Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced on Monday that 15 places across the districts of Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar, which have names associated with Muslim history, will be renamed.
He stated that the decision is in accordance with “public sentiment, Indian culture, and heritage.”
In Haridwar district, Aurangzebpur will now be called Shivaji Nagar, while Gajiwali has been renamed Arya Nagar. Chandpur has been changed to Jyotiba Phule Nagar, and Mohammadpur Jat will now be known as Mohanpur Jat. Similarly, Khanpur Kursli has been renamed Ambedkar Nagar, Indrishpur is now Nandpur, and Khanpur has been changed to Shri Krishna Pur. Akbarpur Fazalpur will now be called Vijayanagar.
In Dehradun district, Miyanwala has been renamed Ramji Wala, while Pirwala is now Kesari Nagar. Chandpur Khurd has been changed to Prithviraj Nagar, and Abdullah Nagar will now be called Daksh Nagar.
In Nainital district, Nawabi Road has been renamed Atal Marg, and the road stretching from Panchakki to ITI has been named Guru Golwalkar Marg.
In Udham Singh Nagar, the Sultanpur Patti municipal council has been renamed Kaushalya Puri.
This comes amid the Hindu nationalists’ campaign against Muslim rulers of the past in the subcontinent, the place names associated with them, and the institutions built or linked to them.
