Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati is now a celebrity, a star and modern times Edwin-some will say tarnished - for stiffing numerous huge statues in Lucknow and Noida of dalit idols like B R Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and herself. This is, of course, a pompous polity implement. Nonetheless history might in due course memorize her not just as a dalit neta but also as the Edwin of this Era.
As many news channels on occasion of 100 years to Delhi broadcasted that when the British moved their capital to Delhi, Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens and other British architects were bid to India to build New Delhi, a great new city outside the old walled city of Delhi. They produced spacious boulevard and gigantic edifices of red sandstone. Vast public spaces were created between Edwin ' two most famous creations, India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Mayawati's level is not reasonably as pushy. Yet her massive parks in Lucknow(many made damaging sports stadiums) must grade among the utmost new open places created in any Indian city since Independence. Her parks are ringed by sandstone lattice walls that seem to come straight off the drawing board of Lutyens. Yet like every public space in our nation, walls are filled with names inscribed by the commoners and spit spots. Moreover I like others have appreciated more if much money has been spent on places like hospitals etc with statues was fine. So, it is no twist of fate that Mayawati's kingdom is identical to Edwin' Delhi. She has drawn on ancient Buddhist architecture no less than Edwin did.
Ambedkar pose dalits to espouse Buddhism as a asylum from caste subjugation in our country. BehenJi has taken the neo-Buddhist loom auxiliary, using the elephant (holy in Buddhism) as her party's symbol. Hindu dalits have always been exploited, and have never had a chronological blond epoch to illustrate on as a spring of delight. However the neo-Buddhist dalit has a Buddhist blond epoch to hark rear to, and Mayawati has used this to the budge.
Akin to Edwin and the Mughals previously, Mayawati has used building to send out a political message. Edwin New Delhi designed to signify the grandeur of British Raj. Shahjahan's Red Fort designed to signify the splendor of Mughal rule. Mayawati's Lucknow and Noida’s architecture signifies the go up of dalits, not only in the capital of biggest state of the country but also neighboring city of Edwin Delhi- the capital of our country showing that she will reach their too.
BehenJi has been condemned extensively on dailies and Tv Shows for hundreds of crores she has spent on cryptogram of sumptuousness instead of expenses on the poor or dalits which ultimately made her the Queen of Dalits. This is no different from denigration by Indian nationalists of Edwin and the British Raj, who were also alleged of slaying huge money on majestic edifices while populaces famished. Nobody remembers that denigration of Edwin any more. The same will one day be true of Mayawati. Furthermore like some Political Pundits I am also of the view that covering statues in these parks will not harm her in these elections.
Her New Lucknow has ostentatious spacious infrastructure and snobbish hotels next to the great parks. They seem massively high-class compared with the collapse, jam-packed passageway of the old city. Critics criticize that she is generating a splendid novel area for a new-fangled cream of the crop while neglecting old quarters. They concede that the parks are undeniably immense unwrap spaces that the civic can use, but say it's awful to fritter millions on a New Lucknow alike Edwin (New Delhi from Old Delhi) while parting the old city engrossed in muck and overlook. Probably unerringly the matching denigration was finished of Edwin when he built New Delhi, neglecting Old Delhi.
When I conversed with some of the old-time residents of Lucknow are exceedingly significant of the construction style of Mayawati's New Lucknow. They articulate her massive new arrangements are from top to bottom out of moral fiber with the city's famous Islamic architecture and its two great Imambaras. This, again, cacophonously echoes denigration of Edwin by Delhi residents of his time (as history tells), for building something completely out of character with the great Islamic architecture of old Delhi. But as now Edwin is remembered for great artitechture and mindset and few years Mayawati would be the modern times Edwin.
The denigration in both eras is precise, but fails to spot the point. Both Mayawati and Edwin hunted to oust the old array and institute the magnitude of the new-fangled. In doing so, they willfully sought after an architectural style that would be grand in aspiration but thoroughly poles apart from the fashion of the ruler they displaced.
Edwin commemorated canon by the British colonial race. Mayawati is commemorating canon by the small fry (dalit), a phenomenon ended feasible by democratic system. In this respect, New Lucknow beats New Delhi. Lastly also gives the message that Edwin’s New Delhi might be transformed in coming times into Mayawati’s New Delhi.
Prateek Pathak
Student
B.A in Media Studies
University of Allahabad
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