‘No point renaming Mughalsarai station, tackle important issues’
MUGHALSARAI: The Yogi Adityanath government’s decision to rename the Mughalsarai railway station -- one of busiest in the country -- after RSS ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya has not gone down well with many locals who are against any change of name.
Upadhyay was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Mughalsarai in February 1968 when he was travelling by train. The state government is celebrating the birth centenary of Upadhyaya and several programmes are being organised across the state.
Mithai Lal Chaurasia, resident of Ali Nagar, says: “There is no point renaming the station. The government should pay attention to employment generation and other important issues.”
Maulana Bilal Ahmad Quasami of Madarsa Irfan-ul Uloom (an Islamic seminary), says, “The Mughalsarai railway station is of historical importance. It should not be renamed.”
Congress city president Ramji Gupta is also against the move. His party is staging an indefinite sit-in at Lal Bahadur Shashtri Park here.
Not many locals know who founded the town which has never witnessed a communal riot. It remained peaceful even after December 6, 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya and many parts of the country was plunged into communal violence.
Mukesh Pratap Singh, who teaches history at Lal Bahadur Shastri Post Graduate College, Mughalsarai, says, “The foundation of the town was laid during the rule of emperor Sher Shah Suri, who briefly controlled the Mughal empire, between 1542 and 1543.” A combination of the words Mughal and Sarai, the town derived its name from the inns set up here during Suri’s time and later, Singh said.
The Mughalsarai railway station building was constructed in 1880 and reconstructed in 1905, Singh said.
Station manager Narendra Kumar said 150 passenger trains and 130 goods trains pass through the station daily, making it one of the busiest in the country. It is part of East Central Railway.
The Mughalsarai railway station is of historical importance. It should not be renamed MAULANA BILAL AHMAD QUASAMI, cleric of Madarsa Irfan-ul Uloom