Tag Archives: New Delhi

New Delhi, our capital city.

01 Wednesday Apr 2020

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New Delhi was made the capital of India on this day, 1st April, 108 years back. After thorough discussion, the British rulers decided to shift its Indian capital from Calcutta to Delhi and the new capital, New Delhi was founded in 1912. Viceroy’s House, Legislatures, Ministry buildings, parks, roads etc. were built up to accommodate establishments in the new capital. It is a well planned city. The loss was for Calcutta. It lost the power centre.

More than 25 years I stayed in Delhi and was adjusted to the atmosphere. I could get a lot of friends and comrades and relish the period.

More about Delhi later.

From the Past (30) – Tools Down Strike in CTX Delhi against molestation of lady T.O.

09 Sunday Oct 2016

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The incident happened at 19.45 hours on Sunday, 5th March 1967, almost 50 years back. The place : In front of Central Telephone Exchange, New Delhi.  A young lady telephone operator on her way to duty was molested and  bitten on cheek by a miscreant. She ran down to the telephone exchange weeping and completely shattered.

The shocked, angered and agitated lady telephone staff (  Delhi Exchange was a feminised one) spontaneously  went on tool-down-strike. As at the wave of a hand, the trunk boards were unplugged, the headgear sets removed and the entire trunk and international telephone services were at a complete stand still. The hundreds of lady telephone operators reacted with all their anger at the insult, molestation and humiliation of their co-worker.

This was not the first such incident. The way from the Connaught Place to the exchange was usually dim-lighted. There was a taxi stand in front of the telephone exchange and teasing of the lady telephone operators coming and going before and after their shift duty hours was not uncommon. Protests by the workers were unheeded by the administration and police. The above incident was the breaking point.

General Secretary of the union Com. O.P.Gupta and other leaders rushed to the spot. The workers demanded that unless the taxi stand is removed from there, more security and transport facilities are provided to the lady staff from the Connaught place to the exchange, the tools-down strike will continue. Negotiation took place with the top officers of the department and the police.

Th strike went on for hours. At last the tools-down strike was called off after the demands were conceded. It was assured that transport  will be arranged temporarily which will be made permanent and that the taxi-stand will be shifted from the place. Once the demands were accepted, the workers returned to their duty.

Hard working conditions, shift duties, heavy work-load, lack of minimum facilities – the workers used to be at the limit of their patience and many such spontaneous struggles took place to defend their right to work and to save their honour.

The P&T Workers have a glorious past of unity and struggles.

 

New Delhi, The Capital of India

31 Monday Mar 2014

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New Delhi is the capital of British India from 1st April 1912 and continues to be the Capital of free India since 15th August 1947.

Delhi was the capital of many empires. It is stated to be Indraprastha, the capital of the Pandavas, mentioned in the mythological epic Mahabharata, though no proof is available.

There are clear proof about the city from 6th BC onwards. This was the capital of Maurya Empire, Tomara, Chauhans, Slave dynasties, Lodhi, Khilji and Mogul Empires. It has changed hands umpteen times.The Mogul empire continued from 1526 when Babur attacked and conquered and made Delhi the capital. In between, the capital was shifted to Agra, but again it was brought back to Delhi. The Mogul Empire continued till 1857-58 when the last Emperor Bahadur Shah was exiled by the British after the First War of Independence was crushed.

The British made Calcutta their capital, being their major centre for a long period. Shimla was its summer capital. However, considering all factors, the capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in 1912.

A new city was built at Delhi, which is the present New Delhi. The construction  was completed in 1931, including the Viceroy’s House (present Rashtrapati Bhawan), Central Secretariat buildings, Connaught Place etc. New Delhi is also called Lueton’s Delhi,  based on the architect who planned and constructed the city.

1 April 2014 is the 112 anniversary of the shifting of Capital from Calcutta to Delhi. New Delhi is one of biggest cities in the world and India’s first. It has got a population of more than 2.2 crore according to 2011 census. People from all over India has migrated to New Delhi and it is a real Metro City. It is the city of Qutab Minar, Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Purana Quila and much more heritage sites.

The changes that have taken place in the last few decades after Independence have been phenomenal, both good and bad. It has expanded far beyond the old Delhi. Alwar, Baghpat, Gurgaon, Sonepat,Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Noida  and other nearby towns in UP, Haryana and Rajasthan are part of the National Capital Region centred by New Delhi.  It is still expanding. People from all over the country reach Delhi for jobs. At the same time, it is one of the most polluted city. Yamuna has moved away from the sides of the Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Purana Quila etc. during the centuries. Metro has come. The Delhi Airport is one of the best in the world. It is the centre of government, the power centre. It is a city non-parallel.

Most of all, one thing. With all its best and worse, those who come to Delhi want to continue in Delhi. It has its own magic and attraction.