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Option 3 : (A) and (D) only

Among the given statements, only (A) and (D) are true about colonial cities.

  • During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the towns built by the Mughals were famous for their concentration of populations, their monumental buildings and their imperial grandeur and wealth.
  • Agra, Delhi and Lahore were important centres of imperial administration and control.
  • However all this started changing in the eighteenth century during colonial rule.
  • With political and commercial realignments, old towns went into decline and new towns developed.
  • The gradual erosion of Mughal power led to the demise of towns associated with their rule.
  • The Mughal capitals, Delhi and Agra, lost their political authority.
  • Commercial centres such as Surat, Murshidabad, Patna, Masulipatnam and Dhaka, which had grown in the seventeenth century, declined when trade shifted to other places. 
  • According to C.A. Bayly, there was a significant expansion of small towns in the mid-Ganga region from around the 1720s.
  • With the growth of their empire, the British became increasingly inclined to make cities like Calcutta, Bombay and Madras into impressive imperial capitals. 
  • The British invested a lot in the design and construction of railway stations in cities, since they were proud of having successfully built an all-India railway network.
  • One such example was the Victoria Terminal station of Bombay built by the Britishers in neo-Gothic style (a style characterised by high-pitched roofs, pointed arches and detailed decoration).

Based on the above discussion, we can conclude that the following statements are true about colonial cities:

(A) Delhi, Agra and Lahore lost much of their older glory

(D) According to C.A. Bayly, there was a significant expansion of small towns in the mid-Ganga region from around the 1720s

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