The history of modern Chandigarh is deeply tied to the 1947 Partition of India. When the country was divided, the historic capital of undivided Punjab, Lahore, became part of Pakistan. The Indian state of East Punjab was left without a capital, prompting the national government, led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to commission a brand-new city to reflect a newly independent, forward-looking India.
The initial master plan was drafted in 1950 by the American planner Albert Mayer and the Polish-born architect Maciej Nowicki. Following Nowicki's tragic death in a plane crash, the renowned Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier was brought in to complete and refine the vision. Le Corbusier, along with a team including Pierre Jeanneret, Jane Drew, and Maxwell Fry, designed the city using a grid-iron pattern, dividing it into self-sufficient blocks known as "Sectors."
Chandigarh was officially inaugurated by President Rajendra Prasad on October 7, 1953. During its first decade, it served solely as the capital of East Punjab. However, the linguistic reorganization of states in 1966 led to the bifurcation of Punjab and the creation of a new state, Haryana. Both states claimed the prosperous and strategically located city. As a compromise, Chandigarh was designated a Union Territory, directly administered by the Central Government, while serving as the shared capital for both states.
Since its founding, Chandigarh has evolved from an administrative center of civil servants to a vibrant educational and commercial hub. It has maintained its architectural heritage while accommodating a rapidly growing population, serving as a rare, successful example of mid-century modernist urban planning in the developing world.
