Skewed modernisation means a farewell to Delhi's tongas

Plans for a pre-Commonwealth Games facelift signal a too-hasty exit for the city's horse-drawn carriages

The Mughals used them. The British used them. But now the government in India is finding it difficult to accommodate the tongas (or horse-drawn carriages) of Delhi. The decision isn't due to fanatical animal rights activists; nor can it be called a sincere move to decongest roads. This a part of the campaign to spruce up the image of Delhi before the Commonwealth Games start in the capital in October and foreigners start swarming into the city to witness the tale of urban boom the country has been boasting about.

The decision is cynically clear. All "un-modern" sights, sounds and smells are being sanitised. The tongas have become sluggish on the smooth four-lane streets of Delhi, a pain for the speed-hungry imported cars, and an awkward sight in front of swanky malls. The projection needs to be perfect. The country doesn't get enough chances of hosting mega-events, and the foreign traffic that the country will witness in that period will be unprecedented.

The clacking of the hooves on the tarred streets, or the ringing of the decorative bells of the horses, or the occasional neigh – acting as the alternative to honking – were part of the everyday scene in the walled city of Old Delhi. Every "picture postcard" a tourist would take of the forts and crowded bazaars would inevitably include the iconic tonga. Generations and centuries passed for the tongawallas and their horses, carting off people and loads through the old city. But now, sadly, they will be relegated to sepia-toned history.

Of the 150 tonga-pullers that remain today, most will be redeployed as drivers of the black and yellow three-wheeler auto-rickshaws. They are naturally unhappy. No longer will they have to brush the horse's coat, nail in shoes or clean the stables, habits running through their genes for generations. They made part of our history.

The axe has fallen not just on the tongas but on several other facets of the city. Though begging has been illegal in the country for some time now, faces of the malnourished, shredded clothing and runny noses always extend their hands asking for coins at traffic stops. But with the Commonwealth Games pressurising the need for squeaky clean getaways through traffic points, the government passed orders for the beggars to vacate the pavements they had been dwelling for so long. There is absolutely no systematic plan for any rehabilitation of these people.

It is a skewed version of modernisation that hastily calls for a cosmetic makeover of history and reality rather than trying to carry forward real improvement. There should have been planning and proper execution years ago, right from the dreamy days when the government decided to start putting together its bid for the Games.