Bhopal’s Habibganj station renamed after tribal queen
The Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate Habibganj railway station, redeveloped with modern airport-like amenities, on November 15, during his visit to the state capital.
The revamped Habibganj railway station in Bhopal has been renamed after Gond queen Rani Kamlapati, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Saturday, while thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate this renamed railway station, redeveloped with modern airport-like amenities, on November 15, during his visit to the state capital. The station was revamped at a cost of ₹450 crore under Public Private Partnership mode in three years.
Hailing Rani Kamlapati as the pride of the Gond community, Chouhan, in a statement, said: “Rani Kamlapati is the pride of the Gond community and the last Hindu queen of Bhopal. Her kingdom was usurped by Afghan commander Dost Mohammed by deceit under a conspiracy. When she saw that victory was not possible, she committed ‘Jal Jauhar’ (a practice of committing suicide) to save her respect.”
The chief minister added that Rani Kamlapati’s son Naval Shah had been killed at Lalghati, a part of Bhopal.
On Friday, the state government had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs about renaming the station, stating that it will honour the legacy and bravery of the widow of the Gond ruler of Nizam Shah. Following the Centre’s decision, a gazette notification was issued in this regard on Saturday.
“She was the last Hindu queen of Bhopal. Habibganj railway station has been named ‘Rani Kamlapati’ after her. It is a matter of great satisfaction and joy for me. Prime minister shri Narendra Modi I thank you from my heart,” the chief minister later tweeted.
The Gond community comprises the largest tribal group of India with more than 1.2 crore population.
The Centre’s move evoked a mixed response. While the tribal community objected to the “distorted” facts about the queen, a few experts claimed Rani Kamlapati had not done anything for Bhopal.
“Habibganj railway station was located in a village which was named after Habibullah, grandson of Nawab Sultan Jehan Begum. After the death of his father Nasirullah Khan, Habibullah was about to become a ruler of Bhopal but Sultan Jehan Begum interfered and ensured the rule for his youngest son Hamidullah Khan in 1926. Later, Habibullah left Bhopal. He remained a bachelor and died in Pune,” Ashar Kidwai, history professor at Safia Arts College in the city, said.
“It is true that Habibullah did not do much for the city, so his name can be changed, but like Habibullah, Rani Kamlapati had also not done anything for the development of the city. It should be named after any member of the Nawab’s family or in the name of Barkatullah, a great freedom fighter from Bhopal. The Bharatiya Janata Party has tried to push the agenda of impressing the tribals and calling them Hindu by doing this,” Rizwan Uddin Ansari, a historian from Bhopal, said.
The tribals were upset for referring to Rani Kamlapati as a “Hindu queen”.
“Rani Kamlapati’s real name was Rani Kamlavati Pallam. The Gond kingdom was spread from Mandla to Bhopal. A queen of Gond Johnson from Jabalpur, Rani Durgavati was a glorious queen of the kingdom for fighting fiercely with the Mughals. Rani Kamlapati, who was a wife of Nizam Shah, was the last queen of the Gond Kingdom but she was not a Hindu queen,” Devraven Bhalavi, an activist who works for the community, said.
“In our constitution, the tribal community has a separate identity but the BJP is not missing any chance to call them a Hindu. We believe in the Constitution and the BJP is following its own constitution. Their intention is very clear, to woo tribals and later, declare them as a Hindu,” Vibhuti Jha, an expert in history of the tribal community, said.
The opposition Congress also sought to know the reason behind the need to rename the station.
“Habibullah Khan gave land and also money for the construction of a small railway station in the 1920’s. Later in 1969, the state government constructed it as a second railway station in the city after Bhopal railway station in the name of Habibullah only. They are unnecessarily changing the name to end the identity of Nawab’s family, who developed it beautifully,” Congress MLA from Bhopal, Arif Masood, said.
BJP MP from Bhopal, Pragya Thakur, who wanted the station to be renamed after former prime minister late Atal Bihar Vajpayee, also welcomed the decision.
“It is a matter of pride for us that the railway station will be named after the last Hindu Gond queen of Bhopal. I am happy that our demand to change the name has been accepted by the central government,” BJP MP from Bhopal, Pragya Thakur, said.