By Omar Rashid
New Delhi: Four years have passed since bulldozers of the Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government unceremoniously tore down retired Urdu professor Ali Ahmed Fatmi’s house in Prayagraj. The harsh action hurt Fatmi financially and socially destabilised him. But, most importantly, left him with an emotional scar.
On the rare occasion he passes by the site of his old house, he called home for over three decades – which today lies in ruins due to an ongoing litigation following the demolition – Fatmi is filled with sorrow. “I cannot even bear to look at it,” he told The Wire.
A well-respected litterateur and former head of the Urdu department of Allahabad University (AU), Fatmi’s house was demolished in March 2021 by the administration on grounds that it was an illegal construction. Along with Fatmi’s house, the administration also demolished his daughter Naila Fatmi’s house as well as adjoining properties of lawyer Zulfiquar Haider and two others. The five said that the demolitions were carried out in a hurried manner without affording them a reasonable opportunity of carrying the matter before the appellate authority under the provisions of Section 27(2) of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973.
Fatmi is unable to conceal the pain of witnessing the loss of his elaborate library, where he had stored hundreds of books.
“Of course, we received a financial setback but the emotional loss was much more. I taught all my life in AU as a professor. I travelled round the world. In other countries, professors and writers are allotted houses to read and write. They showed no consideration that I was a man of literature. The ruthless manner in which they demolished it caused me more trauma,” said Fatmi.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
