Shimla 3
In a former life, Shimla was the summer capital of the British Raj. The original administrative centre of British India was Calcutta (now Kolkata), before being moved to Delhi. Both Calcutta and Delhi were a little too hot for the British in summer, so from 1864 they would move the administration to Shimla every summer, a distance of more than 1,700km from Calcutta, and back again when things cooled off.
So for 6 to 8 months every year, the small town of Shimla administered British India which at that time consisted of modern day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and at various times also included Aden, Burma, Singapore, British Somaliland and some other territories.
Of course if you're British and you find yourself in the Himalayas, you would prefer things to look and feel a little more "British"; so you build in the Tudor and Gothic style...
Notice the wrought iron fences
and the lamp posts
The building on the right was originally 5 storeys, complete with flying buttresses but was partly demolished when it became structurally unstable.
It is now the Cultural Centre and the Gaiety Theatre inside has survived...
The theatre was designed/built by Henry Irwin in 1887.
Rudyard Kipling and others of his time performed here and it still attracts groups of performers from England
Of course, the Viceroy must have appropriate (and imposing) accommodation from which to represent the King and to deal with the affairs of state. So you bring in a Scottish architect and a few artisans and...
Gandhi, Nehru and many others visited the Viceroy here and it was here in 1945 that the Shimla Conference was held. According to Wikipedia (
Simla Conference - Wikipedia):
The
Simla Conference 1945 was a meeting between the Viceroy and the major political leaders of
British India at
Simla,
India. Convened to agree on and approve the Wavell Plan for Indian self-government, and there it reached a potential agreement for the self-rule of India that provided separate representation for Muslims and reduced majority powers for both communities in their majority regions.
Talks, however, stalled on the issue of selection of Muslim representatives. Seeking to assert itself and its claim to be the sole representative of Indian Muslims, the
All-India Muslim League refused to back any plan in which the
Indian National Congress, the dominant party in the talks, appointed Muslim representatives.
[1] This scuttled the conference, and perhaps the last viable opportunity for a united, independent India.