Recent tragedies, such as the flooding of a coaching institute basement that claimed three young lives, highlight Delhi’s mismanagement
Historical writings many times create a perspective of adulation for some of the most undeserving characters. Take the instance of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the Mughal dynasty, whose rule started in Shahjahanabad and ended at Palam.
He was extended by the British for his connivance with the rebellious soldiers and died in Myanmar.His ‘tragedy’ is best known by the lines which he penned himself before he died. He wrote, ‘kitna hai badnasib zafar dafn ke lie do gaz zamin bhi na mili ku-e-yar m?’ (How unfortunate is Zafar! For his burial; Not even two yards of land were to be had, in the land of his beloved.). In the popular culture, it’s seldom recalled that he was a worthless leader, incapable of administering, always cribbing and too preoccupied with palace conspiracies.Nearly 150 years later, we in Delhi have a government which is as Zafaresque in its bearing as the Mughal rule in 1857.
The day leaders from INDIA block converged in the national Capital in the support of incarcerated chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, the same evening his party ruled Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) presided over a catastrophe in the flooded basement of a coaching institute in the heart of the national Capital.Nobody among those supposed to be in charge of the city administration seems to be mourning the loss of three young lives.