Yogi Adityanath hints at renaming Akbarpur: 'Signs of slavery should go'

Yogi Adityanath hints at renaming Akbarpur: ‘Signs of slavery should go’

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday hinted at renaming Akbarpur and said there was a need to remove vestiges of colonial history and at the same time, respect heritage. Akbarpur is named after the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.

Addressing an election rally for the Akbarpur Lok Sabha seat at Patara Railway Station ground in Ghatampur, Adityanath said, “The mere mention of Akbarpur often evokes hesitation. All of this will change. We must put an end to the signs of slavery and honour our heritage.”

He asserted that the region had to be integrated with the mainstream of development and that “active participation through voting in the ongoing national campaign was essential”.

There has been speculation that several cities, including Azamgarh, Aligarh, Shahjahanpur, Ghaziabad, Firozabad, Farrukhabad, and Moradabad — names reflecting colonial sentiments — could be renamed.

Since taking office in 2017, the Adityanath-led government has renamed cities and railway stations in Uttar Pradesh a move to eradicate remnants of colonial symbols and reclaim historical identity.

The state government renamed Allahabad to Prayagraj just before the Kumbh Mela in 2019. Mughalsarai railway station, a major railway junction in Uttar Pradesh, was rechristened Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction.

Likewise, the Jhansi railway station was renamed after Rani Lakshmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi, and Faizabad was renamed Ayodhya.

Last year, the Aligarh Municipal Corporation, controlled by the ruling BJP, passed a resolution to rename the city as ‘Harigarh’. On the other hand, Firozabad was proposed to be renamed Chandra Nagar.