By Sidharth Mishra

For the followers of Marxism and its variants, axioms like a child being born with a golden spoon are fit for abomination. But what would the Marxist parents of Delhi Cabinet Number Two, Atishi Singh aka Marlena would have to say about their child. Atishi’s long-time surname, now dropped, Marlena is portmanteau of Marx and Lenin.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s ministerial team has undergone a huge transfiguration since it first came to power in the winter of 2013. Let’s check on names which were part of the first Cabinet in 2013, when the anti-corruption movement was at its peak – Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Somnath Bharti, Girish Soni and Rakhi Birla.

When a much more politically powerful Kejriwal returned to power in 2015, of these members, just Sisodia and Jain were retained. Even the assembly speaker MS Dhir had fallen by the wayside. In the next eight years we have seen many a ministers being dropped.

By Sidharth Mishra

Last weekend, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held a public meeting at the historic Ramlila grounds in Delhi. The rally was an attempt to create an atmosphere against the central government for bringing an ordinance restoring control of the national capital territory with the centre.

During the run-up to the rally Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal travelled across India to the states ruled by non-BJP parties, met the chief ministers and pleaded for the support for his cause. He also met the major opposition leaders in the states like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, which is ruled by the BJP and allies and sought their support.

He also met the top Congress leadership, and pleaded for their support. While nobody said no to Kejriwal’s plea but none turned up in Delhi to join the rally at the Ramlila grounds. The only exception being former Congress leader Kapil Sibal. Kejriwal’s public meeting in the summer of 2023 at the historic ground would go into the annals of history as a non-event.

By Sidharth Mishra

The Delhi University administration even in the 101st year of its existence has continued to carry on with the centenary celebrations. These celebrations are meaningless if the university slips on the scale of academic excellence.

In the recently announced ranking by Ministry of Education’s National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF), Delhi University continues to lag behind many, positioned 11th on the list. While it’s not just the younger universities like the Jawaharlal Nehru University who have remained ahead of DU, it’s even the older institutions like the Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia who re ahead.

To be pithy with expression, it can safely be said that DU has been beaten by both the new and the old alike. The university officials have nevertheless tried taking credit for the successful performance of some of the colleges in the ranking. But then this is nothing more than mere a few oasis in the dreary desert called DU.

By Sidharth Mishra

Let’s start with the disclaimer that today’s column on no count intends to debase the recent protest by the Olympians at Jantar Mantar. It’s just a few extracts from a reporter’s diary who has covered such protests for long years.

The protests at Jantar Mantar have always helped democracy and more also reporters in retaining their jobs. While leading team of cub reporters at a national daily during the late 1990s and early 2000s, one would often advise them that in case there was nothing happening on their beat, they could visit the Jantar Mantar to get a story.

This advice did help the reporters to file their daily quota of copy but sometimes they also came with stories which made to the front pages. During those days, during the Parliament session, the protestors were allowed to march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament but to be stopped outside Parliament Street police station, which also housed the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), New Delhi.

By Sidharth Mishra

Delhi University under the current dispensation, led by vice chancellor Yogesh Singh, is facing a dilemma, whether to uphold its autonomous character or make it subservient to the government. This dilemma arises from largely two reasons.

First the university head is not well conversant about the culture of Delhi University. Second the people in his team are not scholars of eminence, who would use their intellectual gravitas to give him the strength to sustain university’s standing.

Delhi University’s growth has mostly been moistened by government grants but the university has always considered itself to be independent of the government and fiercely guarded its autonomy. This has been possible because the people at the helm have been scholars who on the sheer strength of their intellectual metier withstood the aura of government.

By Sidharth Mishra

With the onset of summer in 2011 had begun the Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption movement. A very anglicised and stylish name of a public movement gave sufficient indication of it being rooted in the rise of the new educated middle-class pushing for a change.

The new generation middle-class, which largely has been the beneficiary of the economy of the country opening up two decades earlier, pushed for change, not just of government but the culture of governance. This movement, outside Delhi-NCR, had maximum traction in Bengaluru. No wonder both being the hubs of new age industries.

A decade later, the only visible surviving outcome of the India Against Corruption is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which a few days back celebrated the getting the status of national party. For getting a national political party status, among other criterions is the party getting recognition as a state party in at least four states.

By Sidharth Mishra

Those who study public administration would know there a major area of discussion on the interface of permanent and political executive in governance. This topic becomes very dominant especially in democracy, where the political executives come and go, whereas bureaucracy aka permanent executive remains in office all through and also held accountable for major decisions.

The political executive comes to power on popular votes and it’s always in the rush to get its manifesto implemented. The job of the permanent executive is to ensure that in the implementation of the agenda, the rules of governance are not compromised, so also the sovereignty of the Constitution.

This creates a challenge for both the permanent and the political executive for implementation of the popular manifesto without compromising on the rules. Here lies the genesis of the conflict between the Centre and the Delhi government on the control of the services department on which the Supreme Court has given the ruling.

By Sidharth Mishra

The first archaeological evidences of Delhi emerging as a capital of a kingdom are of around 12th century. The first citadel-city being Mehrauli built by the Slave dynasty. The dynasties which followed them too built their own fort cities and each of them moved a few kilometres east, getting farther from the Arvalli hills and closer to river Yamuna.

Getting closer to Yamuna meant not only overcoming paucity of water but also integrating the Sultanate with the Ganga-Yamuna river valley system for the purposes of both trade and territory expansion. The first citadel city along the river was built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, which is today known as Kotla Firoz Shah and houses a world famous cricket stadium.

The next bastion along the river was built by Sher Shah Suri, who had usurped the Mughal rule for a while. This refuge is today known to the world as Purana Qila. After the Mughal Empire had found its firm footing, they too shifted their capital to Delhi, with Shahjahan building the Red Fort and the adjoining city, today together known as the walled city.