Cultural cleansing of historically rich regions is one of the most devastating actions taken in any contemporary civilised society where culture and history are intrinsic to the social fabric of society. Radicalism can lead to the eradication of history, that history whose traces reveal the cultural identity of the place and the symbols of power. Contrary to the theory of radicalism, today India – among many other developing nations – is struggling with a vague idea of development, smartness and modernisation and in many cases historical facts are erased by the demolition and destruction of culturally rich monuments and iconic structures in the name of utopia. Iconic structures and monuments represent not just cultural identity but also a statement in power, a symbol of dominance and supremacy.

The Indian subcontinent is full of such examples where structures came to represent the portrayal of strength. From Qutub Minar of the slave dynasty in Delhi to Asafi Imambara of the Nawabs in Lucknow and the structures and gateways of British colonial architecture, whatever emerged on the ground gave a strong message of the arrival of a superpower and cast a shadow of strength over resistance. These are the structural examples from a pre-Independence India. But post-Independence, Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister, set the precedent of a Modernist theory and hence India, a newly born independent state, saw its first modern structure in Chandigarh designed by Le Corbusier. Since then, architecture has been a tool to demonstrate the supremacy of this growing independent nation. Out of many such examples, the Hall of Nations – an agglomeration of exhibition spaces designed to celebrate the 25th year of Indian Independence – became a prominent symbol of Delhi’s skyline in 1972.

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So several campaigns to save the Hall of Nations are being carried out online and on the ground by architects, thinkers and activists who see the destruction of a landmark in the name of facelift as a theft of ideas and thoughts. Last year on 31 March 2015, a similar event was organised by the faculty of architecture, Jamia Millia Islamia, in Delhi. In the seminar, Ram Rahman, a renowned architectural photographer, suggested movements to make the society aware of the cultural thefts happening in the name of facelifts. Recently, SAHMAT, an NGO working for the cause of arts, literature and culture, organised a talk at the India International Center, Delhi in which the architecture–structure duo sat together and discussed the hardships and challenges they faced while coming up with such a design. It concluded with an emotional statement from engineer Mahendra Raj: ‘Destruction of a building designed by me in front of my eyes will be like seeing my child getting hacked in front of me.’

India is a nation where the masses still struggle for their physiological needs. With that as a backdrop, the idea of the preservation of iconic structures and buildings of historic importance needs awareness at the grassroots and campaigns need to be organised to let people know that history is the part of a civilisation which reveals the struggle, strength and supremacy. Eradication of history should be seen as an attack on society. Destruction can raze a structure, but a landmark can never be erased from the social fabric of a progressive nation.