Renaming Allahabad to Prayagraj: Public Sentiment or Politics?

Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim

The city where rivers meet on the banks of Sangam, where civilisations come together, where ‘Akbar Allahabadi’ doesn’t belong to a community but is a beloved poet. By changing Allahabad to Prayagraj, what message is the government trying to convey?

Are the city’s 12 lakh people being subjected to a ‘political experiment’? At least, that is what it looks like on the face of it.

First, from home to office, buses to tents, Chief Minster Yogi Adityanath was busy changing the colour to saffron. And now he is busy changing names.

Elections are approaching and in such a scenario, logic is thrown out of the window. A barrage of "new facts" is thrown at everyone.

These “new facts” are supposed to prove that renaming is not a government’s decision but a facilitation of public sentiment.

Public sentiment is a strange term, right? Probably the most flexible term in the world of politics. Use it as you please.

Now, let’s get you familiarised with some bitter truths. An innocent person is shot dead in the heart of the state’s capital and the public is outraged, and yet, senior officers aren't punished.

Then, public-sentiment gets trampled beneath the chief minister’s chair.

When the cops in khaki shout ‘thaay thaay’, embarrass us, public sentiment is hurt. When due to lack of oxygen innocents die in their mother’s laps, public sentiment too dies with them. When malaria turns villages into graveyards, the dead body of public sentiment awaits its post-mortem.

This approach was anticipated. When months ago, Mughalsarai station was renamed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction, we figured this pattern might continue.

Now, the doubt has become reality. In the game of names, many lines are being drawn.

An attempt is being made to divide different religions. We need to carefully examine this. Because changing Gurgaon to Gurugram, Poona to Pune is a political tactic aimed at renaming some specific places. In the upcoming elections, this is expected to give the government political leverage.

This arrangement of renaming cities in hope of garnering votes is shameful.

Understand the game. Stay away from this, oppose this. Because a city isn’t just a name. It's an identity, a memory.

And Allahabad is a strong signature of the 'Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb'.

(This story was originally published on Quint Hindi)