A Brand New Map
The year 1947 was India’s Annus Horribilis. From March that year, murder and mayhem stalked the Punjab. By autumn, Sikhs and Hindus had been cleaned out of the western districts. The great city of Lahore became a stranger to us. The giant Nilokheri Refugee Camp was the new metropolis of the distressed. A government of a kind found a few offices in Solan and Shimla bungalows. In this state of despair, Jawaharlal Nehru offered divided Punjab two dreams: the Bhakra dam and a brand new city. The Bhakra dam was started to give new hope to the Sikh peasantry. And the Punjab irrigation department began to build it with a religious fervour. There were no thoughts of PP (public-private) models then.
2022-02-21 
