The government’s decision to involve the Bharat Dalmia Group in the maintenance of the Red Fort and for providing amenities like restaurants, drinking water, street furniture, tactile paths, clean toilets etc for five years in exchange for Rs 25 crores and the privilege of placing their name on signage inside the fort, has understandably led to a fierce debate. The Opposition has accused the government of selling the symbol of the freedom struggle. The expected riposte from the ruling dispensation is ‘What about the handing over of Humayun’s Tomb to the Aga Khan Trust for Culture?
The Red Fort is not merely a symbol of our freedom struggle — the 1857 War of Independence was led by Bahadur Shah Zafar from here, which is why Pandit Nehru and every prime minister since has addressed the nation from its ramparts every August 15 — it is also a world heritage site, one of the three in Delhi. When such a symbol is handed over to a corporate entity, even if it is only to provide basic services, questions are going to be raised.
Much is being made of the tactile tiles for the visually impaired that the Bharat Dalmia group is going to install at great cost. What are these tactile titles being tom-tommed about so much? These are tiles with raised ridges seen at every metro station and at educational campuses, hospitals and other places that assist the visually impaired to navigate safely. This is not something that needs great skills or finances. A corporate entity with market capitalisation in the neighbourhood of Rs 27000 crore does not need to take on the job that can be performed by a mason. All that is needed is a little sensitivity for those less privileged than you and it is this sensitivity that is missing both in matters of tactile tiles and heritage conservation.
But it is diversionary issues like the Tactile Paths that seem intended to sidetrack critics. The central issue at the moment is not tactile tiles, but the conservation of our heritage and how we look at the question of conservation? Can we allow everybody to become managers of our heritage? Can heritage conservation be handed over to the highest bidder?