Uttar Pradesh: Aligarh likely to get this new name soon
The Aligarh Municipal Corporation has unanimously cleared a proposal to rename the city to Harigarh, per NDTV. This indicated Aligarh might soon join a growing number of places in Uttar Pradesh that have undergone name changes under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government. Aligarh's Mayor Prashant Singhal introduced the proposal during a civic body meeting on Monday, which received support from all council members. UP's incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has previously renamed Mughal Sarai, Allahabad, and the Faizabad district.
Why does this story matter?
Renaming cities and towns in India has mostly been associated with gaining political mileage, especially by getting rid of British-era names and giving the places their local identity back. Besides UP, several other states have renamed major cities. In April 2016, the BJP's Manohar Lal Khattar government changed the name of Gurgaon, the second-largest city in Haryana, to Gurugram. In Karnataka, under the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, 12 cities underwent name changes, reportedly to give them a "local flavor."
Hoper administration will take cognizance: Aligarh Mayor
Aligarh Mayor Singhal stated that as the renaming proposal was unanimously backed by all municipal councilors, it will now be sent to the Adityanath government for approval. "I hope that the administration will take cognizance of this and fulfill our demand to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh... This demand has been being raised for a long time," Singhal told the media.
How cities are renamed in India
Once a municipal body gives approval to a proposed name change resolution, it is submitted to the respective state government. The state government then sends it to Home Affairs Ministry for clearance. If approved, the state government can legally change the name of the city/town. It is pertinent to note that, previously in 2021, a proposal to rename Aligarh as Harigarh was already approved by a zila panchayat and subsequently sent to CM Adityanath.
Other renaming exercises, demands in Uttar Pradesh
In recent years, several BJP leaders have called for renaming other UP cities as well. Last year, an Agra lawmaker proposed renaming the city as Agravan or Agarwal, while in April, Union minister Giriraj Singh suggested renaming Muzaffarnagar. Since coming to power, the Adityanath government has renamed Mughal Sarai as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar, Allahabad as Prayagraj, and Faizabad district as Ayodhya district. The government has reportedly altered the names of numerous projects and schemes, including the Purvanchal Expressway.
