Delhi’s Ramlila ground is in news again for being the venue of yet another swearing in ceremony of the Aam Aadmi Party government on 14 February.
Well, this truly historic ground has witnessed many momentous political rallies, public felicitation functions as well as condolence meetings in the past. Incidentally, one of the biggest Ramlilas of the Capital has been taking place here since the early ’30s.
Arguably, the biggest rally the Ramlila ground witnessed was on 25 June 1975. It was a rally against the alleged autocratic rule of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Lakhs of people attended it to hear their leaders, including Jayaprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Chandrasekhar and many more. JP thunderously recited Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’s’ wonderfully evocative poetry: “Singhasan Khaali Karo Ke Janata Aaati Hai.” Those were heady days as Indira Gandhi was found guilty of violating electoral laws by the Allahabad High Court. Jayaprakash Narayan called on the Prime Minister to resign, and advocated a programme of social transformation which he termed Sampoorna kraanti (Total Revolution). Instead she proclaimed an Emergency on the midnight of 25 June, 1975, immediately after Narayan had called for the PM’s resignation and had asked the military and the police to disregard unconstitutional and immoral orders; JP, opposition leaders, and dissenting members of her own party (the ‘Young Turks’) were arrested on that day.
It is said that there was a pond where the Ramlila ground is situated. It was filled in the early ’30s so that the Ramlila could be held. Earlier, this Ramlila was held behind Red Fort. As that place was flood-prone, the new venue was found.
When the freedom struggle was on, Gandhi ji, Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and other top leaders of the freedom struggle addressed well attended rallies from here.
An interesting anecdote is associated with Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It is said that when he was addressing a rally organised by the Muslim League in 1945, some people sitting close to the stage started shouting, “Maulana Jinnah Zindabad!”. Hearing this very slogan, he lost his cool and asked them to stop calling him a Maulana. “I am your political leader, hence never call me Maulana,” he told them rather sternly.
Interestingly enough, even though big rallies have been taking place here for decades, the rostrum for speakers was erected only in 1962 when Queen Elizabeth came to India. There was a public event to felicitate her on behalf of the people of Delhi. That was when the permanent structure was constructed.
Old-timers would recall the condolence meetings for the first President of India Dr. Rajinder Prasad, and then for Jawaharlal Nehru. Thousands of people came in order to attend these. The only sour moment of the meeting in memory of Nehru was when his sister Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit paid her moving tribute in English, while delegates from Japan and the then Soviet Union spoke in Hindi. It is said the local papers pointed out this fact prominently the next day.
“Over the years as society has changed and political leaders prefer to speak on TV rather than in a public place, one hardly finds rallies at the Ramlila ground.
I have seen huge rallies of Left parties to Jan Sangh in this very ground. Leaders like Indira Gandhi and Atal Behari Vajpayee have addressed more rallies than any other,” says Dr. Riaz Umer, who used to teach at Zakir Husain College, which is located at a shouting distance from Ramlila ground.
As recently as a couple of years ago, Ramlila ground witnessed a huge congregation when the venerable Imam of Makkah, Mukarramah Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, offered namaaz. Devout Muslims thronged the ground in a big way.
And yes, this very ground played host to the India Against Corruption movement that galvanized all those who were sick and tired of rampant corruption in Indian society.
And it was here that the nation saw police action against Yoga guru Baba Ramdev when he started his fight against corruption from there with a fast.
Apart from rallies and others public meetings, the ground is also a favourite spot for all those who love kite-flying. And from early August, patangbaaz throng the place.
