New Delhi: After Allahabad became Prayagraj last year, and Faizabad district renamed as Ayodhya, another Indian town could now get renamed if a proposal by a Vishwa Hindu Parishad-backed body gets approval from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Seeking a change in the name of Bihar’s Bakhtiyarpur town and railway station, the Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, an umbrella body of Hindu seers, wrote to the CM on 9 September: “It is time to undo the sins of the past by renaming the town and the railway station.”
Bakhtiyarpur was named after Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khalji — the military general of Slave dynasty founder Qutubuddin Aibak — who had destroyed the famed Nalanda University in Bihar in the 12th century.
The body said the town should be renamed after economic philosopher Chanakya, or Buddhist monk Shilbhadra, or after the historical ‘Indrapushkarni’ lake near the Nalanda ruins.
What the letter says
In the letter, Swami Jitendranand Saraswati, general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, said it was a matter of grave concern that an oppressor like Bakhtiyar Khalji was still being glorified. He said Khalji had destroyed the Nalanda University and burnt down its library containing 90 lakh books.
Bihar was named after Buddhist viharas and has been a land of Buddhist educational institutions, said the letter. “Buddha has walked these lands and we are proud of it. In the land of the Buddha, should we keep towns and stations named after someone who has destroyed these institutions?”
The letter added, “For any self-respecting nation nothing can be more painful and hurtful than the fact that someone who destroyed the pride of the nation is being revered by having a town and railway station after him.”
The trend of renaming cities
In 2018, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh government had renamed the Mughalsarai Junction railway station as Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Junction.
Later, his government also renamed the city of Allahabad as Prayagraj.
At the time, Union minister and BJP MP from Bihar, Giriraj Singh had demanded that Bakhtiyarpur be renamed.
Bilkul badal deni chahiye , khilji filji KA naam kyo rakha hai abhi tk , lekin aisa Nitish kr hone nahi dega , kyoki vote v to Lena hai muslimo se. Aide mere hisaab se Hajipur KA v naam badal kr Haripur hona chahiye . Thx .
Odantapuri in place of bakhtiar pur wii be the new name.
It is time to correct the past mistakes.Barbarians should never be glorified and history books should be rewritten.
Sir,
Shilbhadra ya chanakya hi kyun rakhwana chahte hain? apj abdul kalam sahab ke naam se kyun nhi suggest karte? ?
Iske saath saath Hajipur KA v naam badalkar Haripur kr dena chahiye