Off to Jantar Mantar via Beijing
No hard feelings if we slightly knock the glories of the Olympic torch run that took place in New Delhi yesterday.
No hard feelings if we slightly knock the glories of the Olympic torch run that took place in New Delhi yesterday.
After all, the Olympics have stood the test of time — while hundreds of us on the road had to sit or stand for ages to make way for the Olympic torch run. Roads were cordoned off and passengers in cars and buses had the rare opportunity of rediscovering the national capital even if they may not have had that in mind. Were the traffic obstructions and the great detours that necessary? We guess so.
When the Chinese government ‘requests’ something, the Indian government is happy to see it through. While there were ‘Free Tibet’ types protesting against the torch run, police presence saw to it that Potala Palace mercenaries do not storm the Great Hall of the People in Beijing via New Delhi. Funnily enough, the post-2 pm agony of people in many parts of Delhi did not breed any strong protests on its own. Instead, almost giving the Dalai Lama a run for his money, many of us bore the extreme discomfort with extreme patience.
We can always see the whole business of ‘taking precautions’ through roadblocks and long digressionary routes as something intended not so much against protestors but for the torch-bearing runners. In fact, why blame China or Tibetans or the Indian authorities for yesterday’s bit of misery on the roads. It’s our fault. We drive too many cars.
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