Rashtrapati Bhawan Close-up view 1914-29 (previously Viceroy's residence) Delhi Photograph © Medha Malik Kudaisya -- may be used without prior permission for any educational or scholarly purpose.

Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) this red stone building, topped by a copper dome stands on Raisina Hill and became the last palace built by the British and probably the largest of all modern palaces. Ironically, the British could use it as their Viceroy's Palace for not even two decades as Indian independence came in 1947. It is now the official residence of the President of India. The enormous complex covers almost 20,000 sq m and within its walls contains 12 separate courtyards. Three million cubic feet of stone was used to build it. Beneath its central dome, modeled upon the Buddhist stupa at Sanchi, lies the Durbar Room.

References

Chaudhuri, Nirad C. Thy Hand Great Anarch : 1921-1952. London, 1987.

Dalrymple, W. City of Djinns -- A Year in Delhi. London, 1993.

Frykenberg, F R (ed). Delhi Through the Ages. Delhi, 1986.

Gupta, Narayani. "Kingsway to Rajpath : The Democratization of Lutyens' Central Vista". Asher, Catharine B and Metcalf, T R (eds). Perceptions of South Asia's Visual Past, pp. 257-269. Delhi, 1994.

Gupta, Narayani. Delhi Between two empires, 1803-1921. Delhi, 1986

Irving, R G. Indian Summer : Lutyens, Baker and Imperial Delhi. New Haven, 1981.

Metcalf, T R. An Imperial Vision. Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj. Berkeley, 1989.