Blind men at work: Central Vista is an illegitimate monument to deceit – By Alpana Kishore
It is perhaps apt that Delhi’s descent over the last few weeks into a medieval hell managed to bring out its very own Nero in a sudden, irreversible reveal.
It set off the unraveling of a myth, now mere narcissistic delusion, its unmasked heartlessness exposed to all. In this ancient city that has seen endless empires rise and fall and understands power shifts instinctively, there can be no going back to that weird, alternate-reality world of peacocks, kindergarten-style alphabet acronyms and sage-philosopher beards – or believing once again, that it is real….
This veneer of showy ‘nationalism’ has now been stripped of its pretence. As people lay gasping for oxygen in the streets and bodies piled up at crematoriums and burial grounds across the country, the Essential Services Act was invoked not to procure oxygen but to allow labourers to ravage the India Gate lawns for a fantasy project that has never had its heart in the right place….
