Gallows and tunnel claims in Delhi Assembly: Historians say ‘unlikely’

The Delhi Assembly’s ongoing debate over alleged secret tunnels and gallows within the Assembly building came to a close on Thursday, after Speaker Vijender Gupta announced the matter would be referred to the Privileges Committee for a formal inquiry.

The Speaker said the committee would summon former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia and others in connection with what he described as misleading claims made during the previous government’s tenure.

The controversy stems from assertions made by AAP leaders, including Kejriwal and Sisodia, that the Assembly complex housed a British-era gallows (‘phansi ghar’) and a secret tunnel connecting the building to the Red Fort, allegedly used to transport prisoners.

However, historians and experts have dismissed the claims as unfounded. Historian Swapna Liddle said the existence of a gallows in the Assembly premises was “very unlikely”. “This building was constructed as a Parliament by the colonial government. Nobody builds gallows in such a structure,” she said.

Liddle also expressed scepticism about the tunnel theory, stating: “I have never come across any accounts or credible evidence suggesting a secret tunnel from the Assembly to the Red Fort.” She added that she has not seen any documents or historical records to support either claim.

In a notable development, the Delhi Archaeology Department has neither investigated the claims nor received any formal request to do so from the government.

To counter the AAP-era narrative, Speaker Gupta presented a 1912 map of the Assembly premises from the National Archives, along with research from institutions including the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), historians from Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the MCD Heritage Cell, Delhi Archives and other independent scholars. None of these sources found evidence of a gallows or tunnel.

The Delhi Assembly building, constructed in 1912 to house the Central Legislative Assembly during British rule, served as India’s Parliament House until 1950. It became home to the Delhi Legislative Assembly after Delhi was granted a legislative body in the 1990s.

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