A tale of two titles: Deoband to be introduced as Deovrind by its MLA

New Delhi, March 22, 2017: Kunwar Brijesh Singh, MLA from Deoband, is adamant to make way for what he promised to the people of Deoband in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017.

While speaking to BBC, he said that he will introduce a proposal in Vidhan Sabha for the name-alteration of the holy city of Deoband to Deovrind.

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While Deoband is known for its historical significance and Darul Uloom Deoband has been a centre of Islamic learning since the Mughal era, Brijesh Singh had demanded that the city be renamed Deovrind after BJP came into power.

"What I am doing is acting on my words given to the people of Deoband," Kunwar Brijesh Singh said in the interview.

He said that the first promise he made during the election campaign was that after winning the polls, the foremost change he would bring will be the change in the name of Deoband.

During the interview, he argued that it's not a vague change which he wants to bring for the sake of popularity. The place is largely associated with and is mentioned in the various mythological scriptures, hence giving a robust ground for the altercation in the name.

"The mythological scriptures carry the legacy of this holy town as the name of Devvranda, not Deoband. There's a small village nearby the town called Rankhandi, it is believed that the village has its relevance with the mighty war of Mahabharata. There are many places in and around the town which speak of their historical importance and bear testimony to Deoband's historical connections with the times of Mahabharata," Singh added.

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He also emphasized that the presence of famous shaktipeeth Bala Sundari and the ever-enraging deity Durga vouch for the authentication of the name Deovrind.

Deoband's Shakti Peet is located on the Saharanpur-Muzaffarnagar Highway in the town of the Deoband. This area is closely related to the Goddess Durga. It is believed that in the earlier times, Goddess Durga resided here. This is perhaps the reason why the forests were known as the Devi Van and later became popular as the Deoband.

While his arguments and logics may define his willingness for this move, but he conscientiously clarifies that the final verdict is in the hand of the government.

"I'm just putting forward the wish of my people who trusted me to give this issue a priority in the list of development agendas which I have set for the overhaul of my constituency. The people have trusted in the vision of New India by our honorable Prime Minister and we all are just complying with it," Singh clarified his stance with the statement.

The culture of changing the names as according to the wishes of incumbent governments is not a latest in fashion. Hundreds of cities, including many metropolitan cities, have been either altered or modified with the rationales resonating with history, culture, and trade. The latest prominent example we saw was modifying Gurgaon to Gurugram in 2016.

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In the pursuit of renaming cities on the basis of their cultural and historical importance, the question that should be asked is about their relevance with the agendas of development. Does renaming a city result into a settlement of any dispute? Does it contribute to the growth and development? Or does it summon the critical issues of the nation?

-prepared by Ashish Srivastava of NewsGram Twitter @PhulRetard