New names don’t catch on, say prominent Bengalureans

Some call renaming pointless, others say it shows the folly of trying to erase history

Many prominent Bengalureans are speaking out against the practice of renaming public landmarks and institutions. Earlier this week, BJP National General Secretary CT Ravi, appealed to the government to change the name of the BBMP-run Indira Canteens to Annapoorneshwari Canteens.

A demand has also emerged to rename the Nagarahole forest, now called Rajiv Gandhi National Park, after Field Marshal K M Cariappa, the first Indian commander-in-chief of the army. The renaming bug has caught on after the Modi government announced that India’s tallest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, will now be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.

‘Time to prioritise’

Maya Jayapal, author of ‘Bangalore, The Story of a City’, says very few people remember the new names because they are so accustomed to using the old names. “Any civilised community would work on two things — safety of citizens and managing garbage. These are real issues that need attention,” says Maya.

‘Renaming should not be political’

Suresh Kumar S, former minister of primary and secondary education, says, “Earlier, Residency Road was changed to Field Marshal Cariappa Road. Later, Richmond Road was changed to General Thimmaiah Road. Unfortunately, people still use the old names and the new names will be only in government records. Those who consider changing names must first consider the sentiment of the local populace before executing the change. Renaming should never be political.”

‘Draw up a policy for renaming’

Vivek Shanbhag, writer, is not in favour of renaming public institutions. He says, “We must stop all renaming even though the original name is not to our liking. Once started, there will be no end to it. As far as naming is concerned, the government must draw up a policy that is acceptable to all political parties and the process must be transparent and involve the participation of the citizens.”

‘Don’t change with prejudice’

Suresh Moona, columnist who writes on Bengaluru history, says renaming is done under two circumstances. “One, to remember the contribution of someone or mark something significant. Second is when after decades and centuries something more significant comes up. In a majority of the cases the history is lost,” says Moona. He feels renaming must be done judiciously after considering all aspects and circumstances.

‘Deflecting from real issues’

Priyank M Kharge, MLA from Chittapur and Congress spokesperson, says Jawaharlal Nehru spent 3,000-odd days in jail and there are many institutions named after him to honour his contributions to India.

“Mahatma Gandhi appears on every currency. There must be a fair comparison before renaming starts. Who has contributed what and how much and whether something deserves to be renamed,” he says.

The BJP government has nothing concrete to show and they are changing names just to deflect people’s attention away their failures which include fuel price hike, unemployment and the farmer protests. They want to keep the people engaged with frivolous things, he alleges.

‘An attempt to erase history’

Meera Iyer, convenor of INTACH and author of the book ‘Discovering Bengaluru’, thinks the government’s fetish for renaming roads, streets and places is as old as history itself.

“We have seen kings renaming cities after themselves. We also see this happen in a lot of autocratic regimes. We saw several places in Bengaluru and other cities being renamed soon after winning Independence and it kept happening even in the 1970s and ‘80s where names of the British were replaced with local heroes. It is an attempt to change or erase a bit of history which doesn’t make sense,” she says.