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Turkman gate demolition and rioting

1970s in Delhi1976 crimes in India1976 in IndiaIndian history stubsMassacres in India
Police brutality in IndiaThe Emergency (India)Use Indian English from October 2018
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Turkman gate view

The Turkman gate demolition and firing was an infamous case of political oppression and police brutality during the Emergency when the police shot and killed people protesting against demolitions of their houses ordered by Indira Gandhi's government in 1976. An official account of the number of people killed at Turkman gate is not available and media was not allowed to cover the riot and massacre. One local guide claimed that nine of his friends were killed by police. More than 10 bulldozers razed down unauthorised houses and police resorted to firing on people who protested against the slum clearance.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Turkman gate demolition and rioting (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Turkman gate demolition and rioting
Sitaram Bazar Road, Delhi Chandni Chowk

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N 28.642231 ° E 77.232591 °
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Sitaram Bazar Road
110006 Delhi, Chandni Chowk
Delhi, India
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Ramlila
Ramlila

Ramlila (Sanskrit: रामलीला, romanized: Rāmalīlā; literally 'Rama's lila or play') is any dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana or secondary literature based on it such as the Ramcharitmanas. It particularly refers to the thousands of the Hindu god Rama-related dramatic plays and dance events, that are staged during the annual autumn festival of Navaratri in India. After the enactment of the legendary war between good and evil, the Ramlila celebrations climax in the Vijayadashami (Dussehra) night festivities where the giant grotesque effigies of evil such as of the rakshasa (demon) Ravana are burnt, typically with fireworks. Rama is the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and the central figure of the Ramayana, a Sanskrit epic that integrates performance arts with stories driven by ethical values. The epic text is dated to the 1st millennium BCE and Ramlila is an adaptation of those stories. Most Ramlilas in North India are based on the 16th-century secondary work on Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas a verse form composition in the regional vernacular language (Awadhi a dialect of Hindi), by Tulsidas. These verses are used as dialogues in traditional adaptations. Open-air productions are staged by local Ramlila committees (Samitis), and funded entirely by the villagers or local neighbourhoods in urban areas. The core team of performance artists train for the dance-drama, but the actual performance attracts impromptu participants from the audience and villagers. This art form is a part of the Hindu culture, found for many gods and goddesses, but those of Rama, Durga (as Durga Puja) and Krishna (as Rasalila) are the most popular and annual events in the Indian subcontinent.The Ramlila festivities were declared by UNESCO as one of the "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" in 2008. Ramlila is particularly notable in historically important Hindu cities of Ayodhya, Varanasi, Vrindavan, Almora, Satna and Madhubani – cities in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The epic and its dramatic play migrated into Southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE, and Ramayana based Ramlila is a part of performance art culture of Indonesia particularly the Hindu society of Bali, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand. In the 19th and 20th centuries, with the movement of the Indian diaspora into European colonies as indentured servants, the cultural celebration of Ramlila is now found in many parts of the world such as Mauritius, Africa, Fiji, Guyana, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also found in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.

2006 Jama Masjid bombings
2006 Jama Masjid bombings

On 6 June 2006, two explosions occurred in the courtyard of Jama Masjid, a 17th-century mosque in Old Delhi (India). The first blast took place at 17:26 local time right in the middle of the courtyard next to Wazoo Khana which comprises a pond where worshipers wash their hands and feet before offering prayers, and the second a few meters away seven minutes later. At least thirteen people were injured in the blasts. The blasts took place just before the call to prayer (azaan). The explosives were reportedly carried in plastic bags. There were around 1000 people in the mosque at the time of blasts as the day happened to be Friday, considered holy by the Muslims as well as being the first Friday after Mawlid, the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The explosions did not cause any damage to the mosque. The Delhi government announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs. 50,000 to those with serious injuries and Rs. 25,000 to those with minor injuries.Some sources claim that the mosque was almost empty with only 100–150 people in the premises when the blast took place. The first blast occurred near Gate No. 1, a place where people wash their hands before offering prayers. It was the first attack of its kind on the historic mosque. It is being speculated that these blasts might be linked with coincidental six grenade attacks in Srinagar, that took place the same day.According to Delhi police, these were "low-intensity blasts" triggered by crude explosives. The police have not ruled out terrorist involvement. As of 7 June 2006, no terrorist group had claimed the responsibility of the blasts. The Delhi police have arrested four people and are questioning them for the blasts. Another school of thought suggests that the explosions could be the handiwork of some office bearers of the mosque due to internal rivalry.