If future generations were to look for a memorial to Sheila Dikshit, they would only need to look at the present cityscape of Delhi and not any particular monument. Indeed contemporary Delhi is itself a tribute to the vision and energy of the City-State’s longest-serving Chief Minister who untiringly worked for its people till almost her last breath. Apart from her visionary leadership, Dikshit will be remembered for her charm, affability and connect with a city she made her own.
A dedicated Congress worker, she continued to lead the party despite her advanced age and failing health. Her sudden death on Saturday, nevertheless, came as a shock because, as president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee she was enthusiastically immersed in political activities till the evening before she was taken ill. In an age when politics is the preserve of the uncivil, she was an embodiment of civility who bore malice towards none, her ideological enemies included.
A devoted lover of nature, she worried about the degradation of the environment of India’s Capital. When most political leaders ducked the issue, she braved the crisis by firmly implementing the Supreme Court order to direct Delhi’s public transport vehicles to shift to CNG from polluting fuels like diesel almost overnight. She withstood a barrage of criticism; it is truly commendable that she stood her ground so that we can continue to breathe Delhi’s air even now despite its arguably polluted content.
Architect of myriad flyovers and underpasses, planner of a drastic overhaul of road structures, a massive proponent of metro rail and other transport innovations, Sheila Dikshit lived and died for Delhi’s betterment. Despite her supposedly elitist background, her dedication to the city’s underprivileged ensured she won three successive elections, no mean feat in our highly competitive political milieu and had recently been tasked to regain the Delhi Assembly by her boss Rahul Gandhi once more.
(Her accessibility too was legendary. Personally, I will miss her classy but frugal breakfast over which we exchanged views at her invitation very often despite my ideological difference with her).
She came under a cloud as a result of the actions of some of her colleagues over the organisation of the Commonwealth Games, but undoubtedly it was one of the most spectacular, world-class sporting extravaganzas held in India. Besides, Games-related activities propelled Delhi’s infrastructural growth to new heights.
In the passing away of Sheila Dikshit, India has lost one of the last remaining politicians with dignity and vision. Indeed they don’t make politicians like her any more. She will be remembered for many things, but mostly for her contribution to the making of the new, New Delhi, a city built not by conquerors like the Mughals or British but by creating the Ninth Delhi — by Indians, for Indians. She made us proud by lending our Capital a heart and soul besides making it a city befitting India’s growing prosperity and global stature.