Frantic Road Renaming Spree Erases History & Ruins Public Memory

Frenzied renaming of roads in the capital city of Delhi ruins public memory and misrepresents historical past. (Photo: Rahul Gupta/ The Quint)

When Aurangzeb Road in posh Lutyens’ Delhi was renamed as APJ Abdul Kalam Road, followed by Race Course Road which was rechristened as Lok Kalyan Marg, one thought that perhaps no more roads in New Delhi would suffer a similar fate as both the decisions had received flak from different quarters.

But it seems that the renaming spree will go on endlessly till the old order is changed. Few days ago, the Officers’ Mess Road in Chanakyapuri was renamed as Alexander M Kadakin Marg. Who was Kadakin? An NDMC official said, “Alexander Kadakin was born in Russia but his 'Karma-Bhoomi' was India where he served as an ambassador from 2009 until his last breath in January this year.”

NDA Taking a Cue from the Janata Party

The Janata Party government, despite having leaders from across the political spectrum, was also caught up in a renaming frenzy. They renamed the Irwin Hospital and Wellingdon Hospital as Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital respectively. And it was during the same Janata Party regime that the Rouse Avenue was renamed as the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, who is the ideologue of Jan Sangh.

Now the NDA government with the all-powerful BJP leading the show, is not thinking even twice before changing the name of any road. The iconic Teen Murti Chowk and the Teen Murti Marg will now be known after the Israeli city Haifa with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) approving the new names ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Jewish nation next month.

Close on the heels of the Teen Murti Marg, the Dalhousie Road has already become Dara Shikoh Road, after the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara Shikhoh is an old favourite of the saffron brigade.

Also Read: Race Course Road No More, Now It’s Lok Kalyan Marg

Trend of Renaming the Roads

The Albuquerque Road was the first road to be renamed after India got freedom in 1947. It was on the Albuquerque Road that Gandhi ji had fallen prey to the bullets of the evil Godse. Thus, it was renamed as the Tees January Marg in 1948.

A large number of roads going to hospitals got new names in the mid 60s and 70s. Those were the years when it was ensured that relics of the Raj should be done away with.

3, York Road (now Motilal Nehru Marg) was the residence of Pt Nehru when he was the Prime Minister in the interim government in 1946. Mercifully, it was not named after him. It is a different matter that the then authorities settled for his father’s name and renamed it as Motilal Nehru Marg. Delhi, though, has so many parks, roads and other places named after Pt Nehru. The road that is bang opposite the Jai Prakash Hospital is now known as Jawaharlal Lal Nehru Road. It was previously known as Circular Road.

And as the funeral procession of the third President of India, Dr Zakir Hussain passed through the Wellesley Road on its way to the Jamia Millia Islamia burial ground, it was later changed to Dr Zakir Hussain Marg.

As Maulana Azad used to stay on King Edward VII Road, it was later renamed after him. King George's Avenue became Rajaji Marg. And the busy Rajendra Prasad Road was named after the first President of India as he lived at 1, Queen Victoria Road bungalow when he was part of the Nehru’s cabinet in the interim government.

Renaming Colonial Roads

The Krishna Menon Marg was Hastings Road where the then Defence Minister Krishan Menon used to stay in one of the bungalows.

Interestingly enough, there is at least one road in the capital which has two names. Both are recognised by the postal department. Yes, we are talking about the Parliament Street which is an old name. Later, Sansad Marg was also accepted as an alternate name.

And a road which is at a shouting distance from the Sansad Marg was Old Mills Road. Even though it never had any mill or mills, still it was known as the Old Mills Road. Now, we all call it as the Rafi Marg.Rafi Ahmad Kidwai was the Education Minister in Nehru’s cabinet.

In the latter years, Cornwallis Road was renamed after great Tamil poet Subramaniam Bharati Marg. And Janpath was known as the Queen's Way. And can you think of Republic Day without Rajpath ? It was known as the King's Way.

Also Read: Renaming of Delhi’s Teen Murti Marg After Israel’s Haifa Deferred

Roads After Congress Leaders

And yes, Ratendone Road was renamed as Amrita Shergil Marg. Sardar Patel Marg was known as the Kitchener Road. Now, hardly anybody can recall the old names. They have simply faded away from public memory.

Do you know what were the old names of Copernicus Marg or Pandit Pant Marg ? Well, they were known as Lytton Road and Queen Mary's Avenue respectively.

And, Dr Bishambar Das Marg was Allenby Road and Tolstoy Marg was Keeling Road. Close to Tolstoy Marg is Pt Ravi Shankar Shukla Marg. It was known as the Canning Lane till early 80s. The Canning Road has now become Shrimant Madhav Rao Scindia Marg. Rajesh Pilot Marg is the new name of South End Road, which is just two minutes walk from Aurangzeb Road– sorry, APJ Abdul Kalam Road.

PS: While Aurangzeb Road is now part of history, Aurangzeb Lane is still there. You can see the board as well.

Also Read: After Gurugram, Will India Become ‘Hindustan’?

(The writer is former Editor, Somaiya Publications. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)