Gorakhpur: A draft delimitation order issued by the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation has changed the “Muslim-sounding names” of around a dozen wards, prompting a sharp reaction from leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.
The changing of names was part of the delimitation exercise under which the number of wards went up to 80 in Gorakhpur, with several of these named after iconic personalities and freedom fighters.
A senior official said on Saturday, September 3 that people can file their objections within a week and after their disposal, the delimitation will be approved.
Samajwadi Party leader and Ismailpur (which has been changed to Sahabganj) corporator Shahab Ansari charged that changing of names is an attempt at polarisation.
Ansari said the party will hold a meeting in this regard on Sunday and a delegation will meet the district magistrate to raise the objection on Monday.
Congress leader Talat Aziz termed the name-changing exercise as a waste of money.
“I fail to understand what the government will achieve through this exercise,” the leader asked.
Mayor Sitaram Jaiswal said the new names evoke a feeling of pride. He said wards were named after personalities like Ashfaqullah Khan, Shiv Singh Chetri, Baba Gambhir Nath, Baba Raghavdas, Rajendra Prasad and Madan Mohan Malviya.
Also read: What’s In A (Re)Name?
Municipal commissioner Avinash Singh said objections can be sent within a week to the additional chief secretary, Urban Development Department, Lucknow. After the disposal of the objections, the delimitation will be approved, he said.
Gorakhpur, the home town of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, will now have 80 wards.
Below is a list of wards which have had their names changed:
| Old Name | New Name |
| Humanyunpur (North) | Hanumant Nagar |
| Turkmanpur | Shaheed Ashfaqullah Nagar |
| Rasoolpur | Maharana Pratap Nagar |
| Daudpur | Raghupati Sahay Firaak Nagar |
| Jafra Bazaar | Atma Ram Nagar |
| Ismailpur | Sahabgang |
| Miya Bazaar | Maya Bazaar |
| Qazipur Khurd | Jagannathpur |
| Alinagar | Aarya Nagar |
| Chaksa Hussain | Sant Jhoole Lal Nagar |
| Mutipur | Ghanta Ghar |
| Bheriyagar | Vishnupuram |
| Mohaddipur | Sardar Bhagat Singh Nagar |
| Hansupur | Sri Ram Chowk |
| Rustampur | Chandra Shekhar Azad Chowk |
| Elahibahg | Bandhu Singh Nagar |
Since Yogi Adityanath first became chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017, many such revisions in the ‘Muslim-sounding’ names of areas within the state have taken place.
In October, 2018, the name of Allahabad was changed to ‘Prayagraj’ through a proposal cleared by the state cabinet. Just two weeks later, Adityanath announced that Faizabad would be renamed to Ayodhya.
In the same year, the railway station, Mughalsarai, was renamed after RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhayaya and Hazratganj Chaurah in Lucknow was renamed ‘Atal Chowk’ after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
And this process is not unique to Uttar Pradesh; Bharatiya Janata Party governments in other states as well have attempted to change ‘Muslim-sounding’ or ‘Mughal-era’ names of places.
In April this year, leaders of the BJP in Delhi took it upon themselves to change the name of Muhammadpur to ‘Madhavpuram’ through a renaming ceremony, even though officials of the AAP-ruled Delhi government insisted that the name change has no official basis.
Thereafter, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta wrote a letter to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal identifying 40 villages with “Muhgal-era” names, requesting that he change them.
(With PTI inputs)