India House, London

This article is about the diplomatic mission in Aldwych, London. For the student residence in North London that existed between 1905 and 1910, see India House.

High Commission of India in London
Address	India House Aldwych London WC2B 4NA
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
High Commissioner	Vikram Doraiswami
Website	Official website
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	India House
Designated	16 January 1981
Reference no.	1066491

The High Commission of India in London, England, is the diplomatic mission of India in the United Kingdom.^[1] It is located in India House on Aldwych, between Bush House, what was Marconi House (now Citibank) and Australia House.^[2] It faces both the London School of Economics and Political Science and King's College London.^[3] Since 1981, India House is a Grade II listed building.^[4]

History

In 1919, a committee chaired by the Marquess of Crewe determined there existed the need to separate the agency work of the India Office from its other political and administrative roles, and recommended the transfer of all such work to "a High Commissioner for India or some similar Indian Governmental Representative in London." It was also felt popular opinion in India would view this as a step towards full Dominion status for India.^[5] The Government of India Act 1919 upheld the recommendations of the committee, making provision for "the appointment of a High Commissioner by His Majesty by Order in Council, which might delegate to the official any of the contractual powers of the Secretary of State [for India] in Council, and prescribe the conditions, under which he should act on behalf of the Government of India or any Provincial Government."

On 13 August 1920, King-Emperor George V issued the required Order in Council. Until India became independent in 1947, the post was styled "High Commissioner for India". The first High Commissioner for India was Indian Civil Service officer Sir William Stevenson Meyer; the first of Indian origin was Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal. The High Commissioner enjoyed the same status as his counterparts from the British Dominions.^[5] Upon Indian independence the post was given the present designation.

Proposed in 1925 by the Indian High Commissioner Sir Atul Chatterjee, the building was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and completed in 1930.^[3] It was formally inaugurated on 8 July 1930 by the King-Emperor George V.^[3]

A bust of Jawaharlal Nehru was unveiled by Prime Minister John Major in 1991.^[3]

Emblems

There are twelve emblems on the outside of the building representing the various provinces of India (during the British Raj), described as follows:^[6]

Emblem	Province	Image
Bengal tiger and an East India Company ship	Bengal
Two ships and Fort George	Bombay
Fort St. George	Madras
Bow and arrow, two rivers (Ganges and Yamuna), and two fishes	United Provinces
Sun and five rivers (Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, and Sutlej)	Punjab
Bodhi tree and two swastikas	Bihar and Orissa
Hills, Indian cobra, and orange and grape plantations	Central Provinces and Berar
Indian elephant and nine lotuses	Delhi
Indian rhinoceros	Assam
Indian peacock	Burma
Two Dromedary camels and hills	Baluchistan
Crescent moon, hills, and Jamrud Fort	North West Frontier

See also

• India–United Kingdom relations
• Foreign relations of India
• Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
• List of diplomatic missions of India
• List of diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom

Gallery

• 
  The High Commission from India Place
• 
  Close-up of some designs
• 
  Bust of Jawaharlal Nehru on India Place

References

1. "The London Diplomatic List" (PDF). 14 December 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2013.
2. "The London Diplomatic List" (PDF). 14 December 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2013.
3. "India House". 2 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
4. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1066491)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
5. "Chapter XV- The High Commissioner for India"
6. Mee, Arthur. The King's England London: The Classic Guide (2014 ed.). Amberley. p. 118.

External links

• Official site

51.5124°N 0.1183°W / 51.5124; -0.1183