Krishna Nagar, Jain Mandir Chowk, Ram Gali, Dharampura, Lakshmi Chowk – no, these are not names of Indian cities.
They are the new names of several streets and roads in Lahore.
Shocked? Pakistan, an Islamic country, has decided to rename several of its streets and roads in Lahore to Hindu names to revive the city’s pre-Partition heritage.
Several historic streets, alleys and roads in Lahore were renamed over the past decades, replacing British-era and Hindu-associated names with those of Islamic, Pakistani or local figures.
“The Punjab Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, a few days ago had approved a plan to restore the original and historical names of various streets and roads in Lahore and its neighbourhood,” a Punjab government official told PTI.
This initiative is led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is also the head of the Lahore Heritage Areas Revival project. His proposal got cabinet approval last week.
Meanwhile, Indian politicians, mostly from right-wing aligned Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are busy renaming historic cities and places to Hindu names, playing religious vote bank politics.
In almost all cases, this move is defended as an attempt to bring back Akhand Bharat, an anti-Muslim narrative, viciously promoted by several leaders of the BJP, the RSS and other Hindutva-affiliated groups like Bajrang Dal, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
In recent years, India has seen Allahabad turning into Prayagraj, Faizabad into Ayodhya, Aurangabad into Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Osmanabad into Dharashiv, and Hoshangabad into Narmadapuram – because apparently changing signboards is now a preferred form of governance.
(With PTI inputs)
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