The ‘Phansi Ghar’ controversy, along with debate on the floor of Delhi Assembly, has alleged that the ousted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Arvind Kejriwal created a false history about the heritage Old Secretariat building, saying that it housed hanging gallows and many prominent freedom fighters were hanged there. This has been disputed by the present Speaker Vijender Gupta and chief minister Rekha Gupta, who claim that a false impression was created about the two-storeyed tiffin room being a hanging house.

This contradiction has exposed how history can become a tool of political symbolism. For the AAP, a party that has tried to project itself as a custodian of revolutionary and anti-colonial legacies, associating the Old Secretariat with the martyrdom of freedom fighters served a powerful emotional and nationalist description of the building. Such accounts bolster public sentiment, especially among youth and marginalised communities who draw inspiration from tales of resistance. In declaring the site as a ‘Phansi Ghar’, the AAP government well attempted to transform a heritage administrative structure into a hallowed space of sacrifice and patriotic pride.

Such........

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