New Delhi : Jahangirpuri demolitions are perceived by political quarters as Turkman Gate of 2022. In the power excesses days of Emergency, on 18th of April 1976, scores met with gruesome end. Nobody really knows how many died on that day. Dozens of bulldozers, flanked by heavy police deployment, razed to ground hundreds of homes of the poor. Some who protested were gunned down by police. Several were crushed to death under the giant wheels of the demolishers.
Media was barred from reporting. The happenings, in part, came to be known from foreign media sources. The Shah Commission later had police testifying to at least 20 killings. The murderous operation was prompted by Indira Gandhi’s younger son Sanjay Gandhi who wanted to beautify Delhi making it slum free.
As per Shah Commission report, roughly seven lakh people were dislodged from their homes during the 11-month long Emergency. Victims to the mass evictions were residents whose forefathers lived there since Mughal era.
Incidentally, Jahangirpuri, the BJP-marked eviction spot for communal reasons, is just 20 km away from Turkman Gate. Those responsible for the Turkman Gate tragedy came to be rejected in history. And, CPI(M) that fought Emergency on the frontlines, is now battling for the marginalized people of Jahangirpuri.
