There is no point in being envious of DELHI; it would be much better to try and emulate it if that be possible!! In geographical terms there are certain cities which act as hubs over centuries even though they may wax and wane in those long periods of time. DELHI is one such city as are LONDON, PARIS, ROME, TOKYO to name a few well-known ones. In comparison to Delhi, the other three metros of India are of very recent origin - developed primarily to serve the maritime needs of the British whereas DELHI has risen and fallen as a geopolitically important centre over and over again. In recent centuries, Akbar tried to move to Fatehpur Sikri but failed, Aurangzeb tried to move to Aurangabad and half of his army perished. The East India Co. operated out of Calcutta but once India became a dominion of the British Crown, the capital had to be moved to Delhi as it is located at a very important geographical location in the Indian sub-continent. Varanasi is another such eternal city but it has more of a religious character, not of political governance. Compared to Mumbai(Bombay), PUNE has a richer historical, social and cultural legacy. Mumbai is really in bad shape these days, whether it is compared to any other city or not and it will get better only if its problems are attended to internally rather than their being blamed upon external factors. The fact remains that there can be only one THE CAPITAL of a country and we all know which city is the capital of INDIA.
RE:A broader perspective
by tinku bhui on Jul 13, 2008 05:46 PM Permalink
Also capital of rape , kidnapping , Duping Rickshaw riders etc etc . We agree in unison!!
RE:A broader perspective
by anjalli ravikumar on Jul 13, 2008 06:38 PM Permalink
To me, the status of women, the safety that women and young children enjoy mark the level of development in a society and not its infrastructural achievements or the number of flights that leave from its airport. The fact that women cannot walk on Delhi's streets safely beyond a certain time, makes a strong case for changing the attitude of police and public in Delhi. Mumbai may not be heaven but it certainly beats Delhi. For every 10 incidents of violence against women in Delhi, there is probably only one in Mumbai. Who cares about roads and trains if we can't use them beyond a certain time?
This was what I wanted to get when I clicked on lead line. But I get a story about Bombay and its downhill ride.I have known the fate of Bombay from the 90s.Only now it is picking up terminal velocity And where is the piece about TVs to drool about? viswanath
3.also though MNC's are setting up shops in NCR but most of corporate head offices are situated in mumbai so that professionals like CA ,ICWA AND Legal have a better chance in mumbai for earning.
4.beside with gujrat and karnataka on both the sides of state NCR can not compete since most of the business are owned by gujratis and marwari's who prefer mumbai to delhi.but for middle level and marketing jobs ,NCR is better.
5.besides delhi is situated between haryana and UP and both are crime rich states.
i am livin in delhi for last 20 year.i also visit mumbai on bussiness trips. delhi is beautiful , spacious , greener and with better transpot system.but there is a catch.delhi is also crime capital of india.most road accident deaths accour here.most people are murderd here by survents and robbers.elderly are never safe here .no women is safe travellin alone after 1 niht.chances are someone in car kidnape her are rape her.no auto or taxi runs on meter here.u have to plead them for a ride.at least thins are better in mumbai to some extent.jaan hai to jahaan hai.
RE:hidden facts
by jawed khan on Jul 13, 2008 04:32 PM Permalink
yes. western UP .is crimilal hub of india.even crimanal of other states are here. nobody is safe.
It is sad to see so many people just getting into ego fights over no real end benefit, just a satisfaction of egos. Do you guys really feel that any of our cities are doing well? I have lived in and around Delhi most of my life and have lived in Mumbai too for over 2 years. Mind you, even after the great infrastructural development of Delhi, life is still as hard and even after the great spirit that Mumbai has, life is no easier than a place like Delhi. Why should there be any competition at all between two cities? I think as citizens with the power to vote, we should seriously make our municipal corporators, mayors, MLAs, MPs etc. accountable for their promises and use the media effectively to size them up publicly. Only then can something happen. People, no one is asking you to pick up a broom and clean up things. We are all tax paying citizens - it is high time we started making people who are at the receiving end of our hard earned money accountable for getting it, just like the IT department scares the shit out of anyone who earns and pays taxes.
It is sad to see so many people just getting into ego fights over no real end benefit, just a satisfaction of egos. Do you guys really feel that any of our cities are doing well? I have lived in and around Delhi most of my life and have lived in Mumbai too for over 2 years. Mind you, even after the great infrastructural development of Delhi, life is still as hard and even after the great spirit that Mumbai has, life is no easier than a place like Delhi. Why should there be any competition at all between two cities? I think as citizens with the power to vote, we should seriously make our municipal corporators, mayors, MLAs, MPs etc. accountable for their promises and use the media effectively to size them up publicly. Only then can something happen. People, no one is asking you to pick up a broom and clean up things. We are all tax paying citizens - it is high time we started making people who are at the receiving end of our hard earned money accountable for getting it, just like the IT department scares the shit out of anyone who earns and pays taxes.
If Mumbai is so great how come so many multinationals are setting up shops in NCR such as Noida (UP), Ghaziabad (UP), and Gurgaon (Haryana)? These companies are certainly not in the business of 'samaj seva'. In any case when does Mumbai intend to solve the problems of 'garbage disposal' and 'bomb blasts'. I hear that there are bomb blasts just about every year in Mumbai
RE:If Mumbai is so great then...
by Abhijit Dongre on Jul 13, 2008 05:18 PM Permalink
Setting up shops is different thing, it does not generate actual revenues! Actual revenues are generated quality product, which is what Mumbai does effciently!
RE:If Mumbai is so great then...
by jawed khan on Jul 13, 2008 04:36 PM Permalink
u remember the bomb blast in delhi on dewali and eid eve few years back. many innocent lives were lost in sarojni nagar, paharanj, and other places
I don't know about the author, but the moment I travel to Delhi, I can feel the difference. The total apathy of the people, everyone out to con you, lack of manners in people, all put in perspective, Delhi is no patch on Mumbai.
RE:Delhi sucks !!
by Rohit Nigam on Jul 13, 2008 11:14 PM Permalink
dude ... UPites and biharis are very much courteous compared to Jats and punjabis ...
whenever i travel to maharashtra or south india..i feel immediate difference....Ugly dark and short people, Ugly girls (ammas) all around..while north indians are most good looking and enterprising people in India..no wonder most of the successful businessmen from India are north indians (Birlas, bajajs, Jindals, Mittals,KP Singhs)..also most of the presentable faces (Bollywood stars, models etc) are again from north
A good subject chosen for debate, but the real facts have not been included by the author. One thing he does mention is work ethics which are better in Mumbai than in Delhi. Now tell me, can a city better in work ethics can ever be beaten? I have been to Delhi some ten years ago and some three years ago, I have noticed lies everywhere around me! Everybody you meet is either a thug or an agent of even bigger thug! As a first timer just ask an auto driver to drop you to place A and he will take care of his own meter not the shortest possible distance. I haven't seen the urgency to go to work in Delhi as I have seen in Mumbai, every one in Delhi tries to be as lazy as possible to report to the office, be it government office or the private one. The fact that head quarters are located in Delhi doesn't mean that revenue is generated over there, the reason behind this is purely political nothing to do with financial equation. Can a common man servive on these? No way, and this explains why a hard working person prefers Mumbai over Delhi! Car sales in Delhi may be higher in Delhi than Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata put together, but even those who can affrod to have a car themselves prefer a much more dedicated Mumbai local system, why would you need a car when you have a local train every 2 minutes, is it the case in Delhi? Besides being financial hub Mumbai has the very best in education and medicals India has to offer. The technical and the medical staff in Mumbai is much much bette
RE:The present and the future story
by Abhijit Dongre on Jul 13, 2008 03:46 PM Permalink
....r than Delhi, aren't those part of infrastructure? Politicians in Delhi have always neglected Mumbai for their own sake.
Mumbai may have it's own problem, but once those are overcome Mumbai is impossible to beat much the say same way it is now!
RE:The present and the future story
by sibby mathews on Jul 13, 2008 04:22 PM Permalink
However, the trouble with the argument that Mumbai will eventually prevail over Delhi is that it is hard to imagine (given the evolving realities) Mumbai ever overcoming it's problems, as you appear to have assumed.
These realities are too numerous to be recounted here and are too well known to need recounting. But the one factor among these troubles that will certainly make Mumbai less and less relevant in times to come is the almost total indifference (indeed, it is acquiescence) the Mumbai commoner shows towards the mammoth and all pervading culture of corruption present in his city. This is true for the rest of the country as well, however, it is Mumbai that might first get convinced about the unsustainablity of a corrupt culture and the mutual incompatibility of true development and corruption.
The more bitter truth is that neither Delhi nor Mumbai nor any other city in India - given this trait of the commoner to wink at corruption - can sustain it's media managed and laboured image of an up and coming place in future.
The fact that Dubai has taken away from Mumbai the chance to be an international financial hub (despite it's over hyped work culture) is only one testimony for this truism.
RE:The present and the future story
by Abhijit Dongre on Jul 13, 2008 05:09 PM Permalink
I am not saying "Mumbai will eventually prevail" as you have presumed, I am saying Mumbai is superior right now and will stay that way, come what may! This means Mumbai is going to jump ahead further than Delhi in coming years once it's own problems are overcome.
At this point of time I am not counting Dubai as part of equation, simply because it is being developed by western coutries for their own business. In a truest sense it is an American city built in Asia with western technologies.
The corruption is existent in every city in India, Mumbai can not be an exception neither can Delhi be. Despite this brutal and bitter fact, the efficiency with which the civic bodies perform in Mumbai is far far superior to any city in India let alone Delhi. This is the true spirit of Mumbai!
RE:The present and the future story
by shripad dixit on Jul 13, 2008 05:48 PM Permalink
Dongre saaheb, Kaahi udyog naahi watat tumhala ..!! All the messages have reply from You ..!!
RE:The present and the future story
by deepak h on Jul 14, 2008 09:37 AM Permalink
Have you ever travelled in the Mumbai local on a weekday in the morning ..?
