Gurgaon to Gurugram debate continues to rage on the web

Two weeks after the Haryana government decided to rename Gurgaon as Gurugram, the debate over the name continues with several online petitions and social media fronts challenging the decision.

Two weeks after the Haryana government decided to rename Gurgaon as Gurugram, the debate over the name continues with several online petitions and social media fronts challenging the decision.

Gurgaon is synonymous with swanky malls, luxury apartments and state-of-the-art offices. (Abhinav Saha/HT Photo)

Those raising their voice against the move are mostly from the corporate sector, as they feel the decision will dent the global image of the city. Gurgaon is synonymous with swanky malls, luxury apartments and state-of-the-art offices.

More than a dozen petitions against the name are active on Change.org — a global online platform to raise social issues. The matter is also discussed on Facebook pages and through Twitter hashtags.

A community page ‘Support Gurgaon – We’re against name change to Gurugram’ on Facebook has gained more than 8,000 likes. Majority of users are commenting against the decision.

In an April 12 cabinet meeting, the Haryana government decided to rename Gurgaon district as Gurugram and Mewat district as Nuh, citing demand by various social groups.

“Isn’t it unfair that the chief minister and his government decided to change the name of Gurgaon to Gurugram without even seeking the opinion of people living in the city?” Vipin Antil says in a petition on Change.org. As many as 198 people have signed the petition.

About 13 such petitions challenge the basis of the name change. The petitioners are asking whether people were consulted before the name change and if it will change infrastructure development in the city.

A number of polls on micro blogging site Twitter have shown mixed results.

“From #gurgaon to #gurugram. I’m still searching for logic behind this weird sounding name. Why creating unnecessary confusion?” @aparnatiwari41 tweeted.

There are, however, supporters of the name change too. “Shame on you guys. The original name of Gurgaon was Gurugram. No one is changing it, we are going back to the original. Stop making these useless pages and communities,” Nishant Khanna commented on a Facebook page that opposed the name change.

“Gurgaon became a global brand not because of the name but because of other reasons that helped the city grow. Correcting a mistake does not mean going in the wrong direction,” Rishi Agarwal, president of Gurugram Gaurav Sanstha — a front that is in support of the name change — said.

Agarwal, an engineer in a Gurgaon multinational corporation, said he also came across corporate employees who questioned the need of changing the name. “But, they are convinced when told about the history behind the name,” he said.