Haryana govt’s decision to rename Faridabad’s Badshah Khan Hospital irks public

The Haryana government’s decision to rename the Badshah Khan Hospital in Faridabad after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has received criticism from the

The Haryana government’s decision to rename the Badshah Khan Hospital in Faridabad after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has received criticism from the public.

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The inauguration plaque at the hospital reads: “Badshah Khan Hospital, the hospital built by the people of Faridabad with their own hands was named after their beloved leader Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan”. It was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on June 5, 1951.

The name change was notified by the Haryana’s director general health services notification on December 3, 2020, following orders from the chief minister.

“Abdul Gaffar Khan was the beloved leader of all the people, who came from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Many of our elders were part of the organisation Khudai Khidmatgar (servants of God) formed by him in the pre-Independence era. After resettling in Faridabad, they collectively worked in the construction of the civil hospital and named it Badshah Khan Hospital in the honour of Abdul Gaffar Khan,” says 79-year-old Mohan Singh Bhatia, the president of the Bhatia Sewak Samaj, an organisation of the people from NWFP.

“Badshah Khan Hospital is our identity and we request the government not to change its name. We are not against the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The government can build a new hospital and name it after him,” he said, adding that they may resort to protests

Faridabad’s New Industrial Town (NIT) was the biggest settlement of the people that moved to India after Partition.

“I was 15 when I came to Faridabad with my parents. He (Abdul Gaffar Khan) had a great association with the people who came from NWFP and even post Partition, he used to visit Faridabad to meet us. Our emotions are associated with Badshah Khan and it’s our identity. By removing the Badshah Khan name from the civil hospital, the state government is wiping out our history,” said 87-year-old Kewal Ram Bhaita.

Abdul Gaffar Khan, who is also known as Badshah Khan, died at the age of 97 in 1988 in Afghanistan.

When contacted, Faridabad chief medical officer DR Randeep Poonia, said: “Please speak to the Prime Minister’s office, which is in charge of the hospital regarding the change of name.”

Dr Vinay Gupta, principal medical officer, in charge of the hospital, said, “We received the notification from Haryana director general health services regarding the change of name of the hospital on December 14. From yesterday (December 15), we are using the new name in all our communication and references, including the hospital’s name and on the patient’s card. In the next couple of days, we will get the new board (with the new name) installed at the hospital premises.”

“We never imagined even in our wildest of the dreams that the government will change the name of Badshah Khan Hospital. They don’t know what Badshah Khan is for the people, who came from NWFP,” says 74-year-old Basant Khattak.

“He is our Gandhi and we don’t know what the current regimen is up to. Will they change the name of Taj Mahal also?” said Khattak. His father, the late Kanhiya Lal, was among the 81 refugees from NWFP, who sat in protest in front of Nehru’s residence, demanding a place for their resettlement.

“Now, after 73 years of partition, the government is displacing our identity,” added Khattak.