‘Muslim-sounding’ names of Gorakhpur wards changed, opposition reacts

Leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress reacted angrily to a draught delimitation order issued by the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation that changed “Muslim-sounding names” for almost a dozen wards. In Gorakhpur, there are now 80 wards, many of which are named after famous people and freedom fighters. The ward names were changed as part of the delimitation exercise.

The delimitation will be approved after the public has a week to raise any complaints, according to a top official on Saturday.

Shahab Ansari, the leader of the Samajwadi Party and a councillor for Ismailpur, alleged that the renaming was an effort to create polarisation.

According to Ansari, the party will meet on Sunday, and a delegation will meet with the district magistrate on Monday to voice its concern.

Talat Aziz, a leader in the Congress, referred to the experiment as a financial waste. The leader questioned, “I fail to see what the administration will accomplish with this exercise.”

According to Mayor Sitaram Jaiswal, new names inspire a sense of pride.

He claimed that wards were given names like Ashfaqullah Khan, Shiv Singh Chetri, Baba Gambhir Nath, Baba Raghavdas, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and Madan Mohan Malviya in honour of prominent people.

Avinash Singh, the municipal commissioner, stated that objections may be filed to the additional chief secretary of the Lucknow Urban Development Department within a week. He said the delimitation would be accepted following the resolution of the objections.

Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was born and raised in Gorakhpur, which will now have 80 wards.

Among the “Muslim-sounding names” that have been changed are Miya Bazar, Muftipur, Alinagar, Turkmanpur, Ismailpur, Rassolpur, Humayunpur North, Ghosipurva, Daudpur, Jafra Bazar, Qazipur Khurd, and Chaksa Hussain.

In accordance with the civic organization’s decree, Jafra Bazar will henceforth be referred to as Atma Ram Nagar, Ismailpur as Sahabganj, and Ilahi Bagh as Bandhu Singh Nagar.