Litfest Delhi 2017: Delhi, where people come to relax and enjoy their freedom

When

Partition

happened, many Delhi families moved to the other side of the border. But some didn’t. One such family was tracked down by author Aanchal Malhotra to Hauz Rani. She then stunned the gathering at

Times LitFest Delhi

by sharing what the man had said.

“He told me that when Hindus die, they are cremated and the ashes are consigned to the river. The river meets the sea, and the sea meets the ocean. That way, the remains of a Hindu man reaches the globe. But when a Muslim dies, he is buried and becomes part of the soil. So, you can never tell a Muslim he is not Indian. And so they never left,” Malhotra said.

Malhotra was joined by Sadia Dehlvi, historian Swapna Liddle and Rana Safvi in the session ‘Tracking the Delhiwallah: Violent histories, refined tastes’. Liddle highlighted the syncretic culture of Delhi and the role played by the Mughal state. “The Mughals didn’t identify themselves as Muslims. That played a major role in binding the people together. Look at the Jains, for instance. Emperor Shah Jahan invited them to his new capital and gave them premium plots at Dariba to settle down. It’s only the British who told Indians after 1857 that the Mughals were Muslims,” Liddle said as the audience exclaimed in wonder.

Safvi added to this with instances from before the 1857 Revolt. “There were two occasions when the British banished the butchers and the dairy farmers or gaupalaks from the capital. On both occasions, they set up tents outside the Red Fort on the banks of the Yamuna and appealed to the emperor for help. The emperor told his retinue to set up his royal tent (jahanuma) with the people. When the British learnt about it, they came running to him, pleading with him to return. The emperor said, ‘I will be where my people will be.’ The British had to rescind the banishment order,” Safvi said.

She also gave the example of Phoolwalon Ki Sair. The emperor wouldn’t visit the dargah of Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki if he couldn’t visit the Jogmaya Temple. But 1857 changed it all, everyone agreed. Till the Mughals remained, Diwali was the time for ‘mel-milap’ between Hindus and Muslims. “A woman later recalled how in the time of the Badshah, there was so much amity on Diwali, but today, there is violence and bloodshed. She didn’t realise it but we, with the advantage of hindsight, can see how Delhi changed with the British,” Safvi said.

Dehlvi talked about food as a key part of Delhi’s identity. “Humayun brought Persian cooks with him who added a Persian flavour to our cuisine. Khichdi was on Akbar’s menu. Partition changed things drastically. You had chhole bhature and dal makhni coming here from Pakistan. Delhi adapted to change and continuously evolved,” Dehlvi said.

New Delhi or Lutyens’ Delhi was a significant break from what existed before, said Liddle. “It was a city on the European model built for motor cars. Mughal cities were meant for pedestrians. But this New Delhi also reflected colonial ethos: a cantonment and Civil Lines for Europeans, and the old town for natives.

“In Independent India, we reclaimed New Delhi and democratised its spaces. It no longer is just the residence of the elites, it’s where people come to relax and rejoice their freedom,” Liddle said. But she also lamented the quality of conservation. “You can’t save a haveli and let the culture vanish. It’s only when you start to lose something that you realise how important it is. The young generation shows hope,” Liddle said. On a lighter note, Dehlvi added the djinns have as much right over Delhi as us. They’ve kept the city alive, she said.

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