MODERN INDIAN ARCHITECT (Page 6)

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The paradigmatic shift from images to ideas as the source of form-making and place-making must begin in the Schools of architecture, where theory and the study of history are neglected areas of academic pedagogy. This is the legacy of colonial art and architectural education. This neglect results in the inability of the Indian architects to confront the deeply complex structure of their architectural culture in order to transform it, and thereby, address the contemporary needs of society. The ramshackle condition of Indian cities is the evidence of this neglect. It is not merely the individual client to Whom an architect must be responsive; the profession, as a whole, must also be sensitive to the specific exigencies of Indian urbanism.

The present architectural curriculum is ill-suited to promote this paradigmatic shift because the curriculum in most current schools of architecture are hold-overs from the earlier colonial schools that sought to train Indian draftsmen and surveyors to assist British architects and engineers. Independence has not substantially altered this educational imperative to impart a vocational skill, and most schools regard the teaching of theory and history (except as an incidental opportunity to inculcate facts) as an impediment to producing the pragmatic architects the country is presumed to need.

And yet, a Commitment to the Critically informed teaching of theory and history is essential for understanding our contemporary disciplinary and Cultural Condition and for charting meaningful directions for professional development. To accomplish Such a shift in emphasis in architectural education, the disciplinary base of the profession must be Widened. The prospects for such a Change are bleak. Few Schools acknowledge this intellectual and institutional Crisis. At the time of Independence, there were just two Schools of architecture and, by 1972, When the council of Architecture Was established by the Indian Government to regulate the profession, there Were 16. Today, there are about 140 Schools that, together, produce about 4,000 architects a year. There are only about 40,000 architects registered with the council of Architecture to serve, at least notionally, a population of over one billion people. Since the number of architects is grossly inadequate, most of the architectural work in the country is Carried out by non-architects: engineers or masons who double up as petty contractors.
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