Muslim villages get Hindu names in Raje’s Rajasthan

Rewriting history is one thing, tampering with it quite another. Three villages with ‘Islamic’ sounding names have been rechristened by the Rajasthan government. The decision, on the face of it, was taken after residents in these villages complained of the ‘Muslim’ phonetics, claims the Rajasthan government.

The village of ‘Miyon Ka Bara’ in the border district of Barmer is a case in point: it has been renamed Mahesh Nagar. Likewise, Ismailpur village in Jhunjhunu district will henceforth be known as ‘Pichanwa Khurd’ and Narpara village in Jalore district has been renamed ‘Narpura’.

Seemingly, this has been done keeping in mind the demographics of these villages, which are predominantly Hindu. ‘Miyon Ka Bara,’ for instance, has a population of around 2,000 people, of which only a miniscule four families are Muslim. Another reason, which sounds rather flimsy, is that youth in the village had stopped receiving marriage proposals from neighbouring villages owing to the ‘Islamic’ name.

However, when sources delved deeper, they learnt that there was a formal proposal from the Rajasthan government to the Union Home Ministry to change the names of 27 such villages. Shockingly, the Ministry has given its nod to the change of name of eight villages. The move is seen as a ploy of the Vasundhra Raje government to woo voters ahead of the crucial Assembly Elections.

The Nationalist Congress Party has described the move as a bid to isolate Muslims. Others see it as a part of the saffron surge, which is expected to become more pronounced as elections approach.

The Mughalsarai railway junction was also renamed as Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction, igniting a debate.

So, next time you are sending a postcard to as friend, you may need to check with the postal department whether the destination has been renamed.