CHANDIGARH
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CHANDIGARH IS
A UNION TERRITORY
OF INDIA, THAT
SERVES AS THE capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The
name means “The Fort of Chandi” and was coined from an ancient temple called
Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu Goddess Chandi, present in the
city's vicinity. It is occasionally referred to as The City Beautiful. After the
partition of British India into the two nations of India and Pakistan in
1947, the region of Punjab was also split up. The Indian state of Punjab
required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan
during the partition. After several plans to make additions to existing
cities were found to be infeasible for various reasons, the decision to
construct a new and planned city was undertaken. |
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The emblem of
Chandigarh shows an open hand, designed by Le Corbusier, the main architect
of Chandigarh. The seal shows
this emblem on an orange background and is surrounded with the legend CHANDIGARH ADMINISTRATION in black gurmukhi and latin script. The
“Open Hand Monument” in Chandigarh š |
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In 1950, the
Indian Government got in touch with Le Corbusier about the building of a new
political capital for the Punjab and in 1951 he was officially entrusted with
the directing and planning of the city. Le Corbusier applied his
town-planning theories and personally attacked the problem of the
administrative center, the Capitol, for which he designed the Open Hand
Monument. |
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Sketch
by Le Corbusier of the “Monument of the Open Hand,” Chandigarh. (About
1951-’52) |
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The emblem of
Chandigarh Police shows a golden symbol on a red background, surrounded by a
blue bordure with the legend CHANDIGARH POLICE / WE CARE FOR YOU in white lettering. The emblem is supported by a
golden eight-pointed star radiant, crested with the Asoka-capital and its
motto, being the emblem of India. |
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© Hubert de Vries 2009-09-29
Heraldry of the World