Varun Gandhi’s Latest Book Is A Deep Dive Into Urban India’s Lack Of Humanity
The latest book by BJP MP Varun Gandhi focuses on the issues that India’s largest cities are facing and how to address them. The MP from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, told NDTV that “The Indian Metropolis,” Mr. Gandhi’s fourth book (the previous two are poetry), took “three tumultuous years” to write.
“The sheer tumult faced by urban migrants during the lockdown was a seminal moment in understanding the lack of humanity and inclusiveness in our urban model,” Mr Gandhi, 42, said.
Thousands of economically disadvantaged people who had moved to the cities in the weeks after the rigorous March 2020 lockdown, which was forced by the COVID-19 epidemic, trekked hundreds of kilometres to return home.
The issue about urban living conditions was started by the reverse migration because the impoverished were unable to support themselves after the lockdown began.
“We need a national conversation on our urbanisation journey. Simply celebrating the launch of another metro line or an expressway, or even the odd water ATM will not do – building a whole-of-systems approach to solve such challenges will require having conversations in a holistic manner with all stakeholders. National attention remains curiously lacking on tier 2, 3 and 4 cities – a building being demolished in Noida will attract media attention, but the lack of affordable housing in other cities won’t,” the Lok Sabha MP said.
When he was 20 years old, Mr. Gandhi released his first book of poetry, “The Otherness of Self.”
Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright
