The (Un)governable City: Productive Failure in the Making of Colonial Delhi, 1858-1911

Mirza Ghalib, the poet laureate of Delhi, had lamented the transformation of the city into a cantonment in the aftermath of the Great Rebellion of 1857. No longer the Mughal imperial capital, Delhi was stripped of its political status and incorporated within the province of Punjab as punishment by the colonial rulers. The (Un)governable City, dedicated entirely to Delhi’s provincial history under colonial rule, explores this radical transformation of urban governance in Delhi between 1858 a...