Delhiites versus the ungrateful critics of Delhi

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It is generally projected or mentioned as if Delhi has all and everything that it should not have. Interestingly, the people who point out so many things in Delhi come here for shelter and help uninvited.

CJ: Sandeep Datta

Mon, Nov 30, 2009 17:11:21 IST

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Delhi News :

EVERY DAY thousands of people arrive in Delhi, the national capital from different parts of the country in search of livelihood. They wish to earn and learn and dream to settle down here influenced by the facilities and the comfort they may not get at their native places.

Surprisingly, every now and then, the same people who are adding to the population and problems of Delhi are noticed giving new adjectives to Delhi, as people locally address it. Ahead of Commonwealth Games 2010, their presence needs a review.

It is generally projected or mentioned as if Delhi has all and everything that it should not have. Interestingly, the people who point out so many things in Delhi come here for shelter and help uninvited.

Be it Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai or any other cosmopolitan city, people are drawn to visit these cities after they are faced with hopeless conditions and disappointing environment back in their native places to earn their bread and butter or even education.

True, Delhi has its weaknesses or disappointing aspects like any other place of the country or world. But does it give just anyone a license to criticise this place and people, which has given them a shelter to survive and a place to earn daily bread for their families back at home?

Most of the TV scribes, especially from Bihar, West Bengal and the North Eastern states today seem to be indulged in criticising whatever belongs to Delhi and intend to declare it as the crime capital of the world. ‘Unsafe for women’, ‘a place full of rude, arrogant, uncivilised and uncultured’ and don't know what not. The so-called journos of electronic media blurt our strange adjectives for Delhi as if they were talking about any enemy territory. Isn’t it shame on their on face that their national capital is routinely projected like that?

Be it any incident of rape or even minor theft or chain snatching, the entire Delhi is declared with a new adjective by just anyone on TV screen. The barely college pass-outs define on TV what Delhi is all about, as if they belong to some third planet where no one suffers eve-teasing, no criminal exists and everyone is civilised to the utmost extent.

Is their any single city that can claim itself crime-free or incident-free today? Is electronic media equally fascinated to report about almost every incident occurring at other place of the county like it does in Delhi? How many of the journos have the guts to speak ill of people or place while living there. It is doubtful if they could act loud mouth in Mumbai.

How many of these so-called ‘nice to talk to and responsible guests’ can dare to speak up as a witness even before a constable during any incident? Leave aside the court, even a mere request of filing an FIR under one's name or becoming a witness of any crime or accident makes such people vanish from the site.

The country’s national capital is lampooned and criticised and all enjoy just because they don’t feel attached to its respect; may be because they belong to different states. But what prompts them to visit such a place and start painting it in black and white?

How many people can dare to speak it in open that the city or town or even the villages their family comes from doesn't have any dark side?

If one has so much grudges against Delhi, why don’t people just walk off Delhi and settle down in their native places where kidnapping, loot, rapes, thefts, eve-teasing and rudeness among people don’t occur?

Delhiites, however, are also to be blamed. They are so divided or self-obsessed that they don’t reply back to such ungrateful visitors who despite sharing everything from the locals’ saucer of opportunities and existing facilities and still talk disgustingly about it.

Even as there is a need to value nice people from any part of the country or world but it is equally important for them to learn the basic expectations from any visitor to anyone’s home.

Living at a place and still speaking ill of it always even on any small issue is becoming a trend. One wonders if Delhi is so bad to live. What compels such people to stay and add to the problem? Traffic, parking, water and many other problems have aggravated in the recent years due to a steadily increasing population. But nobody is ready to mention it.

The visitors talk about their rights but what about their responsibilities? People in large numbers keep arriving here from different parts of the country but does anyone ever think of beautifying the place by contributing personally?

They should be asked: You come, you spit and you forget. Who is going to clean up the mess you created? And, even if it wasn't you, surely someone from your native state or region was.

After all how many of Delhiites chew paan? How many of us use the open urinals or urinate on just any wall on roadside? How many of locals are living in illegal colonies, how many of them form unions in colleges or offices to spoil office environment, how many of them create a mess by driving bicycle-rickshaw, how many of their children and masters beg on traffic signals, how many of them stand before any monument like India Gate or Rashtrapati Bhavan and pose like jokers would do, how many of Delhiites are in police to be generalised for everything wrong in Delhi?

If such people maintain that one shouldn't be blamed for anyone's mistake or foolishness during riot or incident, how can they blame everyone in Delhi for being rude or uncivilised at any coffee table discussion?

What makes them judge all people of Delhi even if they may have not even personally interacted with even a thousand or so people, despite being here for many years?

It takes the nobility of a responsible citizen to take care of and embrace the ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ of a way of life. It is just like once we are in foreign; we have to explain for anything happening in our entire country or even entire region like South Asia or Asia.

The question over migrants or visitors’ presence in Delhi had not been significant, if one would not be willing to rise above one’s regional identity or confines of language and embraced the place he or she is.

If people actually are well-wishers, they should stand up and be counted for the work they are going to do to make it a better place of the country.

Moreover, Delhiites should get equal share into the reservation meant to protect opportunities for locals in any state. For, if people from other states can come and grab opportunities ideally meant for inhabitants (born and brought up) here, there shouldn’t be any hesitation in giving these Delhiites equal opportunity in rest of the states.

Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Lt Governor Tejender Khann were justified in their criticism of migrants and visitors to the national capital and problems caused by them. They should have got full support of natives of Delhi for bringing out the pain of this place through public platform.

Like any visitor to our home is not welcomed again if he or she starts giving uninvited comments about our limitations or lifestyle, it needs to be realised that the same goes true about anyone who starts criticising a city or piece of land he has come to settle on as a seeker.

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