Of (India) Club and country

by Amit Patel

HISTORIC ENGLAND IN ROW OVER LONDON ‘INSTITUTION’

THE property company which is planning to de­molish the India Club in the Strand in London and convert it into a fancy hotel will locate a lavatory in the corner of the restaurant that has been oc­cupied for decades by portraits of two of the stal­warts of the Indian independence movement – Mahatma Gandhi and VK Krishna Menon.

“This is an insult to all Indians,” commented the historian Dr Kusoom Vadgama.

Krishna Menon was one of founders in the 1940s of the India League, the forerunner of the India Club, and subsequently independent India’s first high commissioner in London.

The India Club, which is open to all and has long been a meeting place for British and Indian friends, has an old-world charm that is much appreciated by its regular patrons. Among them are students from the London School of Economics (LSE) and King’s College London, diplomats from the Indian High Commission in the Aldwych and lawyers from the high court in the Strand.

Dr Vadgama, who remembers visiting the India Club in 1953, the year she arrived in England from Kenya, called it “a sad day for Indo-British relations”.

“Nehru, Lady Mountbatten, Harold Laski, Krishna Menon, and many other historical figures saw the importance of the club and gave their full support and good wishes with the relationship of India and Britain at its heart,” she pointed out.

She added: “There should be a dialogue before the demolition of the building, which will also destroy the platform used and enjoyed regularly by large numbers of Indian and British individuals and or­ganisations for decades. The obituary of the India Club must never be written.”

The current leaseholder, Yadgar Marker, a Parsi gentleman who has been running the India Club for over 20 years, has been asked whether he wanted to preserve the place for personal gain.

However, Marston Properties, who intend to rip up 70 years of Indo-British history, have submitted detailed plans to Westminster Council, which reveal that they hope to cram in seven bedrooms on the restaurant floor and another six on the first floor that currently has a lobby and bar. At £200 a night for such rooms – or £2,600 for 13 rooms – Marston Prop­erties appear not to be motivated entirely by altruis­tic reasons.

What many Indians find shocking are the reasons given by Historic England for its refusal to grant Grade II listed status to the India Club.

Even though many Indians came forward to testify that they had been using the premises since the mid- 1950s, Historic England said it could find no proof that the India Cub existed before 1964.

Yet, Historic England granted listed status to the London Central Mosque and the Islamic Cultural Centre in Regent’s Park, even although this was built between 1970 and 1977.

Asked about this apparent double standard, a His­toric England spokesman said: “The two sites are not comparable – London Central Mosque was a new build in the 1970s and built for its specific purpose. The mosque and India Club will have been assessed against different criteria according to their function.”

Eastern Eye submitted a request for an interview with Duncan Wilson, Historic England’s chief execu­tive, who had said in a statement: “Following careful examination and consideration, we have concluded, regrettably, that the India Club restaurant and bar at 143-145 Strand does not meet the criteria for listing.

“The India Club did not occupy the building until 1964. The club was, in fact, established at 41 Craven Street, which is already listed at Grade II, and has much stronger links to the historic campaign for In­dian independence.

“The club moved to the Hotel Strand Continental at 143-145 Strand in 1964, meaning the building lacks a direct connection with the Indian independ­ence movement, having been established many years after independence was achieved.

“By the time the club moved to the Strand, it was one of a great number of organisations in existence in the 1960s working to promote British-Indian rela­tions, and supporting the Indian diaspora.

“We appreciate the applicant’s desire to save the hotel and club, and the public’s affection for the res­taurant and its history, but listing is not designed to preserve a particular use for a building.”

Rather like Home Office officials refusing to ac­cept documentation from victims of the Windrush scandal, Historic England was also not moved by evidence from patrons who said they had been using the India Club premises since the 1950s.

However, Historic England is now stuck with a problem of its own making, because the campaign to save the India Club is not going to go away. People have a 28-day window in which to lodge an appeal and can also ask Westminster Council to deny plan­ning permission.

The decision not to grant listed status was taken by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on a recommendation from Historic England.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, one of those leading the campaign to save the India Club, said: “It is such a disappointment that the listing application for the India Club has been turned down.”

In India, too, there has been strong reaction.

The writer and author, Shashi Tharoor, whose fa­ther was one of the founders of the club, called for planning permission to be denied by Westminster Council. “This is a deplorable decision which disre­gards both history and popular sentiment,” he said.

Last week a group of former LSE students, now mostly in their 70s, had a reunion lunch in the India Club restaurant and then sat in the lobby recalling times past.

“Dreadful,” was how Steve Jefferys summed up Historic England’s decision.

Another former LSE student, Vijay Chand, re­called: “My father used to work in the Indian High Commission. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit used to come here when she was high commissioner. I have myself been coming to the India Club since 1956. That por­trait of Krishna Menon isn’t just any old portrait – it was given by him.”

A possible option, many Indians say, is to allow Marston Properties to develop the rest of the build­ing at 143-145 The Strand, while preserving the India Club in its present incarnation.

Caroline Marston, director of Marston Properties, has also hinted there could be a compromise solu­tion: “We remain open to working with the current leaseholders to ensure that the building lives up to its full potential for the next 100 years.

“As a small, family-owned business, we have al­ways sought to restore our buildings in a manner that respects their heritage.”