24, Akbar Road: Wrapping within its walls, history of Congress and much more

24, Akbar Road: More than just an office for the Congress, the premises was witness to the tenure of seven party presidents.

If walls could talk, 24, Akbar Road would write itself a book — of the days of the Raj, of the Burma of the 1960s and mostly of the dramatic ups and downs of the Congress that headquartered itself in its spacious premises 47 years ago.

Always more than an address, the Lutyens era bungalow that witnessed many a story and secret cedes its place as a political nerve centre on Wednesday (January 15, 2025) when the opposition party moves to its new office, the Indira Gandhi Bhawan, at Kotla Road a few kilometres away.

The Akbar Road bungalow once housed Sir Reginald Maxwell who was a member of Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's executive council. It was also home to a teen Aung San Suu Kyi in 1961 when her mother was appointed Ambassador to India.

The Congress has been its mainstay though. More than just an office for the party, the premises set in expansive lawns was witness to the tenure of seven Congress presidents.

It is the constant in the Congress history — and through it the country’s — as the party navigated the twists and turns of India’s politics through the decades.

Party old-timers and romantics agree that modern amenities and a larger area are the need of the hour but the emotional connect and unfolding of history associated with the 24, Akbar Road address will always stay strong.

On a chilly January morning in 1978, a team of 20 workers from the Indira Gandhi-headed breakaway Congress entered its precincts, the first Congress members to do so.