The Army continues to occupy nearly 3/4 of the Red Fort and thus maintain the imperial tradition which began after the failure of the First War of Independence in 1857.

On my entry in public life in 1979 or so, I took up the question with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who agreed, in principle, that the Army would vacate the Red Fort in stages. Twenty years later, the Army is perhaps more strongly entrenched.

There is no reason, whatsoever, for this occupation of a historic monument which should be open to all Indians and even to foreign society.

Once the Army vacates the Fort, the ugly accretions, some perhaps functionally needed, can be removed from the campus and the Wall and the Fort can be restored, as far as possible, to their original glory - at least by marking out the various palaces and structures that dotted it at its heyday. But that is for the future and for the ASI.

In the meantime, may I request you to fulfill the commitments made by the Govt. and instruct the Army to work out a time-bound plan for its phased vacation within the next 2 or 3 years. For this act of courage and political will all Shahjahanabad will salute you.