demanding exclusive control and Haryana resisting any move to relinquish access.
Today, Chandigarh is celebrated as India’s first planned city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its Capitol Complex. Its broad avenues, gardens, and orderly sectors still draw urbanists from around the world. Yet it is also a thriving, lived-in city of more than a million people, balancing Le Corbusier’s strict geometry with the bustle of Punjabi markets and Haryana’s administrative machinery.
For residents, the city is both home and contradiction. “It is peaceful, green, and orderly — but also carries the constant reminder that it belongs to everyone and no one,” says historian Amrita Kaur.
As Chandigarh marks more than 70 years since its foundation stone was laid, its identity remains tied to its unique origin: born of Partition’s upheaval, shaped by modernist ambition, and sustained by political compromise.
Whether the “temporary” sharing arrangement will ever be resolved remains uncertain. For now, Chandigarh continues to embody Nehru’s vision — a bold experiment in urban planning that has become both capital and compromise.
