Cantonments, Military Stations

& Cities

Cities today do not exist as single integrated entities, but, in fact, as an amalgamation
of different suburbs, tangibly juxtaposed but architecturally, culturally and socially
distinct. One of the most prominent suburbs common to various cities of India are
‘cantonments’.
The term ‘cantonment’ is generally used to describe both cantonments and military
stations in our country. Cantonments or the ex-colonial cities are the urban areas
resulting from alterations in colonial cities which stemmed from the processes of
colonialism during British times whereas Military Stations are the self-sufficient
urban areas developed by the Indian military post-independence for accommodating
armed forces and their dependents. (Murray cited in King, 1976; Singh V, 2007)
Cantonments influenced planning of military stations established by the Army (govt.)
of Independent India. Factors to determine location and layout remained analogous.
However, plinth areas were reduced significantly in the latter keeping in mind the
needs of developing civil city . Another important change that was brought in was
reformation of civil areas within the precincts of military settlement for convenient
administration. Absence of civilian pockets like market places is probably the most
obvious identifiable characteristic of  a military station. 
All the cantonments as well as military stations were located at the far-ends of native
towns/cities when they were built in respective times. But in the last few decades due
to rapid urbanization and population growth cities grew all over, engulfing them as
islands of European settlements within a larger Indian settlement.

The urban planning principles of the former known colonial cities or cantts aimed at
physical, social and cultural segregation of Europeans from the indigenous populace
for various reasons. One vital motive was to keep themselves and Indian workforce of
colonial cities away from rising nationalistic influences. The army of independent
India had taken over with a completely different role in 1947 but segregation
principles as introduced by the British were continued. (Sharma, 2000) Absolute
seclusion from its own people while establishing military stations made little sense but
to keep defence forces away from frequent strikes and hooliganism in its early years
of becoming a republic or to unite a country with varied geographical, cultural and
social identities, maybe this was a necessity. Maybe, back then not much attention
was paid to the pros and cons of following British legacy in forming new military
stations since land was available in abundance. 

The author in the following research made an attempt to analyse if military stations
and cities be cohesively planned to promote an urban development which is
seamless yet respectful of governing norms of both entities?
A PEEK INTO HISTORY
Till the 18th and 19th century, cantonments were perceived as transitory and
comprised of semi-permanent mobile avenues of tent/camp structures. Britishers
changed their practice of building intimidating city forts in 1800s. They rather started
making compounds of suburban settlements in order to accentuate their rule and
exercise power comfortably over the Indian natives. (Davies, 1985) It is believed that
this inspiration was also derived from the Mughal practice of peripatetic government
(a govt. that follows transfer system to avoid corruption) and army camps of Roman
Empire (King, 1976). Philip Davies in his book ‘Splendours of Raj’ writes:

They represented the first stage in the physical separation of the rulers
and the ruled; a phenomenon which at its best promoted an aloof
incorruptible government and its worst arrogant ideas of racial
superiority. Insulated from teeming bazaars of the native quarters,
cushioned from the chaos and squalor of native life, the British created
a wholly separate existence which bore little relation to the real
India (p. 77)

Cantonments were a symbolic index of imperial power, and were intended to bring
marvel and fright in the minds of Indians. They were laid out on gridiron pattern
based on prevailing European practices (then Haussmanization) (Nangia, 2012) and
successfully captivated a sense of cultural and social superiority. In the process of
trying to form their territory, Britishers kept on acquiring and setting up similar
settlements which ended up raising unity among diverse cultural & social groups and
in fact, helped natives identify themselves as ONE NATION.

Military stations were developed post-independence. In its initial years of

development, India had concentrated all its resources and policies towards economic
growth and defence budgets were relatively less. But following the attacks by
Pakistan in 1948 and Chinese aggression of 1962, National Defence Policies and
Programmes got changed. (Bhalla, 1980) It is then on wards this concept of military
stations came into being. KLPs (Key Location Plans), earlier meant only for
temporary housing of the troops were converted into full fledged urban centres. As the
strength of Army kept on increasing, so did the need for housing the troops and
permanent training areas for soldiers. Gradually, with the advent of technological and
scientific methods, aerial warfare, missiles, the land requirement multiplied invariably
which led to the formation of 300 military stations besides 62 cantonments.
(Puttaswamy C, 1964 ; Bhalla, 1980 ; DGDE, 2016) These stations are further divided
into field and peace stations depending upon their propinquity to borders.

There was no separate body for planning of military stations till 1964. In 1963-64
during the 12th Annual Town and Country Planning seminar held at Guwahati the
need for designing and planing military stations was felt and Directorate of
Cantonment Planning came into being at Army headquarters. This organization took
up the responsibility to  prepare master plans of new military settlements and
redevelopment plans of a few large cantts. (Puttaswamy C, 1964)
PLANNING PRINCIPLES 
Political and military necessity directed location of cantonments. The size and growth
of cantonment was dictated by commander-in-chief of the army in 18 th century. Other
factors which contributed in deciding the location were – Proximity to urban centres,
availability of services, good training facilities and good health conditions. (Kapur
Rajiv,1989) Land acquisition followed a different pattern then and the area acquired
for development of cantts was the most spacious of all urban patterns. Some was
attained by conquest, some by compensation to original land owners and some formed
a part of treaty with concerned ruling chiefs (Sharma, 2000).
Segregation was followed in dual sense- segregation from the indigenous city and
segregation of various components within the cantonment. Generally, cantts were laid
five or six miles from the city which they guarded; & the lines of Indian regiments
were placed between city and cantonment. This careful separation of the Indian lines
became more evident after the mutiny of 1857 that had demonstrated the danger of
accommodating Indian troops within the European quarter. Within the cantonment the
civil and military lines were usually kept apart.(King A.D, 1976)

Cantonments were either bifurcated or separated from civil town by highways. With
the introduction to railways in 1840s, cantonments began locating themselves near
railway stations. Or one can say, railway stations were developed in the vicinity of
cantts. At places where it was not possible to relocate a cantt (due to big size of the
city), small railway station was set up to cater to cantonment’s needs. Railways
ensured convenient moving in and moving out of troops with auxiliary weapons at the
time of emergency, easy supply of goods and weapons and of course safe-secure
travel. (Sharma, 2000) The same legacy continued for military stations also. This is
the reason why today we see major railway stations in cities with cantonments (except
for mega cities) closer to military areas.

Extensive tree-plantation was another feature of cantonments, it helped to regulate

climate and represented an essential penchant of colonial culture (King A. D, 1976).
Large open areas were laid out as parade grounds for drill and training (Davies, 1985).
These large areas on the periphery of cantonment also assured some security to
Britishers from native population.

The main access road in the cantt or civil lines was ‘The Mall ‘a protected walk or
promenade usually surrounded by trees. It was different from the comparable
thoroughfare of civil/native city- the centrally located ‘chowk’. Unlike civil city
where streets ensured interaction, interaction in cantts was limited to Clubs and
gymkhanas. In residential areas, one set of troops of similar ranks was distinguished
from the other. This was done by building different type of quarters for each category.
Barracks were provided for sepoys of European and Indian troops and individual
bungalows for officers. The expanse of land enclosed around bungalows was an icon
of grade/rank.
For a senior officer a ratio of 15:1, garden to built form, was suitable,
while for a beginning rank it could even be 1:1.  In this sense the British
exhibited a hierarchical system no less advanced than the complex caste
system which they credited to India. (Nangia, 2012) .

Apart from the European barracks on cantonment, nothing else on the colonial urban
settlement  can be assumed to represent ‘working-class housing’ as there was no
working class then among the residents of cantonments, all the service based work
was performed by members of indigenous city living in proximity of British
cantonments (King, 1976). Service quarters were provided along with bungalows
which resembled small hutments. Today, some dilapidated bungalows have been
converted into shelters by servicemen inside cantonments.

Regimental bazaars were developed in cantonments to facilitate marketing

conveniences. These bazaars were provided by indigenous organization and came to
be called sadar bazaar or sometimes, native bazaar (King, 1976) . British India
bazaars, popularly known as B.I bazaars were also established at some places.
Another indigenous institution built within the precincts of cantonment was the serai.
A building for the accommodation of travelers with their pack animals, comprising of
a fenced lawn with spaces around it (King, 1976) . The bazaar and serai were not
under supervision of cantonment authority because of uncontrolled civilian
influx. Today, the bazaars exist as market places accessible to both defence
dependents and civilians. Cantonment Board takes the responsibility of maintaining
such civil areas of cantonments (DGDE, 2016). CSD canteens also facilitate daily
household requisites of defence personnels and their dependents besides these
markets. In fact, most military stations, unlike cantts, have only AWWA complex and
unit canteens for marketing conveniences.
People residing in military stations tend to shop from nearby civil markets. The notion
of market places vanished in military stations due to uncontrolled traffic and
encroachment by the civil populace in these areas. It becomes difficult for defence
services to administer in cases of huge influx (Directorate of Cantt planning, 2016).
Cantonments are also under review for the same problems.

BODIES GOVERNING ARCHITECTURE BEFORE INDEPENDENCE

A lot of construction in cantonments of British India was the work of amateurs and
military engineers. Their work reflects an interesting adaptation of local materials to a
longing for home being expressed in the establishment of European styles in tropical
lands (Chopra, 1999) . The buildings constructed by the British in cantonments were
not as elegant and splendid like those of the Mughals, but were utilitarian buildings
and memorial structures. Military engineers and architects closely followed the
advances in their home country but also didn’t hesitate to seek inspiration from
prevailing architecture in India for better acceptability. The work of British military
engineers is considered as one of the most enduring legacies of empire. (Davies,
1985) Although they had destructed our forest resources to develop this kind of
infrastructure. In the first annual report of Delhi Urban Arts Commission under
heading “Aesthetics Quality Costs” it was remarked that defence buildings are
amongst the ugliest and had not spared expense. The utilitarian concept implied and
the art of assembling elements in quickest possible time, however, is appreciable to
the author. The British during their rule employed cadets in the engineering branch to
take care of architecture and established various institutes like –Surveying school in
Madras (1794), Addiscombe College (1809), Royal Engineer’s Institution at Chatham.
(Davies, 1985)

The Public Works Department began recruiting civil engineers largely after the
mutiny of 1857.  In places like Bombay, professional officers were employed and
trained in civil architecture but in some places like Calcutta, amateur military
engineers prevailed. This became a major reason behind the dissimilar quality of
architecture rendered at different places in cantonments as well as other areas of these
cities during British times (Davies, 1985).

BODIES GOVERNING ARCHITECTURE AFTER INDEPENDENCE

The Architecture and Planning of the Cantonment and military stations now rests with
the engineers of military engineering services (abbreviated as MES). MES is the only
branch of defence which recruits architects and planners besides engineers. This
branch is responsible for maintenance and construction services of all three
components of the defence- Army, air Force and Navy.

In a cantonment residential and institutional areas are under MES i.e. the army and
other commercial zones are under either the Cantonment Board or respective city
municipality.Cantonment Boards are democratic bodies comprising of both defence
and civil members and are responsible for the overall maintenance of cantts. The
Cantonments Act procures rules and regulations to be followed for any kind of
construction in the cantt. For establishment of any new military station – Master Plan,
Zonal Plan and Development Plan are made and stations built. One, two or more units
of army (depending upon the size of station) are housed and their specific
requirements for training of troops and inter-relationship with each other becomes the
basis of area allocation.  ( Joint Director General, 2016)

There was a cut-down of 41.8% on plinth areas of all building types in revised
‘Handbook of Cantonment Planning’. Therefore, all military stations are relatively
smaller than cantonments. No demolishing was done in cantonments and hence
bungalows as well as other institutions stay as lavish as they were developed by the
British. (Executive Engg, Khadki Cantonment Board, 2016)

The FAR in institutional zone is kept as low as 0.5 -1 due to security reasons. In
commercial zones the FAR varies from one cantt to another. Recently, there has been
a proposal to raise FAR of residential zones and build around 2 lakh dwelling units to
meet housing demands of defence personnels. A separate subdivision called DG
MAP, Directorate General of Married Accommodation Project under E-in-C Branch
is working in various cantts and military stations and high rise buildings are being
built. In stations where there is no need of high rise, low rise construction is expected
to continue (Chief Architect, E-in- C , 2016). It is admired that armed forces have
allowed multi-storey construction in cities where there is a need. Besides this, there is
a proposal to install STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) and use techniques of waste
segregation as soon as possible.

CURRENT ISSUES:
It is often quoted,

“The most powerful aspect of an army lifestyle lies not so much in what
it offers as it does in what it doesn’t. Army life detaches the family unit
both spatially and culturally from the larger social arena.”
The military settlement, both cantonments and military stations remain isolated from
the city, thereby, decreasing interaction between civilians and defence personnels &
their dependents. This separation has its own perks and problems. Defence & civil
spatial requirements are different from each other, so integrating both geographically
doesn’t seem to render any fruitful results but uniting military and civil population at
the national, cultural, social, economic and ethnic levels for overall development and
smooth functioning of the nation is indispensable.

Both settlements must stop growing irrespective of each other’s requirements. It is

imperative to check encroachments on defence land, carefully observe patterns of
development as well as transportation ,work out smooth traffic and see if there is any
possibility to take down orders on closure of roads. Exceptional cases of cantts with
amunition centres and other requirements of defence services need to be taken care of
while handling this. Vacant defence land (not in use) can be handovered wherever
obligatory for city’s urban growth. The advancement in technology & warfare has
allowed for a greater flexibility with training areas and it is very much possible to
resolve issues related to greenfields (Captain B.K Janeja)

It is also important that the city acknowledges the fact that the defence services are
‘for’ the nation & do not intentionally try to create problems. These issues need
careful planning and the author hopes things are being worked upon. Coordination
among concerned authorities whether from defence or civil services is now crucial.
But more than that, the general population of the nation has to have some patience,
understanding and belief that people in service are working it out for them.

The biggest nuisance to this entire problem are people (from both civil and defence
fraternity) who with their half-baked knowledge attempt to woo public by writing
essays with less facts and more decorated vocabularies. Newspaper headlines like
‘Abolish cantonments’ or ‘throw cantonments outside the city’, other such strong
opinions by people ..rather shallow proposals in the eyes of author need to be
immediately taken down, at least, of the mass media. Defence associates, also, if
could stop shooting writings on how the hooligans of civil city want to invade their
dignity would make the job easier for concerned authorities to work.

Note: No detailed maps or plans case-studied during the study are published due to
security reasons. The author has no intentions to harm sentiments of any group.
Readers can write to pooja.spa.d@gmail.com for any suggestions/changes. Regards.
References:

Davies, P., 1985. Splendours of the Raj- British Architecture in India 1660-

1947. New Delhi: Dass Media, British Library.
King, A. D., 1976. Colonial Urban Development: Culture, Social Power and
Environment. 1 ed. London, Henley and Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Sharma Meenakshi, Cantonments: Legacy of the British 1800-1647, Dissertation,
B.Arch.  School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, 2000

(Captain) Bhalla P.K.S, Cantonment and the City, Thesis, Department of Town and
Country Planning, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, 1980

Puttaswamy C., Cantonment Planning, Thesis, Department of Town and Country

Planning, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, 1964

( Lt. Col )Jeji Virender Singh, Planning a sustainable Military Station at Jaipur,
Thesis, Department of Rural and Urban Planning, Indian Institute of Technology,
Rurkee, 2007
Kapur Rajiv , Cantonments- It’s Concept and Relation to a Civil Town, , Dissertation,
B.Arch. School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, 1989

(Captain) B.K Janeja, Cantts and the City, Thesis, Department of Rural and Urban
Planning, IIT Rurkee.

Britannica, E., 1911. Wikipedia. [Online] Available

at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/cantonments&nbsp ;[Accessed 10 July 2016].
DGDE, 2016. Directorate General of Defence Estate, Ministry of Defence, Govt. of
India. [Online]
Available at: http://www.dgde.gov.in/cantonments
[Accessed 15 sep 2016].
Nangia, A., 2012. British colonial architecture: Towns, cantonments and
Bungalows. [Online]
Available at: http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?
md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1008
[Accessed 6 June 2016].
The Cantonments Act, 2006 – PRS. [Online]
Available
at: http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/vikas_doc/docs/acts_new/1214302398_Th
eCantonments Act2006.pdf
[Accessed 2 june 2016].
Chopra P.N, 1999. Monuments of the Raj: British Buildings in India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. New Delhi: Aryan Books International.
Interviews by author with: Joint Director General-Cantonment Planning and Chief
Architect, Member of Architecture committee at E-in-C Branch Delhi, Executive
Engineers- Pune and Kirkee Cantonment Board.