The debate was on whether Aurangzeb should make way for India�s missile man and former President. It was felt there were other roads in the capital, that could be named after Kalam instead of tampering with one named after Aurangzeb

Furore over renaming a road

DR   APJ  ABDUL KALAM, India’s former Presi­dent, must be turning in his grave. For someone who had expressed a desire that the people of this country should not observe a holiday when he dies could have done without a controversy about his name.
The controversy followed a proposal by a ruling party MP that has ended up in a court battle.   
 The New Delhi civic authority, has decided to rename Aurangzeb Road in Lutyens’ Delhi as Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Road in honour of the late President. The decision followed within a month of BJP MP, Maheish Girri writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that Aurangzeb Road be renamed after Kalam.
 For Girri it was a move to “correct the mistakes of history”. Aurangzeb, he said, reminded us of cruelty and torture. As against this, Kalam was synonymous with kindness and loyalty to the country.
 Opinion was divided and there were not many takers for Girri’s point of view. While there was unanimity on a road to be named after Kalam, the debate was on whether Aurangzeb should make way for India’s missile man and former President. It was felt there were other roads in the capital, that could be named after Kalam instead of tampering with one named after Aurangzeb.
 In a bid to abort the move, a plea was filed in a Delhi court seeking restraint on the decision. The plea dubbed the move as political and communal and said that it lacked understanding of history. The move, it further added, would adversely affect  India’s  secular image. It slammed the civic agency of violating procedure on grounds that a new road should be named in Kalam’s memory instead of renaming an existing one.
 Earlier, there was a request by the Sikh community to change Aurangzeb Road to Guru Gobind Singh Road but it did not find favour with the Government. Another section wanted it named after Guru Tegh Bahadur but that too was turned down.
This is not the first time that roads have been renamed. Many roads and streets bearing British names such as Curzon Road, Cornwallis Road, and Ratendon Road have been changed to Indian names.
The Gandhis and the Nehrus have dominated the name game.  
The inner circle of Connaught Place, for instance,  was named Rajiv Chowk while the outer circle Indira Chowk. There are may others and the list is long.
 There are guidelines for roads and streets being named and renamed. The norm is that existing names will not be changed and only new streets will be named after eminent people. The logic behind this rule is that there should be no attempt to tamper with History and create a controversy when none exists.
 Existing guidelines also stipulate that all proposals for renaming necessitate clearance from the Ministry of Home. This would safeguard a free for all in one sense and put some method to the madness of indiscriminately changing names of existing roads and streets.  
 Legal battle apart, the Kalam name move has generated enough heat leading to dangerous overtones. It has also led communal elements to step in.  Muslims have objected to the name change and dubbed the government’s move as “deliberate”. They have also expressed fears that this would be the beginning of a series of demands to change existing names. There are reports to suggest that Shiv Sena, a BJP ally, will follow suit by demanding renaming of Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district where the Mughal Emperor’s grave is located.
 The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has forewarned of this being  a precedence in the name changing game. There are, it is feared, a long list of roads named after Muslim rulers that are set to change if a beginning is made with renaming Aurangzeb Road. Already there are voices being heard about renaming Akbar Road after the Hindutva icon Rana Pratap.  
 Communal overtones are evident with some Muslims saying that Aurangzeb was not anti Hindu and there is credible evidence to show that he donated land for building temples.
Worse still, there is also a bad and good Muslim theory doing the rounds: Aurangzeb and Kalam respectively. Many justify the renaming as a move to replace a bad Muslim like Aurangzeb with good Muslim  Kalam.  
With the BJP at the helm and the perception of it being pro Hindu and anti Muslim is likely to stoke fires. Had this been done by the Congress government, which is seen as secular, there would not be a hue and cry. But any move by the BJP in this direction is suspect. Muslims feel threatened and are immediately up in arms decrying that they are being targeted by the regime that would like to see them out of India.   
Had Kalam been around he would have nipped the controversy in the bud. A low-key person, he preferred to stay out of troubled waters. This is not to say that his life was devoid of controversy. His appointment as President had its highs and lows.
For someone who started life by selling newspapers to being rejected for the job of a fighter pilot, Kalam reached the highest office of President of India. His credentials as the architect of India’s missile programme were perfect for the country’s top job.
Kalam was not the original choice for President in 2002. The name then doing the rounds was  PC Alexander, principal secretary to former PM Indira Gandhi. Contrary to expectations it was the Congress who backed out and refused to support Alexander's candidature.
The BJP, in a bid to shed off its rabid  pro-Hindutva image  decided to prop up Kalam: a Muslim and a scientist. The Left ofcourse had its reservations and Kalam faced an election before bagging the Presidency.
 Controversies had dogged Kalam during his tenure as a nuclear scientist. Some of his critics questioned his credentials and charged him with mediocrity. But the nation revered him. This was evident when during his last journey hundreds and thousands of Indians queued up to pay homage to the man who was, once upon a time, their President. Many saw him as Destiny’s chosen child who made the country and its people proud.
 It is in this context that the name controversy is best avoided: it is trifling with a non-issue and reducing the stature of a former President. It is also pitching Hindus against Muslims and letting politics be in full play. Left to Kalam, he would have distanced himself and put a stop to it before his name was painted over Aurangzeb’s.

The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])

 

The debate was on whether Aurangzeb should make way for India�s missile man and former President. It was felt there were other roads in the capital, that could be named after Kalam instead of tampering with one named after Aurangzeb

Furore over renaming a road

DR APJ ABDUL KALAM, Indias former President, must be turning in his grave. For someone who had expressed a desire that the people of this country should not observe a holiday when he dies could have done without a controversy about his name. The controversy followed a proposal by a ruling party MP that has ended up in a court battle. The New Delhi civic authority, has decided to rename Aurangzeb Road in Lutyens Delhi as Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Road in honour of the late President. The decision followed within a month of BJP MP, Maheish Girri writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that Aurangzeb Road be renamed after Kalam. For Girri it was a move to correct the mistakes of history. Aurangzeb, he said, reminded us of cruelty and torture. As against this, Kalam was synonymous with kindness and loyalty to the country. Opinion was divided and there were not many takers for Girris point of view. While there was unanimity on a road to be named after Kalam, the debate was on whether Aurangzeb should make way for Indias missile man and former President. It was felt there were other roads in the capital, that could be named after Kalam instead of tampering with one named after Aurangzeb. In a bid to abort the move, a plea was filed in a Delhi court seeking restraint on the decision. The plea dubbed the move as political and communal and said that it lacked understanding of history. The move, it further added, would adversely affect Indias secular image. It slammed the civic agency of violating procedure on grounds that a new road should be named in Kalams memory instead of renaming an existing one. Earlier, there was a request by the Sikh community to change Aurangzeb Road to Guru Gobind Singh Road but it did not find favour with the Government. Another section wanted it named after Guru Tegh Bahadur but that too was turned down. This is not the first time that roads have been renamed. Many roads and streets bearing British names such as Curzon Road, Cornwallis Road, and Ratendon Road have been changed to Indian names. The Gandhis and the Nehrus have dominated the name game. The inner circle of Connaught Place, for instance, was named Rajiv Chowk while the outer circle Indira Chowk. There are may others and the list is long. There are guidelines for roads and streets being named and renamed. The norm is that existing names will not be changed and only new streets will be named after eminent people. The logic behind this rule is that there should be no attempt to tamper with History and create a controversy when none exists. Existing guidelines also stipulate that all proposals for renaming necessitate clearance from the Ministry of Home. This would safeguard a free for all in one sense and put some method to the madness of indiscriminately changing names of existing roads and streets. Legal battle apart, the Kalam name move has generated enough heat leading to dangerous overtones. It has also led communal elements to step in. Muslims have objected to the name change and dubbed the governments move as deliberate. They have also expressed fears that this would be the beginning of a series of demands to change existing names. There are reports to suggest that Shiv Sena, a BJP ally, will follow suit by demanding renaming of Maharashtras Aurangabad district where the Mughal Emperors grave is located. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has forewarned of this being a precedence in the name changing game. There are, it is feared, a long list of roads named after Muslim rulers that are set to change if a beginning is made with renaming Aurangzeb Road. Already there are voices being heard about renaming Akbar Road after the Hindutva icon Rana Pratap. Communal overtones are evident with some Muslims saying that Aurangzeb was not anti Hindu and there is credible evidence to show that he donated land for building temples. Worse still, there is also a bad and good Muslim theory doing the rounds: Aurangzeb and Kalam respectively. Many justify the renaming as a move to replace a bad Muslim like Aurangzeb with good Muslim Kalam. With the BJP at the helm and the perception of it being pro Hindu and anti Muslim is likely to stoke fires. Had this been done by the Congress government, which is seen as secular, there would not be a hue and cry. But any move by the BJP in this direction is suspect. Muslims feel threatened and are immediately up in arms decrying that they are being targeted by the regime that would like to see them out of India. Had Kalam been around he would have nipped the controversy in the bud. A low-key person, he preferred to stay out of troubled waters. This is not to say that his life was devoid of controversy. His appointment as President had its highs and lows. For someone who started life by selling newspapers to being rejected for the job of a fighter pilot, Kalam reached the highest office of President of India. His credentials as the architect of Indias missile programme were perfect for the countrys top job. Kalam was not the original choice for President in 2002. The name then doing the rounds was PC Alexander, principal secretary to former PM Indira Gandhi. Contrary to expectations it was the Congress who backed out and refused to support Alexanders candidature. The BJP, in a bid to shed off its rabid pro-Hindutva image decided to prop up Kalam: a Muslim and a scientist. The Left ofcourse had its reservations and Kalam faced an election before bagging the Presidency. Controversies had dogged Kalam during his tenure as a nuclear scientist. Some of his critics questioned his credentials and charged him with mediocrity. But the nation revered him. This was evident when during his last journey hundreds and thousands of Indians queued up to pay homage to the man who was, once upon a time, their President. Many saw him as Destinys chosen child who made the country and its people proud. It is in this context that the name controversy is best avoided: it is trifling with a non-issue and reducing the stature of a former President. It is also pitching Hindus against Muslims and letting politics be in full play. Left to Kalam, he would have distanced himself and put a stop to it before his name was painted over Aurangzebs. The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])