How Delhi Gymkhana closure will impact India's global image, writes ex-IPS Azad | Opinion

DElhi’s iconic new delhi Gymkhana bludgeon is header towards i of the to the highest degree dramatic institutional disruptions in recent memory. The writing, many would say, had long been on the wall.The club has been entangled in legal and administrative disputes, from proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal to court interventions and controversies surrounding its management and elections.But the closure order touches upon the State’s relationship with legacy institutions, urban heritage, quality of life, and even India’s global image.Politically, this may appear to be a safe and easy target. No political party is likely to lose votes over the fate of Gymkhana. The Left will not rise in protest, nor will the Right. The “jholawallah” activists will celebrate it as a symbolic blow against privilege. Thousands who could not get membership may privately gloat over an exclusive club finally been brought to heel.The optics are very tempting, of a powerful government cracking down on an elite enclave in Lutyens’ Delhi.But beneath the populist satisfaction lies an uncomfortable irony and the hard truth. It was not a vote bank, nor a beneficiary of welfare politics and not a contributor to party coffers.True, the land was originally allotted in 1913 during the colonial era. But if historical allotments are now to become grounds for institutional dismantling, then the principle must apply uniformly across Delhi.Countless educational institutions, cultural bodies, clubs, trusts and establishments occupy land leased by the government. Selective scrutiny raises questions about consistency and fairness.The official justification relating to defence and security requirements hardly stands. If the relocation of the Prime Minister’s residence is imminent, then one is entitled to ask why this specific parcel of land has suddenly become indispensable from a defence standpoint.For generations, the Gymkhana has functioned as more than a recreational club. It became one of the rare urban spaces where retired civil servants, military officers, diplomats, academics, professionals and business leaders interacted outside the rigid compartments of officialdom.Its tennis courts, walkways, cottages, nursery and green expanses offered something increasingly rare in India’s congested metros — breathing space and civic calm.Temporary memberships allowed visiting CEOs, diplomats and foreign professionals to engage informally with Indian counterparts.Such spaces matter more than what governments often realise.Diplomacy is not conducted only through embassies and conference tables. Nations are also understood through their social ecosystems, civic culture and informal networks. Around the world, historic clubs and civic institutions often become soft-power platforms where ideas, investments and relationships quietly evolve. When foreign investors and international executives evaluate a city, they do not look merely at GDP charts or tax incentives. They assess quality of life, institutional continuity, urban culture, and the availability of civil spaces for meaningful interactions.Reform and destruction not synonymousIndia today rightly aspires to be a major economic and geopolitical power. And yet, there are concerns about foreign businesses shifting regional bases elsewhere in Asia because of infrastructure stress, regulatory unpredictability, and urban quality-of-life issues.In this context, dismantling rather than upholding legacy institutions sends an unintended message of institutional insecurity.None of this means elite institutions should remain beyond accountability. Transparency, fair elections, financial propriety and compliance with the law are essential. If irregularities occurred, they must be addressed firmly. But reform and destruction are not synonymous. Mature states preserve heritage even while correcting wrongs.India is home to the poor, the middle class and the affluent. Governance cannot become an exercise in pitting one category against another.The aspirations of the underprivileged deserve priority, but quality of life for professionals, scholars, diplomats, entrepreneurs and retired public servants also matters in a modern nation. Cities derive character from institutions accumulated over decades, sometimes centuries.Closing the Delhi Gymkhana may yield immediate applause in some quarters as an anti-elite gesture, earning short-term political brownie points. But erasing a landmark of Delhi’s civic legacy risks diminishing the city far more than it empowers the State.Nations become great not merely by building new monuments, but by preserving and reforming the institutions that gave their cities both history and character.--Yashovardhan Jha Azad is a retired IPS officer who has served as Central Information Commissioner; Secretary, Security, Cabinet Secretariat; and Special Director, Intelligence Bureau. Opinions expressed here are his personal views.