From Lutyens to Le Corbusier in India: whose buildings are these anyway?

A photograph in my album at home shows me proudly standing next to the bust of Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the British architect who designed the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In my mind, it is a tribute from one architect to another — for Lutyens’ epic work as the grandmaster of the British Raj’s architecture.

This February, Lutyens’ bust was removed from the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s central courtyard, as part of an initiative to shed the vestiges of India’s colonial past. A bust of C. Rajagopalachari, the last Governor-General of India, has taken its place. The move made news, with views ranging from sharp criticism to applause. It also prompted a debate on whether architects should be judged on the merit of their work or damned for the sins of their patrons. Many support the former.