Yogi Adityanath hints at changing name of Uttar Pradesh city named after Akbar

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday dropped a hint about changing the name of Akbarpur, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Panch Pran’ (five pledges), which include removing vestiges of slavery from the face of India.
According to an official release on May 9, Yogi Adityanath hinted at changing the name of Akbarpur, saying that all the signs of colonialism must be eradicated from the city.
“Uttering the name of the city leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Rest assured, all these things will change. We must eradicate all remnants of colonialism from our nation and honour our heritage,” the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said on Thursday, reported the Times of India.
If the Modi government secures a third term in the Lok Sabha election, the state administration will submit a proposal to Centre to alter Akbarpur’s name, TOI reported, quoting a government spokesperson.
Not just Akbarpur, but multiple areas in UP such as Aligarh, Azamgarh, Shahjahanpur, Ghaziabad, Firozabad, Farrukhabad, and Moradabad are being considered for renaming.
After becoming the chief minister in 2017, Yogi Adityanath ordered renaming of multiple roads, parks, buildings and intersections across the state. Many of them were renamed after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In Lucknow alone, one can traverse Atal Bihari Vajpayee Road, navigate through Atal Chauraha, access the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Conference Centre, cross Atal Setu, and arrive at Atal Bihari Kalyan Mandap.
The iconic Mughalsarai railway station, which is the fourth busiest junction in the entire country, also saw its name change to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction recently. Just before the 2019 Kumbh Mela, the state government rechristened Allahabad to Prayagraj in order to reclaim the city’s historic identity.
The municipal bodies of Aligarh recently passed a resolution to rename the city as Harigarh. A similar proposal was made to change the name of Firozabad to Chandra Nagar and Mainpuri to Mayapuri.