MP govt renames Bhopal's Islam Nagar as Jagdishpur

The gazette notification announcing the name change was issued on Wednesday after nod was obtained from the Union government, the move attracting the ire of the opposition Congress which claimed such acts were being done by the state Bharatiya Janata Party government to divert people's attention from corruption and lack of development.

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has renamed historic Islam Nagar in state capital Bhopal to Jagdishpur, which was the area's earlier name, an official said on Thursday. The gazette notification announcing the name change was issued on Wednesday after nod was obtained from the Union government, the move attracting the ire of the opposition Congress which claimed such acts were being done by the state Bharatiya Janata Party government to divert people's attention from corruption and lack of development.

Islam Nagar was the capital of the Bhopal princely state established by Afghan-Mughal ruler Dost Mohhamad Khan. Last year, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government had renamed Habibganj railway station as Rani Kamlapati railway station after the legendary Gond queen, while Hoshangabad district was renamed as Narmadapuram.

Attacking this trend of renaming areas with a Mughal link, MP Congress media cell chairperson KK Mishra said, "Since lack of development as well as corruption has become the identity of the BJP, it is indulging in the tactics of changing names to divert people's attention." However, MP BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi defended the move, saying the aim was to "re-establish those heroic figures in the minds of the people who were ignored in history in a systematic manner as part of a larger conspiracy".

After "real names" are brought forward in this manner, the "symbols of colonialism" automatically get wiped out from the minds of the people, he claimed.
Incidentally, the Union government had recently renamed Mughal Gardens in Rashtrapati Bhavan as 'Amrit Udyan', which was criticised by some opposition parties. (PTI)