Municipal Offices - Simla - 1910
The Mall, Simla.
Although British India was governed from Simla during the summer months, Simla itself was governed by the Municipal Board. Established in December 1851, the Board oversaw everything from water-supply, sanitation, taxation, road-building, lighting and traffic regulation. The Board was responsible for the infamous traffic by-laws which in effect prevented Indians from using the major thoroughfares in Simla, thereby preserving the English 'feel' to the town. The "Simla Municipality By-Law for the Regulation and Prohibition of Traffic" reads:-
"1. No person shall take, keep, or use an elephant or camel in any place within Municipal limits without the previous sanction of the President or Secretary of the Municipal Committee.
3. No cattle, sheep, goats or pigs and no mules or other animals used for draught or burden shall be permitted in the roads and streets specified as prohibited in the second schedule annexed to these rules.
5. From the 15th March to the 15th October, both days inclusive, and between the hours of 4pm and 8pm, no job porter or coolie shall solicit employment, loiter, or carry any load in any street mentioned in the first schedule annexed to these rules.
6. No person shall solicit alms, or expose or exhibit any sore, wound, bodily ailment or deformity in any street with the object of exciting charity or obtaining alms."
You can just imagine the righteous indignation of the Committee members if say, on 13th August at 5:15pm, they laid eyes on an Indian coolie carrying a load along The Mall whilst leading a mule, all the while exposing a seeping wound and asking for handouts.....
The Municipal Offices were built after earthquake damage in 1905 to the nearby Town Hall required that building to be rebuilt. Jan Morris in her "Stones of Empire" (1986) describes this building as "formidable with Scottish baronial brick overlaid by Swiss chalet". Philip Davies in "The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India: Volume II" (1989) describes it as "a fine piece of civic design in a distinctive Arts & Crafts style with half-timbered gables and projecting window bays."
Municipal Offices - Simla - 1910
The Mall, Simla.
Although British India was governed from Simla during the summer months, Simla itself was governed by the Municipal Board. Established in December 1851, the Board oversaw everything from water-supply, sanitation, taxation, road-building, lighting and traffic regulation. The Board was responsible for the infamous traffic by-laws which in effect prevented Indians from using the major thoroughfares in Simla, thereby preserving the English 'feel' to the town. The "Simla Municipality By-Law for the Regulation and Prohibition of Traffic" reads:-
"1. No person shall take, keep, or use an elephant or camel in any place within Municipal limits without the previous sanction of the President or Secretary of the Municipal Committee.
3. No cattle, sheep, goats or pigs and no mules or other animals used for draught or burden shall be permitted in the roads and streets specified as prohibited in the second schedule annexed to these rules.
5. From the 15th March to the 15th October, both days inclusive, and between the hours of 4pm and 8pm, no job porter or coolie shall solicit employment, loiter, or carry any load in any street mentioned in the first schedule annexed to these rules.
6. No person shall solicit alms, or expose or exhibit any sore, wound, bodily ailment or deformity in any street with the object of exciting charity or obtaining alms."
You can just imagine the righteous indignation of the Committee members if say, on 13th August at 5:15pm, they laid eyes on an Indian coolie carrying a load along The Mall whilst leading a mule, all the while exposing a seeping wound and asking for handouts.....
The Municipal Offices were built after earthquake damage in 1905 to the nearby Town Hall required that building to be rebuilt. Jan Morris in her "Stones of Empire" (1986) describes this building as "formidable with Scottish baronial brick overlaid by Swiss chalet". Philip Davies in "The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India: Volume II" (1989) describes it as "a fine piece of civic design in a distinctive Arts & Crafts style with half-timbered gables and projecting window bays."