Pratap Bhanu Mehta: “The scenes at the Red Fort may have been disturbing. But the real darkness on the horizon is not the protest, or the turn it might have taken. It is the turn Indian democracy is taking, almost as if it is on the road to perdition…The real desecration did not happen at the Red Fort. It happened when we created a country where jokes, acts of love, and democratic articulation are all deemed anti-national.”
Red Fort and Delhi — symbols and narratives of power down the ages: “It was the conquest by Ghurid Turks in the late 12th century that put Delhi on the map as a centre of power. As the capital of the Sultanate, Delhi gradually developed an aura of power — in the popular imagination, it came to be associated with a dominant power in the subcontinent. Babur, having defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526, headed for Delhi, which he described as “the capital of all Hindustan”, even though the Lodis had ruled from Agra for the previous two decades.”
Frequently Asked Questions on Farmer protests: by Yogesh Upadhyaya
