Justice Katju ‘suggests’ new names for 18 Indian cities

• Justice Katju mocked the UP government by posting a list of 18 Indian cities which could be given a new name.
  
• Markandey Katju recommended that the central and state governments could rename other cities that are also named after Mughal emperors.
  
• The UP cabinet cited that they only changed the name due to popular demand from the people of the city.

In an attempt to ‘restore’ the Indian culture, Yogi Adityanath announced ‘Prayagraj’ as the new name for Allahabad on Saturday. Since then, the decision has been criticised by many political leaders and eminent personalities.

One of those being the former Supreme Court Justice, Markandey Katju, who proposed changing names of 18 more Indian cities and replacing all the names that are attributed to ‘Babur ki Aulads’ (the sons of Babur).


Katju’s satirical twitter post showcased a list of cities which were potential candidates for a new name. Some of the recommendations include: Ahmedabad to Ashtavakra Nagar, Firozabad to Amitshahnagar, Hajipur to Hastinapur, Jamalpur to Jaiminipur, and even Ghaziabad to Ghatotkachnagar.

Apart from Justice Katju, Madras High Court and Chief Justice of Allahabad Delhi have also criticised the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government. Even Congress and the Samajwadi party are protesting the decision.

Akhilesh Yadav, the state’s former Chief Minister, slammed the UP government stating that current political leaders only show their work only by renaming cities. In contrast, some media reports claim that Yogi Adityanath has given Allahabad its former name ‘Prayag’ back.

Even Kumbh Mela 2019, one of the most-awaited events in the city, will sport banners will with Prayagraj as the name of the city instead of Allahabad.

This is not the first time that UP government has altered names. Earlier, Adityanath had renamed Mughalsarai junction in Agra to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction in order to give the railway station a ‘Hindu identity’.