New Delhi: Mannem Nageswara Rao, the former Interim Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) posted a tweet claiming that there is a Christian Cross atop the Jaipur Column of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Web archive of the tweet here.

Fact check/Verification

1911, the British decided to shift the Imperial capital from Calcutta and after examining various sites across the country, Delhi was finalised as the new capital for many reasons (it was easily accessible and closer to the summer capital Simla; it was associated with both Hindu (Mahabharat) and In Muslim (Mughals) pride; and on other geographical, political and historical grounds). Now the Crown needed a seat for the Governor-General in the new capital Delhi from where the British would govern and thus commenced the construction of the Viceroy House which after Independence was known as the Government House and later as the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the Presidentship of Dr. Rajendra Prasad. In 1913, Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens was appointed as the primary architect for the construction of this massive palace.

We visited the official site of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and found the following details on the Jaipur Column:

The column was built as a token of allegiance of the princely state of Jaipur to the British Crown and as a gift to commemorate the transfer of Imperial capital from Calcutta to Delhi. The cost for the construction was paid by the Maharaja of Jaipur Maharajadhiraja Sawai Madho Singh II and the column was designed by Sir Lutyens.

[Inscription on the Jaipur Column showcasing the allegiance of Jaipur princely state to British Crown; it reads: “THIS COLUMN THE GIFT OF MAJOR GENERAL HIS HIGHNESS SIR SIWAI MADHO SINGH MAHARAJ OF JAIPUR COMMEMORATES THE CREATION OF THE NEW CAPITAL AT DELHI THE FIRST STONE OF WHICH WERE LAID BY THE KING EMPEROR GEORGE THE FIFTH AND HIS CONSORT QUEEN MARY ON THE 15^TH DECEMBER 1911 IT WAS THE EARNEST DESIRE OF THEIR IMPERIAL MAJESTIES THAT THE TRANSFER OF THE CAPITAL TO DELHI MIGHT LEAD TO THE BETTER ADMINISTRATION OF INDIA AND TO THE GREATER PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS OF THEIR BELOVED PEOPLE”

[Full view of the Jaipur Column]

The column stands at a height of 145 feet and is made of sandstone and the official website mentions that there is a six pointed star of India at the top of the column emerging from a Lotus

Since it was designed by Sir Lutyens, we referred to a book on his architectural pieces “LUTYENS: THE WORK OF THE ENGLISH ARCHITECT SIR EDWIN LUTYENS (1869-1944)” and found the following information on the Jaipur Column:

[Excerpt from “LUTYENS: THE WORK OF THE ENGLISH ARCHITECT SIR EDWIN LUTYENS (1869-1944); page 179]

The book also states that atop the Jaipur Column is a six-pointed glass star emerging from a bronze Lotus.

Thus the claim that there is a Christian Cross on the top of Jaipur Column at Rashtrapati Bhavan is completely FALSE.

Claimed By	Mannem Nageswara Rao IPS (Retired)
Claimed Reviewed By	The Searchlight
Claim Source	Twitter
Claim Fact Check	False