Modern towns
Also called: Colonial towns · Topic: Human Settlements and Urbanisation in India · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Human Settlements"
Meaning
Modern towns are towns that grew under European, mainly British, rule. First, Europeans built trading ports on the coast. The British then built up three main nodes, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, in British style. They added administrative centres, hill stations, civil lines (separate areas for officials) and cantonments (military areas). Industrial towns came up after 1850. Railways were laid towards the port cities, so the coastal ports came to dominate the urban pattern.
Example
Jamshedpur in Jharkhand grew around the TISCO steel plant, set up in 1907. Other examples are the trading ports Surat, Daman, Goa and Pondicherry, and the hill stations Shimla, Darjeeling and Ooty.
Don't confuse with
- Post-independence new towns: these were planned after 1947 by the Indian government, such as Chandigarh and Bhilai.