OPINION

Nothing endorses the charges often levelled against the Congress party being turned into a family limited company better than the National Herald case. The Indian media history is replete with publications which endorsed an ideological or a social cause.

Much before Jawaharlal Nehru founded the Associated Journals Limited in 1937, to publish National Herald in English, Navjeevan in Hindi and Quami Awaz in Urdu, freedom fighters had maintained tradition of debating and protesting through media platforms, which then was limited to print. As historian Bipan Chandra mentions in his seminal work India’s Struggle for Independence, “Nearly all the major political controversies of the day were conducted through the Press. It also played institutional role of opposition to the Government. Almost every act and every policy of the Government was subjected to sharp criticism.”

Even the British publications of the pre-Independence period were very clear about ideological bias in the favour of imperial rule in the country. Mahatma Gandhi make a very pertinent mention of it in his autobiography My Experiments With Truth. Mentioning about a meeting with one Mr Chesney Junior, then editor of The Pioneer, at that time under British ownership, Gandhi writes, “He promised to notice in his paper anything that I might write but added that he could not promise to endorse all the Indian demands, inasmuch as he was bound to understand and give due weight to the viewpoint of the Colonials as well.”

Last weekend Prime Minister Narendra Modi took out time from his busy schedule to inaugurate the six-lane Pragati Maidan underpass integrating Ring Road with the Outer Ring Road on the eastern periphery of the city. After missing six deadlines, the corridor project, which includes a 1.4-km-long tunnel under the Pragati Maidan and six underpasses -- five of them on the busy Mathura Road, has been finally opened for vehicular movement.

While inaugurating the project Prime Minister was at pains to underline that the project built at a cost of Rs 920 crore was entirely funded by the Central Government, lest the competitive politics make the Arvind Kejriwal-led state government claim the credit for the project. This is the first major infrastructure addition to the city after the Commonwealth Games (CWG), which was held in 2010. Inauguration of projects like the Signature Bridge among others were only the completion of delayed CWG 2010 legacy projects.

Prime Minister's subtle elucidation and the newly-appointed Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena’s actions are clear indications of the fact that the Centre was now in no mood to pow-pow the state government. The suspension of an official posted in Delhi Chief Minister's office later in the week on corruption charges, albeit during an earlier assignment, also concretizes the feeling that the Centre was only going to toughen its stand vis-a-vis the state government in the matters of governance of Delhi.

Arrest of Delhi Minister Satyender Jain by the Enforcement Directorate was the beginning of this new relationship. With Jain not getting any relief from the trial court, the Centre may be further emboldened to take on the state government irrespective of the results of Rajinder Nagar assembly seats by elections, which was won by Aam Aadmi Party by a handsome margin. 

Whenever a discussion on public safety is held, the mention of Uphaar tragedy invariably crops up. Last week was the 25th anniversary of one of the most gruesome events to have taken place in the national Capital.

June 13, 1997 was a Friday and film ‘Border’ was released at Uphaar Cinema in Green Park area of South Delhi. During matinee show, a fire started in the basement of the cinema hall and the smoke spread to the theatre trapping people inside, as the doors were locked. In the veritable gas chamber 59 people died of asphyxiation, while 103 were seriously injured, many in the stampede which followed.

This event would have vanished from public memory in the times to come but for the next of kin of those who died in the tragedy. They fought a vehement battle against a system and the wealthy accused to get justice for the dead, who had fallen prey to government apathy and a compromised system.

In 1983, following a fire in a high rise building in Rajendra Place area, a safety audit was done across the city. The license of Uphaar cinema was cancelled after an inspection as it was found to have made 10 serious violations. The license was, however, soon restored and in 1997, when the tragedy took place, it was found that none of these violations had been corrected. 

Crime in Delhi has travelled a long way from rustic law-breaking of 1990s to the glamorous gang wars of today. At the turn of the century when then Police Commissioner Ajay Raj Sharma had persuaded central government to extend Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) to the national Capital, it had raised many an eye brows as Delhi was not known to have any organized gang.

Other than the terror-related cases, the outskirts of the national Capital and then emerging satellite hubs of Noida and Gurgaon were known for crime committed by the de-notified criminal tribe gangs. Sharma, who had vast experience of policing interiors of Uttar Pradesh found that the offenders after committing crime in the city easily escaped to the neighbouring states of UP and Haryana, shielding themselves from the Delhi Police.

Last week versatile singer Krishnakumar Kunnath aka KK went down firing, as they would say in military parlance. He was performing on a stage in Kolkata, felt uneasy, passed out and before medical help could reach, he passed away. Following his death social media was flooded with several posts; what got most traction was a picture of his with Musoc – the Music Society of Kirori Mal College.

This was followed a popular column on Delhi in a Hindi newspaper mentioning that KK joined Kirori Mal College because of its music and theater traditions. Poet William Wordsworth once wrote, “Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive; But to be young was very heaven.” He did not write this about Delhi University but those who passed through its portals in 1980s-90s would swear by Wordsworth’s words.

By 1980s, the story of Delhi University was not only about St Stephen’s College on the main avenue and the one opposite to it – the Hindu College. It had travelled further down the road spread to Ramjas, Kirori Mal and Hansraj colleges.