Govt to rename Ahmednagar district after Ahilya Devi Holkar

The Shinde-Fadnavis government shifted the statues out temporarily to celebrate the birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar on May 28, and in doing so had invited a barrage of criticism. There were public protests at various places and the opposition parties sought an apology from the government

Mumbai Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday announced the renaming of Ahmednagar district in western Maharashtra after Ahilya Devi Holkar, a prominent 18th-century ruler of the Malwa kingdom. The announcement was made at an event held to celebrate Ahilya Devi’s 298th birth anniversary in Ahmednagar.

Govt to rename Ahmednagar district after Ahilya Devi Holkar

The government’s pronouncement came days after a controversy erupted over the removal of Ahilya Devi’s and social reformer Savitribai Phule’s statues from Maharashtra Sadan, the state guest house in New Delhi. The Shinde-Fadnavis government shifted the statues out temporarily to celebrate the birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar on May 28, and in doing so had invited a barrage of criticism. There were public protests at various places and the opposition parties sought an apology from the government.

Just three days later, Shinde declared at the function that the government had decided to rename Ahmednagar ‘Ahilya Nagar’. “Her accomplishments were as vast as the Himalayas,” he said in his speech. “By giving her name to the district, the honour of the latter has also been increased to that level.” Shinde chose to justify the decision by saying that they were “all indebted to the land on which Ahilya Devi took birth”.

The decision was first announced by Shinde’s deputy Devendra Fadnavis, who made his speech just before the chief minister. He was responding to the renaming demand made by BJP leaders such as Ram Shinde and Gopichand Padalkar. Soon after that, state medical education minister Girish Mahajan also announced that the government would rename the Government Medical College and General Hospital, Baramati, after her. A government resolution to this effect was also issued by the medical education and drugs department.

Born on May 31, 1725, in the village of Chondi in Jamkhed, Ahmednagar, Maharani Ahilya Devi Holkar is regarded as one of the finest female rulers in Indian history. As a prominent ruler of the Malwa kingdom and part of the Maratha Holkar clan, she spread the message of dharma and promoted industrialisation in the 18th century. As a tribute to the ruler, Indore’s domestic airport has been named Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport. The Indore university too was renamed Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya.

The Maharashtra Congress welcomed the decision but said that the move was purely political with one eye on the forthcoming elections. “We welcome the decision but there is not a single minister in the state ministerial council who is inspired by Ahilyabai Holkar’s ideology and her ideas,” said Atul Londhe, chief spokesperson, state Congress. “Their decision is born out of something quite different.”