Renaming cities to cash in on the sentiments of native residents is a tried and tested method employed by parties in power. We have seen Calcutta become Kolkata, Bombay renamed to Mumbai, Madras to Chennai, in each of these cases, the motivation behind the change was to get rid of the name given to these cities during British Raj. However, the current government’s penchant to rename cities and roads seems less about restoring old Hindu glory, and more about wiping out the Mughals from the history of India. In 2018, we saw Mughalsarai station becoming Deen Dayal Upadhyay station, Delhi’s iconic Akbar road was rechristened as Maharana Pratap road. In 2015, Aurangzeb Road became Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road after the former president and missile man who died that year.
In the latest of name-change series, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that his government may rename Allahabad as Prayagraj before next year’s Kumbh Mela. Adityanath said that if a broad consensus is achieved, ‘Allahabad will be renamed as Prayagraj.’ “It might be the wish of many people that Allahabad can be renamed as Prayagraj. I think that it will give a very good message. If everyone agrees, we should know this city as Prayag Raj and it can be a good start,” Yogi said.
The chief minister’s announcement has been met with mixed response. The Congress opposed the proposal claiming that the name change would affect the history in which Allahabad has played a significant role since the days of Independence. Congress spokesperson Onkar Singh said that the region where Kumbh takes place is already called Prayagraj and if the government is so eager, they can make it a separate city, but the name of Allahabad should not be changed.
Former UP CM and Samjawadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav also slammed the Yogi government calling it a mockery of tradition.
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— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 15, 2018
Many on Twitter questioned the move, how changing names would end the problems of the city.
How changing a name will change anything? I have never understood this concept. Time, energy and resources should be put to provide the basic necessities of life to the people.
— Varuna Madanlal Rana (@VarunaRana) October 14, 2018
Yogi ji Sirf Naam hi badloge ya kuch kaam bhi karoge. Hum apko kaam karne ke liye vote diye the. ….
Naam badlne ke liye nahi. …..
Very embarrassing. …..— Swami Nath Dwivedi (@SwamiDwivedi) October 15, 2018
Master stroke by yogi..
This key step will end all hunger, joblessness encephalitis in UP— Faiz Say’s __ (@faiz_says) October 14, 2018
And how much will this name change cost the government exchequer ? I would assume crores. Could this money have been put to better use ?
— richa mohanty rao (@richamohanty) October 16, 2018
Namkaran minister , plz look at potholes in the state ?
— SS (@ME_CALLING_SELF) October 14, 2018
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— Jeet rokad (@jeet_rokad) October 14, 2018
