Present tense, future challenging
Delhi APMC’s Azadpur Mandi (wholesale market) is the largest fruit and vegetable market in Asia. Farmers and traders from across the country bring their produce to this market for selling. This Mandi is also one of the largest import and export hub for fruits and vegetables in India. A visit to this Mandi is always fascinating. From the lorry drivers travelling from all corners of India one can gather first-hand account of the socio-economic state of affairs in the country. Azadpur Mandi is an ideal reflection of socialist and secular society. One finds very rich traders & commission agents and very poor laborers together struggling to pass through filthy and narrow by-lanes of the Mandi. Hindu, Muslims and Sikhs work, eat and live together here most amicably. The social and legal issues like child labor, drugs, labor exploitation, human rights violation, labor’s dignity etc. are mostly meaningless here; and no one seems to be bothered about these “mundane” issues here. Her...