Why is India on a renaming spree?

Published on 16-Nov-2018

Khushboo Razdan

What's in a name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose… by any other name would smell as sweet…" when William Shakespeare wrote these lines in the 16th century for his popular play "Romeo and Juliet", he wouldn't have imagined people debating the importance of "a name" in the 21st century and how it would become crucial to the identity of a nation which is over 2,000 years old.

According to a latest report by Indian news agency, Press Trust of India, in the last year alone, the Indian government has given consent to rename at least 25 cities and landmarks across the country, and there are many such proposals still pending.

In August, Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India, renamed India's busiest railway station – Mughalsarai Junction – to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, named after a leading ideologue from the Jan Sangh, the ruling BJP's predecessor party. On February 11, 1968, the leader was found dead in mysterious circumstances near the station.

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