'Does not align with pattern': Assam govt drops ex-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's name from medical college in Barpeta

The Assam government on Tuesday announced that Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital would be renamed as Barpeta Medical College and Hospital.

In a press conference following a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said most government medical colleges in the state are named after the places where they are located.

"All our medical colleges are named after their locations. We see that in the medical colleges in Guwahati, Dhubri, Silchar, Bongaigaon, Biswanath and Sonitpur. Somehow, the Barpeta one was named as Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital, which does not align with the naming pattern of other medical colleges," he said.

Sarma added that the renaming was done to avoid confusion.

"Because of its name, many people ask whether it is a private medical college. That is why the cabinet today decided to change the name and make it Barpeta Medical College and Hospital," he said.

The chief minister said that the government will name another institution after former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in recognition of his stature.

"As Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was India's president and the first one from Assam, the cabinet decided that another educational or cultural institution of the same or higher stature will be named after him. We will take a decision in this regard to keep his name alive," he added.

Established in 2011, the medical college is affiliated with Srimanta Sankardeva University of Health Sciences and has been offering undergraduate courses since 2012 and postgraduate medical education since 2019.