Reviving Residency

On this day celebrated as World Heritage Day, when we rejoice at the efforts of Reviving Residency by the Department of Archaeology, Government of Telangana and the World Monuments Fund, let us take a moment to remember all those who protested and prayed for the health of the Residency.

In the city of the Qutb Shahis and the Nizams, the colonial history of the Residency was brought to limelight by many scholars and authors. While Dr Sarojini Regani, Dr VK Bawa, Dr Omar Khalidi’s works, the unpublished doctoral work of Dr Ashwin Kumar Bakshi, are valuable resources, Bilkiz Alladdin’s romantic drama, ‘The Love of a Begum’, set the mood in 1989, William Dalrymple’s historical fiction White Mughals, published in 2002, pushed the Khairunnisa-Kirkpatrick love story onto the world arena.

Originally, built by the Fifth British Resident in Nizam’s Government, James Achilles Kirkpatrick for his Khairunnissa Begum, between 1803-1806, the Residency complex was expanded and developed over the years by the succeeding Residents. Remains of the old structures of the Residency, such as Clock Tower, Gate of Kabutar Kahana on the Bade Chowdi lane are still standing.

When the British left Hyderabad, after a brief discussion, in 1949, it was decided the Koti Residency Campus was ‘handed-over’ to Women’s College, established in 1924. Between 1949 and 1952, the Residency buildings were modified and ‘adapted’ for the use of Women’s College.

The Residency buildings were maintained by the Nizam’s PWD and later by Hyderabad and AP Government’s PWD, the present Roads & Buildings Department. The office of the Chief Engineer, R&B maintained the Residency campus through the Osmania University Buildings Division till the 1960s, when the total maintenance was shifted to OUBD. So, from the 1960s onwards the OUBD was solely responsible for the maintenance and non-maintenance of the historic Residency complex.

It is noted from archival research that the Residency Campus was only ‘handed-over’ to Osmania University for use and the legal ‘Transfer of Ownership’ did not take place. The present ownership status of the Residency grounds should be verified from revenue records.

The grand buildings of the Residency are closed to the public view by the fort-like walls surrounding the campus. On an average, about three thousand students pass out of the Koti Women’s College, which makes it about 2 lakh alumni of the college. People who have visited the Residency and girls who grew and built their dreams in the corridors will agree that it is painful that the condition of buildings has only become worse in the last six decades.

The Former British Residency found a place on Hyderabad Heritage List in category II-B, in 1995. In 1997, when Osmania University Buildings Division was demolishing the roof of the western wing of Durbar Hall for laying of RCC roof, activists and media protested for not seeking permission from the HUDA Hyderabad Heritage Committee.

In 2001, the Residency was put on the 2002 and 2004 World Monuments Watch List as ‘Osmania Women’s College’. With this, a new story of conservation began. In 2003, the WMF announced a grant of Hundred Thousand Dollars through American Express for the restoration of Durbar Hall building only. The WMF released Twenty Thousand Dollars to Osmania University.

A PIL was taken up by the AP High Court in 2006 seeking a National Monuments status to Hyderabad Residency on par with Lucknow Residency, an upgradation from the local HUDA Listed Buildings Grade-II Status. The Archaeology Survey of India denied the status stating that the 1857 Mutiny did not take place in Hyderabad while the Lucknow Residency played a key role and Hyderabad Residency cannot be a National Monument – a logic which needs to debated.

However, Hyderabad Residency was declared a State Monument by AP High Court Order in 2007. In 2009, the High Court further directed the State Department of Archaeology to immediately take up the emergency repairs and expedite the restoration project. The Department of Archaeology sanctioned an amount of Rs 1 crore for taking up restoration. In 2015, an anonymous donor, with the condition of raising matching grants, gave one million to the WMF.

It took twelve long years since the listing of WMF and more than thirty years of protests and activism, for the restoration of Residency to begin. In these years, Vice-chancellors and Principals changed, Consultants and Governments changed.

The historic core of the complex now only left around Darbar Hall and empress gate within the college campus. The efforts of restoration are limited to the Darbar Hall building, the small Model in the Garden and the Cemetery, which should be extended to all other historic buildings in and outside the women’s college campus.

A protected monument zone should be delineated and opened to public – the heavy compound wall should be pulled down to be replaced by an iron fence and made visible to transit public – This will be a valuable addition to the urban open space in the crowded, polluted area of Koti.

The Residency complex shrunk over the years. Poor maintenance led to the collapse of structures – mathematics and sociology blocks and the Principal’s lodge, were pulled down and replaced by new buildings.

The Koti Women’s College is definitely an important part of Hyderabad’s history. But the Hyderabad Residency being an architectural marvel and historical landmark needs to be prioritised to be preserved for posterity. After many long years of waiting, the Hyderabad Residency is in the able hands of Department of Archaeology, Telangana Government, and the World Monuments. It certainly augurs well for the complex. - The writer is Conservation Architect and Urban-Regional Planner

By Vasanta Sobha Turaga