The Uttarakhand government on Monday announced the renaming of 15 places in Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts in the state.
The change of names was done in accordance with “public sentiments, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said while making the announcement.
“Taking an important decision today, chief minister Dhami has announced the change in the names of various places located in Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts,” the statement said further.
“The change of names is being done in accordance with public sentiments, Indian culture and heritage so that people can take inspiration from the great men who contributed to Indian culture and its preservation,” Dhami said while making the announcement.
In the Haridwar district, Aurangzebpur will be renamed Shivaji Nagar, Ghaziwali will be renamed Arya Nagar, Chandpur will be renamed Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Mohammadpur Jat will be renamed Mohanpur Jat, Khanpur Kursali will be renamed Ambedkar Nagar, Idrishpur as Nandpur, Khanpur as Krishanpur and Akbarpur Fazalpur as Vijaynagar.
In the Dehradun district, Mianwala will be renamed Ramji Wala, Peerwala as Kesari Nagar, Chandpur Khurd as Prithviraj Nagar and Abdullah Nagar as Daksh Nagar.
{{/usCountry}}In the Dehradun district, Mianwala will be renamed Ramji Wala, Peerwala as Kesari Nagar, Chandpur Khurd as Prithviraj Nagar and Abdullah Nagar as Daksh Nagar.
{{/usCountry}}In Nainital district, Nawabi Road will be renamed Atal Marg and Panchakki to ITI road will be renamed Guru Golwalkar Marg.
In Udham Singh Nagar district, Nagar Panchayat Sultanpur Patti will be renamed Kaushalya Puri.
State BJP media-in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said the decision will promote the country’s heritage and culture.
“This decision is highly commendable. Our party welcomes it. The chief minister has been working for the state’s culture and heritage, whether it is addressing the issue of demographic change or working in the interest of the state. This decision is another step in that direction. For centuries, the legacy of foreign invaders had been prevailing in our country, despite the immense atrocities they inflicted upon us. Renaming so many places named after foreign invaders will help promote our heritage and culture,” he said.
However, Congress state vice president Suryakant Dhasmana slammed the decision, saying that the “timing of the announcement is very questionable”.
“When people are celebrating Eid and Navratri, the timing of making such an announcement is very questionable and unfortunate. This makes it clear that BJP government in the state is brazenly taking ahead its agenda of religious polarisation . They are not focussing on pressing issues like unemployment and hill migration in the state, but rather on such divisive issues like this which has nothing to do with the development of the state.”