The Phantom Bulldozer

Construction work for the Commonwealth Games outside of Nizamuddin Basti, Delhi in May 2010.

The DDA has never used force. Only the land racketeer and those who exploited human misery were at bay. Allegations of bulldozing of “houses” are totally wrong. Only debris and remnants of vacated structures were cleared with the help of the bulldozers […] What has been bulldozed is not the slums but their politics, not the jhuggi-jhompries, but the physical and mental diseases that they reared. Bulldozers were instruments of development, and not of demolitions.

– Jagmohan, Vice Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in Island of Truth, 1978

I first began going to Dakshinpuri with the intent of interviewing residents about their memories of the Emergency – the defining event that catapulted this now bustling working-class neighborhood into being. But as I spoke to more and more people, it struck me that their stories were not so much about the political events that had marked their lives. Sure, they all mentioned Indira Gandhi (with high praise, I might add)—but she only appeared tangentially in their epic accounts of how Dakshinpuri was carved out of the wilderness. I realized that the stories I was hearing were, above all, narratives of demolition—an experience, both painfully tangible and coldly abstract, that defined the urban experience of an entire generation of poor, low-caste migrants who came to Delhi in the 1960s and ‘70s.

The figure of the bulldozer—a beast-like machine that mercilessly razed homes, entire slums to ground—dominated people’s narratives of their resettlement from inner-city slums to the jungle-like outskirts of Delhi. It was the central hinge of many people’s stories, a symbol of sudden and complete destruction, of the erasure of their old lives and the beginning of something new. But when I asked people to describe exactly how their homes—shacks, jhuggis—were destroyed, many told me matter-of-factly that there were no bulldozers in those days. What was there to destroy in a jhuggi, anyway? Bulldozers, they said, were for “real houses”—pakka makhan—but all it takes to destroy a jhuggi is the nudge of a shovel.

A road is uprooted in preparation for the Commonwealth Games, in Civil Lines, Delhi in May 2010.

Jhuggiyon todne ke liye bulldozer nahin aaya. Logon ne kacchi kacchi, aise masale ke banayi, mitti thi, inth lagake, aise jhuggiyon bana li. Aise tod rahe the, unhone chaddrein hatai, jaldi jaldi truck mein samaan tute chaho kuch bhi ho bacche unke bithayi. Jhuggiyon mein zyada samaan kaun rakhta tha? – Pushpa

Bulldozers did not come to destroy our jhuggis. People had made their jhuggis out of the dirt, mixing dust and cement to make bricks—it was kaccha. They tore them down again just like that, using shovels, told everyone to put all their stuff in the truck quickly quickly, no matter if it broke, and put their children in the truck. Who keeps much stuff in their jhuggi? – Pushpa

Construction workers in the noon-day heat outside of Nizamuddin Basti, May 2010.

Bulldozer? Nahin, bulldozer nahin the is samay. Policewalon aate the, unhone chaddar lagaye, aisa toda. Jhuggi mein hota kya, kya hota jhuggi mein? Kaccha kaccha, uske upar kuch plastic ka dal rakha, bas. Usmein kya todna, usmein bulldozers kya karna bulldozers to pakka makhanon ke liye chahiye. Us taim mein bulldozer ka zamana nahin tha. Ek jhuggi todne kitna taim lagta? Panch minute! – Jagdesh

Bulldozers? No, there were no bulldozers that time. The police came with shovels, that’s how they destroyed our jhuggis. What’s in a jhuggi? It’s a kaccha, kaccha structure with some plastic thrown on top of it, that’s it. What’s there to destroy? What would bulldozers do? Bulldozers are for real, pakka houses. There were no bulldozers in those days. How much time does it take to destroy a jhuggi? Five minutes! – Jagdesh

Is taim mein bulldozer nahin aaya, hum to aisi khali karte the, hum nahin toda, apne inthe nikalke le aaye yahan pe. Is zamane mein bulldozers the, zameen ko plan karna—humare gaon mein tha. Us taim mein iksarkarnevala nahin the. – Malkhan

There were no bulldozers back then. We vacated just like that, didn’t destroy anything, just extracted some bricks and brought them here. The only bulldozers in those days were the ones that cleared land—we had some in our village. There were no razing-ones yet. – Malkhan

* * * * * *

And so, these phantom bulldozers—that figured so prominently in people’s narratives and yet didn’t exist—seemed to be the key to the stories I was hearing. The demolition (as well as the later threat of sterilization) in question epitomized the immense, yet invisible power and force of the state. In order to express that power, residents of Dakshinpuri had, perhaps inadvertently, inserted these massive bulldozers into their memories—when in reality their jhuggis were not even worthy of bulldozers.

Dakshinpuri, April 2010.

The Ninth Delhi: The Beginning, Part 1

Dakshinpuri, March 2010.

Delhi and its historicity has always fascinated me. Here, every stone sings the story of bygone ages. The air we breathe has the dust and fragrance of the past, hope and despair of the present, and challenges and opportunities of the future. From Inderprastha, the legendary Delhi of Pandavas, to the Ninth Delhi—the Delhi of Naraina and Vikaspuri, of Dakshanpuri and Tirlokpuri, of Yamuna River Front and Tughlakabad city forest, of 16 lakh new trees and hundreds of woodlands and parks, of Nehru Place and Vikas Minar, of Okhla industries and new markets and terminals—there is one vast spectacle of history which enthralls as well as depresses, charms as well as repels. The epic drama unfolds scene after scene, of triumph and tragedy, of love and hatred, of rise and fall. -- Jagmohan, Vice Chairman of the DDA, in the Preface to Island of Truth

Delhi Development Authority's "Squatter Plan" during 1975-76 was the biggest peace time resettlement plan in any metropolitan area in the world -- Radha Raman, Chief Executive Councillor of the DDA, 14 May 1976

Dakshinpuri was created as part of the Emergency’s mass resettlement campaign of inner-city slum dwellers to the outskirts of Delhi. The displacement of about 120,000 families and the creation of 27 resettlement colonies, mostly on the periphery of the city, were part of the Emergency’s sweeping urban development plan to beautify and organize the city. According to Emma Tarlo, who cites a DDA (Delhi Development Authority) publication of the time, the demolitions and planting of trees were directly proportional: half a million people were resettled and half a million trees were planted. While Delhi’s poor was relocated to the vast wilderness surrounding Delhi, their former homes were being leveled and converted to parks, stadiums and shopping centers. (While sterilization was often a prerequisite for getting a plot card later on in the Emergency, in Dakshinpuri, which was mostly settled in the summer/monsoon months of 1975, it does not seem to have played a role in the resettlement process.) Dakshinpuri's primarily Dalit residents were given leases for 99 years--and for most, it was the first time they had ever legally owned land.

This is the first of a series of excerpts of residents’ narratives of how they got to Dakshinpuri, where they came from, and how they slowly re-built their lives from scratch. I plan to write a more cohesive account of the making of Dakshinpuri, but I also think these peoples’ voices should be heard in their rawest, “uncensored” and most powerful form, exactly as they were told to us.

They came from every corner of Delhi—those who could no longer be contained within the bursting belly of the city. They came in the rain. Some were given a few days notice, some a few months, that they would be relocated, but no one knew exactly where or when. One day, they were told to pack their things and get onto the truck that would take them to their new home. Watching their homes crumble, they climbed onto trucks jammed with people, children, utensils, cots, clothing and memories, and made their way towards the edge of civilization.

It was a barren desert, and gusts of cold wind blew across the vast open space; the air was full of mosquitoes, and the dust and insects mixed with our food...It was a graveyard, the first night we came we found human bones buried under the soil where our plot was - human bones! We were deep in the jungle, it was completely dark, there was no light. There were snakes, scorpions and insects. It was great fun during the day, having the open jungle before us, but at night we were scared...When we came, there were nothing but open fields, fields upon fields, there were no roads, there was only kaccha ground..That first night, we all made Roti together, and sat in the camp together as if we were fellow travelers...No one slept that first night, we stood watch for each other in shifts, they were roaming and looting gujjars...(multiple interviews)

"Us taim mein, ek truck mein das-das aadmi ka saamaan aa jata tha. Aaj, das truckon mein ek aadmi ka samaan dalkar aata hai." - Aajad Ji

Hum Arjun Nagar mein baithe the. Sare ko nahin pata tha ki yeh tute honge, buzurg ko pata hoga lekin mujhe nahin pata tha main to khel rahe the vahan, main to 6 saal ka tha. To vahan jab kameti ekdam todne ke liye aaye the, hum khush the. Haan, humare ghar tut rahe hain, lekin tut rahe hain koi baat nahin, hum khush the, gharwale pareshan the, kisi ko pata nahin tha kahan le ja rahe hai, apna saamaan shaam ka taim bandha, truck mein rakha, truckwalon keh rahe the: phataphat kar lo! das-paanch minute ka taim hai, jaldi jaldi jaldi uthao! To apna saamaan, saadan ka le liya, lakdi hai, charpai hai, apne barton hai, bakri, murgh pakde, aur bandh-boondhkar truck mein rakh diye. Dakshinpuri san 1975 ka shuruaat hua tha, aur ek truck mein kam se kam das das aadmi ka saamaan aa jata tha. Aaj das truckon mein ek aadmi ka saamaan dalkar aata hai.

Jab hum aaye yahan jungle hi jungle tha. Jhuggi is tarike se lake ger diye the yahan jungle mein hum jis tarah ka inka saadan ka koi nahin, na koi inke paas na saadan tha, na baalti, na kuch nahin. Jiske paas sadan tha, baalti, voh apni tarike usmein baithe the. Usi dauran mein bahut zabardast barish aayi. Kuch to isi vajeh se bhag gaye honge, unhone socha hoga ki yahan mar jaaenge. Barsaat ka samay tha. Jiske paas jo saadan tha—kai kai jhuggiyan ek ghar mein baithe the. Kisi ke paas do kaat the, do kaat humare the, bakdi thi. Yeh shuruaat tha. Jab barsaat aaya to itna paani aaya ki idhaar jheel tha. Sab ek jagah mein baithe the, itna pyaar-prem tha, kyaunki nayi jagah thi.

Plot is tarike se kaate the jaise main aur tu, aur ek kursi mein baithe hain aur ek choti-si table laga lete (shouting) Are, yeh kiske naam se! Kiskaa! Teraa aa gaya? Kyaa naam hai tera! Beta, yeh le! Pakd jaao! Yeh kiska hai! Tere kitne hai! Do hai? Nahin ji sirf ekhi hai! To dusra kiska hai? Kya naam hai tera! Yeh le parchi! Pakd le, jaao! Aise plot milaa. Aise do bataa diyaa, do parchi. Teen bataa diya, teen parchi mili. Aisa bhavishya mein aa gaya zindagi, kabhi nahin mil sakte. Mere saamne aisa hua, main 6 saal ka tha.

Yahan bajra tha, aur uske piche—ek number, do number sare khet hi khet the. Block number ek aur do, teen aur chaar bahut bad mein aaya. Sab khet the. Idhar chirag dilli gaon tha, idhar devali tha, kanpur tha, badarpur tha, yeh sara jo hai, inki kheti thi, inke area mein yeh zameen kaati thi, pata nahin bhaiyya unse kharidi thi government ya kyaa, lekin jis taim hum aaye the yahan pey, khali plan tha, aur jungle jungle tha charon taraf. Yeh jungle aur aasman mila hua dikhta tha.

Uske baad jisne toda sa karch le liya, unhone apna toda toda inth la lake, apna banana kaccha, inth se, aur matti ki chunai karke ek ek kamra apna banaye, rehne ke liye. Ab to jake, logon ke paas upar niche upar niche, paisa tha nahin kisi ke pas bhi, garibi thi jhuggi ke tut tutke aaye the, kisi ki arjun nagar se, kisi ki talkatore se, phir hanste hanste sab mein pyar-prem ho gaya, bharti chali gayi aabadi phir, aur jo nyi bhi nahin jante the, to nayi jagah di pyar-prem tha, sab char baje utke duty chalte the. Pehele tha pyar-prem, ab to bhir zyaada hui.

Kone mein koi nahin rehna chaihta tha, sab yeh chaihta tha ki main bich hoon sabke, us taim dar tha, bad mein pata laga ki kimat zyada hoga.

Lekin jo mere ko yaad hai, khelne ka hai. 6 saal ka tha, khele gaye baccha. Accha lagta tha, mitthi ki pure khet tha, khet hi khet mein chale gaye, agar humare ma bap jhuggi mein baithe hue, humein se kam se kam ek kilometer dekh lete the ki humara baccha khel rahe hai, dur tak dikhaye deta tha, to isiliye yad rehta, humara to dil lagta tha.

The Beginning, Part 2

Pushpa has lived in Dakshinpuri since the beginning

Bina

Aisa logon ko pata tha ki Trilokpuri ki taraf ja rahe hain, Khichripur ja rahe hain, yeh sunte the. Ki yeh jhuggi kabhi bhi tut sakti hai, yeh logon ko pata tha. Nahin, humne uske beech koi saval nahin pucha—bas yeh hai, jhuggiyan tutengi, yeh plot milenge, vahan rehenge. Yeh tha dimaag mein. Humne yeh suna tha ki vahan—Yamuna ke paas—ke logon ki paani baadh aata tha. Aur hum yeh sochte the ki agar voh humein Trilokpuri, Khichripur, yahan ki taraf agar bheja Yamuna Park, to hum nahin jaaenge, voh dar tha, shru se yeh dar tha.

Itni garmi thi, aur dar rahe hain, ro rahe hain hum. Kahaan jaaenge, kaisa hoga, kaise khaana pakaenge, aadivasi ki tarah lag humein rahe the. Kisi ka ghar tootne to rona hi aaega, jis mein insaan reh raha hai. Lekin khushi ye thi ki ab humein yeh pata hai ki yeh tootegi nahin. Ab apni milegi, ab pakka hai, aur Khichripur nahin gayi, yeh khushi thi.

Pushpa

Na, kisi nahin bataya ki humein yahan aana hai. Pehele vahan rehte the, Chanakyapuri, vahan jitne videshi aate the, teen murti ka, jo bhi mantri nikalta tha, voh sab vahan aate the. To is taim mein ek bahar videsh ka mantri aaya, aur usne Indira Gandhi ko fon pey bola, yahan se chala gaya vahan se bola, ki main yahan aaya, aur aapke desh mein gareebi bahut hai. Garibi itni chhaayi hui hai charon taraf mein! Unko Chanakyapuri ki jhuggiyon ki nazar aaye. To usne Indira se kaha ki yahan to gareebi to hata do, ya garibon ko kuch bana do. To khet katke iske zameen ka paise de diye usne, kyaunki yahan pey muttongirivalon ne zameen ka kabza kar rahe the.

[translated] When DDA came to Bapu Dam, they told us we had to clear the entire community, including the dogs. So I brought the dogs to Dakshinpuri, even though I didn't want to. It was dark when the truck came, so I left some in Bapu Dam, because DDA couldn't see them. On the way I adopted a blackish piglet, I had no idea whose it was, but it had dirt in its mouth and looked so helpless. Now it's big and strong. When we came to Dakshinpuri the dogs didn't like it at all, they were up to their knees in mud, and they barked and barked. At night they became to cry, and people asked me "Are! Yeh kya bavaal hai!"

Sunita

Aisa bola tha, tumhaari to jagah milegi, udhar, Dakshinpuri mein, aur sab jhuggi khali karna, unhone sab bola bhi tha par koi log nahin mane. Sabke makhan tod-todke saamaan truckon mein bhar bharke aur yahan parchi de diye, truck bhar bhar ke yahan chor diye sab, sabne apna apna tora tora jhuggi bana bana sab baithe the, na pani na sadan tha, charon kone mein parmi lage rakhe the.

Parchi yahi lake deti thi, jaise truck se samaan utarte the, vaise parchi bante rahe, jahan tumhein accha lagta, us plot mein baith jao.

Vahan bahut acchi jagah thi, bara dukh hua yahan aane mein. Sare rat ro raha, voh usse milkar ro raha, voh usse milkar ro raha, sari raat baithe, subah aakar, sare truck bhar bharke chale gye, bahut ro rahe the. Vahan bahut pyar prem tha, vahan ekta tha, ek ko dukh sukh ko dekhte the, yahan to bahut bura hal tha. Vahan bhi government jagah thi, humein bhi chodna pada.

Javed

Jab hum aaye the, us taim mein gujjar log teen baje doodh dene aaye the. To teen baje chaandni raat hote the, voh kehte the doodh le lo, le lo doodh! Pachaas paise pachees paise doodh hota tha. unhone paani ke andar aata phenk diya tha, safed nazar aa gaya, chaandni raat mein safed nazar aa raha hai. subah jab chai banane lagte the doodh ki jagah aata hota tha.

Sanjeev

Jab hum aaye the, hum dilli se bahaar the, dille se 25 kilometer dur the. Is taim mein dilli india gate tha, aur kuch nahin. Yeh muttongiri ke kisanon ke khet the. Un kheton se unko zameen de diya, aur gareeb logon ko plat katkar aur aapko batate the ki tum yahan baith jaao, tum vahan baith jao. Aur chaar inth rakhkar nishaan bana diye ki voh itne jagah hai aapki, das foot chaudaai bees foot lambaayi. Is taim to koi accha khas mahaul nahin tha, sara jangl hi jangl tha, koi divar nahin koi makhaan nahin kuch nahin tha. Bahut baarish hui thi, naale mein baad aayi thi, parchi baarish mein kho gayi thi.

Lekin is taim dar nahin tha. Kya karein dar ke? Dar ka kyaa? Puri colony itni hai, takriban aath, nau lakh ki aabaadi thi. jahaan pey itni aabadi hai, dar kis cheez ka? Pehele dar nahin tha, ab dar hai.

Malkhan

Peheli raat mein, sab alag alag chula jalaya. Mujhe aisa lag raha tha ki log ganga snaan karne ke liye jate the, nahaane ke liye jate, aisa mujhe lag raha tha, chaaron taraf log the.

Yeh colony humein Indira Gandhi ne di thi, unhone humein plot di, jismein likha hua, 100 saalon ke liye. Indira ne kaha, voh gareeb aadmi jhuggiyon mein kab tak rehenge, aur unke bal-bacche kaise par lenge? Unhone Dakshinpuri basaaya. Jab humein parchi mili, sarkar ne humse teen photos khinchvaya. Unke paas ek hai aur mere paas ek hai, aur ek parchi ka photo unke paas hai. Jab sarkar house tax lene aaye the, unhone mera parchi dekha, aur dekha ki uska photo aur mera photo milai, phir unhone pata chala, ki yeh mera plot hai. Aadmi ka chehre se unko pata chalta ki kis plot kiska hai. Humare pura record unke paas hai. Unke paas proof hai, aur mere paas proof hai.