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Durbar is a Persian-derived term (fromPersian:دربار,romanized: darbār) referring to thenoble court of a king or ruler or a formal meeting where the king held all discussions regarding the state. It was used in South Asia for a ruler'scourt orfeudal levy. A durbar may be either a feudal state council for administering the affairs of aprincely state, or a purely ceremonial gathering, as was increasingly the case duringBritish rule in India.[1]
The most famous durbars belonged to powerful emperors and kings. In the north of India, cities likeBaroda,Gwalior,Udaipur,Jaipur,Jodhpur,Jaisalmer,Agra, and the city ofLahore in Pakistan have palaces and forts that adorn such halls. TheMughal emperorAkbar had two halls—one for his ministers, and the other for the general public. Usually, durbar halls are lavishly decorated with the best possible materials available at the time.
In the south of India, theMysore Palace had a number of such halls, especially the Peacock Hall, having colour tinted glasses imported from Belgium, which were used for marriage ceremonies. The Durbar Hall in the Khilawat Mubarak, in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, was the Durbar Hall of the Nizams of Hyderabad.
Beneath the main dome of theRashtrapati Bhavan is the Grand Durbar Hall. As the building now serves as the presidential palace, many state functions are currently carried out there, presided upon by thePresident of India. The name of Durbar Hall was changed to Gantantra Mandap by Government of India w.e.f. 25.07.2014.
In the former sense, the native rulers of the Indian subcontinent such as theMarathas andRajputs, other Hindu or Muslim monarchies, like theMughals andemirs ofAfghanistan, and evenWestern colonial rulers received visitors in audience, conferred honours, and conducted business in durbar.[2]
Adurbar could also be the executive council of a native state.[2] Its membership was dual: the court's grandees, such as thevizier and majorjagirdars (feudal landholders), shone at the ceremonies but the real political and administrative affairs of state rather rested with an inner circle around the prince, often known asdivan. There was some overlap between the two groups. This was originally another word for audience room and council, but in India, it also applies to aprivy council andchancery.
The worddurbar has come to be applied to great ceremonial gatherings called "theDelhi Durbar" inDelhi and elsewhere during the period of theBritish Raj, held as demonstrations of the loyalty toThe Crown, which also proved vital in various wars in which the United Kingdom engaged.
The practice was started withLord Lytton's Proclamation Durbar of 1877, celebrating the proclamation ofQueen Victoria as the firstEmpress of India.[1] Durbars continued to be held in later years, with increased ceremony and grandeur than their predecessors. In 1903, for instance, the Coronation Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the accession ofEdward VII to the British throne and title of Emperor of India. This ceremony was presided over by theViceroy of India,Lord Curzon.[3]
The practice of the durbar culminated in the magnificent spectacle that was theDelhi Durbar, which was held in December 1911 to officially crown the newly enthronedGeorge V and his wifeQueen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India. The King and Queen attended the Durbar in person and wore their Coronation robes, an unprecedented event in both Indian and Imperial history held with unprecedented pomp and glamour. They were the only British monarchs to visit India during the period of British rule.
No durbar was held for later British monarchs who were Emperors of India.Edward VIII reigned only a brief time before abdicating. On the accession of his brotherGeorge VI, it was decided to hold no durbar inDelhi, due to several reasons: the cost would have been a burden to the government of India,[4] risingIndian nationalism made the welcome that the royal couple would have received likely to be muted at best,[5] and a prolonged absence of the King from the United Kingdom would have been undesirable in the tense period before World War II.
The Durbar Hall at the Fateh Prakash Palace inUdaipur,Rajasthan, is one of the most lavish Durbar Halls in India and one of the grandest chambers in Udaipur. It is decorated with paintings of Maharanas and various weapons adorn the walls. The hall has an exquisite ceiling and is surrounded by viewing galleries from where the ladies of the palace could view the proceedings while remaining veiled.Lord Minto, the Viceroy of India, laid the foundation stone for the Durbar Hall in 1909.
Located in the old city ofHyderabad in close proximity to theCharminar, the Khilawat complex, originally spread over 60 acres (240,000 m2), had numerous palaces and structures in its vast sprawl. One of the most important buildings to have survived the passage of time is the Durbar Hall. The symbolic seat of power, it housed the "Gaddi-e-Mubarak", the hereditary throne of theAsaf Jahi dynasty.
First constructed in 1750 by the Nizam,Salabat Jung, the Khilwat complex has been added to by successivenizams.Sikandar Jah shifted his residence to the Khilawat complex from the Purani Haveli in 1803 and was responsible for the first major constructions.
The plan of the Durbar Hall is in traditional Moghul style. Subsequent remodelling, at a time when European architecture was gaining acceptance, resulted in a unique and harmonious mix of diverse architectural styles. European architectural influences, although dominant, blend smoothly with the vernacular, to create one of the best examples of Indo-European architectural synthesis. The resulting style was to become a distinctive feature of many later buildings in Hyderabad as it provided for a change without compromising the spatial needs of eastern lifestyle and social requirements.
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The Durbar Hall at theAmba Vilas Palace inMysore,Karnataka, is the official residence of theWadiyar dynasty and the seat of theKingdom of Mysore. The last palace, now known as the Old Palace or the Wooden Palace, burned to ashes during the wedding of Jayalakshammani, the eldest daughter of Chamaraja Wodeyar in 1896. MaharajaKrishnaraja Wodeyar IV and his mother MaharaniKempananjammanni Devi commissioned the English architectHenry Irwin to build a new palace.[6]
Designed by Irwin, the style is that ofIndo-Saracenic architecture, with elements fromIslamic,Rajput, andGothic architecture styles.[7] It is a three-story, gray granite,[8] structure, about 75 m (245 ft) long and about 48 m (156 ft) wide.[7] There are square towers, five stories tall, at each of the cardinal points, topped with pink domes.[9][8] The tallest tower, 44 m (145 ft) tall,[8][7] is at the centre of the palace and is topped with a gold plated dome.[7]
InMalaysian history, thedurbar was the council comprising the four rulers of theFederated Malay States underBritish protectorate. First held in 1897, it was a platform for the rulers to discuss issues pertaining state policies with British officials.
When theFederation of Malaya was formed in 1948, the Durbar transformed into theConference of Rulers, with the inclusion of the other states of Malaya. The membership was further enlarged with the addition of new states in the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
Since theMalayan Declaration of Independence in 1957, the Malay rulers in the Conference of Rulers function as theelectoral college for the election of the federal king, theKing of Malaysia.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Durbar".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 697.
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