Bhopal | Renaming of places, roads and buildings by political parties has been very common in India. Many political parties try to perpetuate their leaders’ memory by naming or renaming roads, railway stations, buildings etc. However, since 2014 renaming of places and roads appears to be resorted to with a vengeance in view of making the presumed historical wrongs correct. Some of the prominent name-changes during last nine years are the iconic Mughal Garden at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to Amrit Udyan, Rajpath to Kartavya Path, Allahabad to Prayagraj, Faizabad to Ayodhya, Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium to Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, Mughalsarai Junction to Pandit DeenDayal Upadhyaya Junction, Gurgaon to Gurugram, Hoshangabad to Narmadapuram.

The ostensible reason for the name changes is a way to discard the colonial hangover and restore pride in Indian heritage. But the selective way the names are changed clearly shows that it is mostly erasing Muslim names. According to a report published in The Times of India on November 11, 2018, the Central government gave consent to change names of 24 towns and villages across India in one year.

Against this backdrop, the response of the Supreme Court to a litigant Ashwani Upadhyay’s petition demanding the setting up of a commission to rename all places, roads and buildings named by the “invaders” is pertinent. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition.

A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna questioned the motive of the Public Interest Litigation filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay. The bench said that it would bring alive those issues “which would keep the country on the boil. The bench also said that the history of the country should not haunt its present and future generations.

Going back to the past and taking revenge for the wrongs committed by the rules of a particular community is nothing but foolishness. As the court has rightly said, digging up the past will only create disharmony in society.

In spite of the communal riots that followed the partition of India, the Constituent assembly adopted a constitution that provides equality to all irrespective of one’s religion, culture, caste, language etc. The members of the Constituent Assembly resolutely rejected a theocratic state and laid the foundation of a secular democratic state. If India is going to become the third largest economy in the world, it is because of the firm foundation laid by the founding fathers. Jawaharlal Nehru proclaimed the dams as “temples of modern India”.

While India made all-round progress, Pakistan, founded on the basis of Islam, has become a failed state in all respects. Afghanistan is another example of the disasters a theocratic state can cause. In the name of Islam human rights are blatantly violated and basic freedoms are denied to its citizens in Afghanistan. Women are not allowed for college education. Women have to cover themselves from head to foot when they go out. Afghanistan has become one of the poorest countries in the world. 97% of Afghanistan’s population is at the risk of poverty. When religious fundamentalism engulfs the rulers of a country, humanness disappears.

In the absence of social harmony, investors will hesitate to invest in India. The dream of India becoming a Vishwa Guru can be realized only by following the Constitution of India in word and spirit, and not by dividing people on the basis of religion. Unity in diversity has been the dominant characteristic of Indian society. A bright future of India depends on the fidelity of the nation to this millennial heritage.

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Jacob Peenikaparambil