Guest Writer: Ritwik Mehta

Student: Thapar University

“What’s in the name” says Shakespeare. “Power” says Politicians. It is in the DNA of Indian politicians to rename the things according to their will so as to leave a legacy. The practice was started by The Grand Old Party and now continued by BJP. Our hospitals, streets, monuments and schemes are enriched with the names of Gandhi-Nehru. The never-ending list of things named after Nehru-Gandhi dynasty triumvirate includes: 17 Central Government Schemes, 49 State Government Schemes, 26 Sports Honours, 17 Sports Stadiums, 4 Geographical Landmarks, 9 Airports, Ports and Aviation Academies, 4 Power Plants, 99 Universities, 41 Awards, 17 Scholarships, 17 National Parks, 37 Medical Institutions and 100s Roads. Now when Allahabad has been renamed as Prayagraj and statue of Unity built by BJP then why opposition is so angry? But the biggest question is: Can we develop more by changing the name? Is it another way of grabbing more votes and appeasing Hindu as Ram Mandir seems like a dream?

Reason of changing Allahabad to Prayagraj:

A man was having severe pain in his back. When his pain became unbearable, he went to a doctor who took the X-ray of his back and found a severe problem.

Looking at the X-Ray, doctor said, “Well, there is serious problem in your back. Your ribs are broken. You need hospitalization for 3 months. The expenditure is $10,000”

“I can’t wait that long. I can’t afford such costly treatment”, said the man.

“Is there no other way?” “Why not?” said the doctor.

“I can retouch the X-Ray in just $25”.

This is what has been done to bring back the glory of Allahabad by renaming it to Prayagraj.

Akbar laid the foundations of an Imperial City at Prayag which was called ILLAHABAS or ILLAHABAD which was later transformed to ALLAHABAD by Shah Jahan. Prayag means the place of offerings which comes from its position at the SANGAM of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers. The Mughal rule is over and only ALAHABAD and its sanctity are left. A place of religious importance and the site from historic Kumbh Mela held every 12 years, is believed to be same place where the holy nectar falls. According to BJP, naming it to Prayag was appropriate and timely, given that the Kumbh Mela 2019 is few months away. The demand was made from The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex governing body of the 13 Hindu akharas in the country, all of which are important parts of Kumbh.

Government’s name changing spree is trending now as Mughalsarai Junction being renamed as Pandit Deendayal Upadhaya, while Agra as Agrasen, Faizabad as Saket, Aligarh as Harigarh, and Muzaffarnagar, Ahmedabad to Karnavati, Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar, Auranagabad to Sambhaji Nagar are on the hit list of BJP. But Modi and Yogi are no different as UPA used Nehru-Gandhi while SP used “Samajwadi” in their schemes. The reason is-the old names of cities should be used and not the names given by the invaders.

Our present day culture is amalgamation of ideas, customs and social behaviours we have learnt from the people who lived and perhaps ruled before our time. One cannot deny the influence Mughals had on the history of the country; be it the cuisines, the architectural marvels or the atrocities our ancestors had to face. Since the Lok Sabha elections are around the corner, it is becoming crucial for BJP to appease its core vote bank, the hard-line Hindutva preachers. The party is constantly seen diverting from its agenda of development in the country to go back to the core reason of winning the election in 2014.

The concept of changing re-naming place and landmarks with that of the Vedic times seem to hold a cultural belief in the mind of BJP leaders. BJP top guns see it as an attempt to keep the Hindu vote bank within its grip.

When the whole nation wants government to bring more jobs, remove illiteracy and poverty, stop insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir then such practices indicate that they don’t have any vision for the country. If the corridor of power announces Lakhs of Jobs, cuts down inflation and prevents the deaths of the soldiers, it would be a win-win situation for them in 2019 General Elections.