There is Old Delhi, the ancient city by the Jamuna; and there is New Delhi, built by Lutyens and the capital of the Raj, just in time to be intercepted and utilised by the new rulers of Independent India. Then there is old Delhi and new Delhi in lower caps. The old Delhi of grandfather-in-law Nehru, mother-in-law Indira and husband Rajiv is now being quickly overtaken by the new Delhi of Sonia Gandhi. The power centre of India is now is her residence at 10 Janpath in the new New Delhi; and the chief of staff within the visage of Ahmed Patel, loyalist politico from Gujarat.
Sitting here in the departure lounge of the IGIA in Delhi, the airport built around what was once Palam village, one gets the sense of the growing power and self-confidence of the capital of Bharat. The profits from the 'Shining India' part of the Indian economy have gone to prop up the capital region, throwing up infrastructure, jacking up real-estate prices, and giving a sense of super-confidence to the professionals here. Indeed, there is an air of satisfaction among the entire spectrum of adjacent entrepreneurs, scholars, journalists and activists – that they did good by locating themselves in the Delhi area, which of course includes Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Gurgaon in Haryana.
This sense of satisfaction derives from the fact that Delhi is the political capital, where the vast majority of India's powerful live or congregate. India's is a polity that is federal only in name, and its centralising tendencies have been buttressed once again by the decisive win of the Congress party of Sonia and Manmohan in the general elections of last April and May.
Delhi is presently in the process of consolidating its power and international centrality by adding two elements to its infrastructure: a spanking-new air terminal and associated runaways, being built by the fast-rising conglomerate GMR; and a subway network that is spreading its veins from the northern reaches beyond Delhi University to Gurgaon and Noida.