Coordinates: 28°43′23″N 77°11′49″E / 28.723006°N 77.196892°E
Coronation Park is a park located on Burari road near Nirankari Sarovar in Delhi, India. The park is sometimes referred to as the Coronation Memorial; it was the venue of Delhi Durbar of 1877 when Queen Victoria was proclaimed the Empress of India. Later it was used to celebrate the accession of Edward VII in 1903, and finally, it was here that the Durbar commemorating the coronation of King George V as Emperor of India took place on 11 December 1911 after his coronation in the United Kingdom on June 1911. This last celebration had all the princely states in attendance. The decision to hold the Coronation Durbars in Delhi at the vast open ground at Coronation Park was a move to emphasize Delhi's past history.
Also, Coronation Park, by a quirk of circumstances, has the largest and tallest statue of King George V adorning a lofty pedestal. This is opposite the Obelisk (pictured), called the Coronation Memorial, which commemorates King George V, who presided at that location as Emperor of India in 1911, and laid the foundation stone for the new capital city of New DelhiHistory
Delhi was chosen as the site of the park was chosen because the city boasted a historical legacy for royal activities. The site was developed as a park and venue to hold the first Durbar, or imperial pageant, in Delhi under the supervision of the British Raj. Durbars were an “invented tradition” to showcase the prowess of the British by perpetuating a tradition of previous Hindu, Muslim and Mughal rulers.Three Durbars were held by the British monarchy during a period of forty years in the park near the soon to be created New Delhi south of Shahjahanbad.[6] The three Durbars were held near a ridge where the English won a great victory during the Sepoy Mutiny, or the Upraising of 1857. Also the location helped emphasize grandeur of the British monarchy to the native rulers and the people who attended the Durbars.
- The first Durbar
The first Durbar, initiated by Governor General and Viceroy of India Lord Robert Bulwer-Lytton (1831–1891), was held on 1 January 1876 at the Coronation Park in Delhi to mark the proclamation of Queen Victoria Empress of India. Bulwer-Lytton conceived the procession in order to represent the British Rule as bringing “order and discipline, which was in (his) ideology part of the whole system of colonial control”. The Durbar was an extravaganza of pomp and show including a parade on a decorated elephant by Lord and Lady Lytton in the presence of nearly 70,000 people. The imperial gathering consisted of royalty from all provinces of India and the British dignitaries.
- The second Durbar
The second and third Durbars were held at the same location to celebrate the Coronation of British Monarchs. The second Durbar was organized for 1 January 1903 to celebrate the Coronation of King Edward VII. Lord Curzon, the chief architect of the show, planned meticulously what was considered an extravagant display of pomp and splendour.
Lord Curzon converted the drab and dry land of the park into a virtual tented city by establishing huge encampments with colorful tents. In this city of tents there was a variety of infrastructure including water, drainage, sanitation, electricity and rail communications suppplied to the venue from different locations in the nearby city. Firework displays, exhibitions and glamorous dances were organized. Special postage stamps were issued on the occasion. Post offices, telegraph and telephone communications were provided. Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, organized daily parades, band practice and polo matches. The elite of the world media were present, but the Chief Guest Edward VIII did not attend the celebrations held in his honor, instead deputing his brother, the Duke of Connaught, to represent him.
Lord Connaught arrived from Bombay with large contingent of dignitaries. The festivities lasted for two weeks and the Delhi Durbar parade became a standard feature of early twentieth century spectacle. The Viceroy and Governors of the various provinces and the Maharajas of princely states were present, bringing their large colourful entourages. The event was presided over by the Lord and Lady Curzon, the Viceroy and Vicereine of India. It is also said that more than 100,000 people attended the Durbar at Coronation Park. But this extravagant spectacle was dubbed as the "Curzonization Durbar as people suspected he regarded the occasion more as a celebration of his own Viceregality than of the ascension of a new king."
- The third Durbar
The final Durbar was organised in 1911 at the same venue as the two previous ones. There was no disappointment to Lord Hardinge when he was authorised to plan the event by a British Government communication which stated:
Royal intention to hold at Delhi on the twelfth day of December one thousand nine hundred and eleven an Imperial Durbar for the purpose of making known the said solemnity of Our Coronation and We do hereby charge and command Our right trusted and well beloved counsellor Charles Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, Our Viceroy and Governor General of India, to take all necessary measures in that behalf.
Lord Hardinge organised the Durbar with great care and effort ensuring that that everything was done with the utmost glitter and pomp since the King Emperor George V was to attend. He was the first reigning Monarch of the United Kingdom to attend a Durbar. He was accompanied by His Queen Mary. He made many historical proclamations which paved the way for the present Edward Lutyens New Delhi built to the south west of Shahjahanabad, the last Mughal city of Delhi. King George V and his Queen sat on golden thrones under a golden umbrella on 11 December 1911 when they proclaimed that the capital of British India would be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.
In 1911, a fabulous sum of 600,000 pounds was approved for the Durbar and maintenance of the visiting local rulers. An additional 300,000 pounds were supplied by the Government of India to pay for eighty thousand Army troops in the parades and security for the event.Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, considered a legacy of the colonial times, continues to display pictures of the Durbar in a Coffee Shop named "1911".
After the Coronation Durbar, Sir Edwin Lutyens was authorized by Lord Hardinge to proceed with preparing plans for building New Delhi.By shifting the capital to Delhi in 1912, as announced by the King in 1911, the British attempted to erase the memory of Mughal rule. Also this return to Delhi emulated the practice followed of earlier pre-Islamic and the Mughal rulers who had established their own cities in Delhi, a move meant to increase the British Imperial image.
- Other uses
The Queen, Mary of Teck, gave the title of Kaiser-i-Hind to all the Governors of the states at Coronation Park. She also announced that Bengal would be reunited in 1903. Following the announcements, the Queen laid the foundation stone for the Viceroy’s residence. However, the location was later not found suitable for building the Residency for the Viceroy since the area was in the flood prone zone of the Yamuna River. The stone was later shifted to Raisina Hill. The construction of the Viceroy’s house, the present Rashtrapati Bhavan, was started after World War I and completed in 1931, when the New Delhi City was inaugurated.
Coronation memorial
The coronation memorial erected as an obelisk in the sprawling Coronation Park ("symbolic of vanished British imperialism") is made of sandstone. It is erected over a high raise square plinth with steps on all four sides. The memorial has been erected at exactly the same location where all the three British Durbars were held in the past.The inscription on the Memorial testifies the final Durbar event and states:
Here on the 12th Day of December 1911, His Imperial Majesty King George V, Emperor of India accompanied by the Queen Empress in solemn Durbar announced in person to the Governors, Princes and Peoples of India his Coronation celebrated in England on the 22nd day of June 1911 and received from them their dutiful homage and allegiance.
Now, the park is a well guarded open space whose desolateness amidst the humdrum of the dense traffic and crowded shanty towns of northern Delhi’s urban sprawl is disappointing to the visitors. The park is sometimes used for big religious festivals and municipal conventions.
Post Independence
Following the independence of India on 15 August 1947, the park has become the final resting place for the many statues of former British Kings, Governors and officials of the British Raj. The statues were moved from different locations to the red stone plinths built in the park's specially designed enclosures, just opposite the Obelisk. The largest and tallest statue, a 15 m (49 ft) high marble statue designed by Edwin Lutyens, is opposite to the Obelisk commemorating the Durbar is the tallest statue of King George V. His statue had earlier stood atop a canopy in front of the India Gate, which is now vacant following statue's move.
Nineteen pedestals were built to install the displaced statues but only five are fixed, while the remaining plinths are vacant. The guard at the parks said that many of the statues were stolen or damaged. King George’s statue, though it appears forlorn in the depressing park, is well maintained. The other statues, which all originated in Delhi, stand arranged in a semi-circle around the King’s statue. They are thought to be those of Sir Guy Fleetwood Wilson, Viceroys Lord Willingdon and Lord Hardinge, however there are no inscriptions indicating the names of the other individuals depicted here.
The park is enclosed by high steel fencing, whose well guarded entrance gate has a plaque (pictured in gallery) which proclaims:
This memorial was erected to commemorate the Coronation Durbar of King George V and Queen Mary held in December 1911. On this occasion the King announced the transfer of the capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi.
Conservation measures
In 2005, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Government of Delhi resolved to restore Coronation Park, which was in a state of neglect.
INTACH has also decided to complete the heritage corridor along with also improving and standardising the signs on Delhi’s roads from Coronation Park in the north to Qutab Minar in south as part of the beautification of Delhi before the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has prepared a Draft Zonal Development Plan for Zone – “C” (Civil Lines Zone) which includes the Conservation & Heritage of the precincts of the Coronation Pillar. DDA expects to develop it as a tourist spot since it is very close to the National Highway 1 (NH 1) bypass. It is also intended to develop the area around the Nirankari Sarovar, which has been earmarked for green/water body with sports facilities.
Access
During the Durbar in 1911, and also the previous ones held at the same open ground to the north of the cantonment, light railway lines were laid connecting the Civil Lines on one side where the Viceroy and Governors had camped and another line leading to the parade ground and the proclamation podium.
The park is located on the Bhai Parmanand Marg (Road), also called Burari Road, in the crowded urban sprawls of North Delhi, 2 km (1.2 mi) north of Kingsway camp, 17 km (11 mi) from Delhi. Bhai Paramanand Road branches from the Mall Road or the Karnal Road in Civil Lines of Kingsway camp of Delhi.
Gallery
 A Plaque at the entry gate to Coronation Park declaring that Coronation Durbar was held here in 1911 |  Statue of Lord Willingdon, 32nd Viceroy of India |  Empty plinths are more than the statues shifted on the plinths |  Statue of Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of India(1911-1916) |
 Bust of Sir Guy Fleetwood Wilson |  The canopy in front of India Gate where King George V's statue exisited till mid 1960s |  A View of the Delhi Durbar Procession of 1903 |
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