The story so far: The Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens, popularly called the Mughal Gardens, were renamed Amrit Udyan on January 28, 2023. Opened for the public annually during spring, the Mughal Gardens are a popular tourist spot in New Delhi.
“On the occasion of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the President of India is pleased to give a common name to the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens as Amrit Udyan,” Navika Gupta, Deputy Press Secretary to President Droupadi Murmu, said in a statement.
Amrit Udyan will be open for the public from Tuesday and will remain so till March 26, 2023.
Did the Mughals build the Mughal Gardens?
No. The Mughal Gardens were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the British architect who planned most of New Delhi.
India’s British rulers decided to shift the capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911— a move announced during the coronation of King George at the Delhi Durbar on December 12, 1911.
Sir Lutyens was selected to advise on Delhi’s planning in 1912. His team selected Raisina Hill on the southern side for the presidential palace, then called the Viceroy’s House, since the northern site was close to the Yamuna River and hence vulnerable to floods.
The presidential palace took more than 17 years to build, at an estimated cost of ₹14 million. Lord Irwin, Viceroy and Governor-General of India, became its first occupant on April 6, 1929.
The name of the Viceroy’s House was changed to Government House when India became independent on August 15, 1947. It was changed to Rashtrapati Bhavan during the term of President Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
Why were Mughal Gardens named so?
Like other parts of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the attached Mughal Gardens, now Amrit Udyan, were also designed by Sir Lutyens to accommodate elements of Indian landscaping and the British style of architecture.
The Mughal gardens are heavily influenced by the gardens of Persia (now Iran). A definitive feature of these gardens is the charbagh or chaharbagh layout – the division of the garden space into four parts by walkways and water channels. Most of these gardens are terraced. The style can be found throughout the lands ruled by the Mughals – including the Taj Mahal in Agra, Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, and Nishat Bagh in Kashmir. In the gardens surrounding a mausoleum, the walkways intersect at the centre where the building/tomb is usually located (as seen in around Humayun’s Tomb).
Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, was the first to conceive this idea of a symmetrical Mughal-style garden. According to an excerpt from his memoir Baburnama, the gardens were to be “laid out with order and symmetry, with suitable borders and parterres in every corner, and in every border rose and narcissus in perfect arrangement.”
Recent additions to the gardens
Newer elements have been added to the Mughal gardens over the years. Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam created the Herbal Gardens in the Rashtrapati Bhavan estate in 2002. He also added the Spiritual Garden and the Musical Garden to what is now the Amrit Udyan.
- The Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens, popularly called the Mughal Gardens, were renamed Amrit Udyan on January 28, 2023. Amrit Udyan will be open for the public from Tuesday and will remain so till March 26, 2023.
- The name of the Viceroy’s House was changed to Government House when India became independent on August 15, 1947. It was changed to Rashtrapati Bhavan during the term of President Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
- The Mughal gardens are heavily influenced by the gardens of Persia (now Iran). A definitive feature of these gardens is the charbagh or chaharbagh layout – the division of the garden space into four parts by walkways and water channels.
