Hindu priest forces railways to erase MP station’s name written in Urdu

Mahamandaleshwar Acharya Shekhar of Avahan Akhada said it is just a start and railways should remove names written in Urdu from the signboards of railways stations named after Hindu gods and goddesses

Published on: Mar 5, 2021, 13:48:55 IST

By Shruti Tomar

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The Western Railways was forced to erase from a signboard the name of the newly-built Chintaman Ganesh railway station in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain in Urdu on Wednesday night after a Hindu priest threatened agitation against the use of the language.

Mahamandaleshwar Acharya Shekhar of Avahan Akhada said it is just a start and railways should remove names written in Urdu from the signboards of railways stations named after Hindu gods and goddesses.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) backed Shekhar. “The signboards are to inform people or appease people. Why were the railways’ officials so adamant to write the name in Urdu? They just want to appease a section of people. They should respect the demand of saints,” said Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesman Rajnesh Agrawal, without elaborating what he meant by the appeasement and to whom.

Also Read | Third PIL against MP’s anti-conversion law; HC issues notice to state govt

Urdu, which originated in India in the 12th century, is one of the 22 scheduled languages included in the Constitution’s Eighth Schedule. A majority of its 70 million speakers live in India.

Opposition Congress leaders said they do not need a controversy over the issue. JP Dhanopia, a party spokesman, said he would not comment on Shekhar’s demand. “...Railways follow the norm of writing the names of stations on signboards in Hindi, Urdu, and English and in southern states in their regional languages. It has nothing new. So, people should not create controversy. Urdu is a rich language, and it should not be connected with any religion.”

Jitendra Kumar, a railways public relations officer, said the name was written in Urdu by mistake due to some communication gap. “We rectified our mistake by removing the name by yellow colour paint,” said Kumar.

The Western Railways has constructed the railway station six km from Ujjain along the route connecting Indore and Ujjain with Fatehabad. It has been named after a famous temple Chintaman Ganesh of the area, said Kumar.

Writer and poet Shyam Munshi said the railways should have behaved sensitively. “I am ashamed of it. Urdu and Hindi languages are like conjoint twin sisters and we cannot separate these two languages. It is unfortunate that people are trying to find out the religion of a language.” (With inputs from Anand Nigam in Ujjain)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.