Renaming Spree Go on
Renaming of towns, cities and public places has been on the agenda of BJP governments in different States. About a year ago, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government of Madhya Pradesh renamed Bhopal’s Habibganj railway station as Rani Kamlapati, and Hoshangabad as Narmadapuram. Now renaming of some other localities in the city is in the news.
Lalghati where the city’s central jail is located, will be renamed after Narayan Das, a Hindu religious priest and ex-head of Gufa Mandir in Bhopal. Besides, Halalpur Bus Stand and Halalpur Colony will be addressed as Hanumangarhi. Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has already approved of the plan. This development came at the behest of Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur who put the proposal before BMC’s standing committee during a meeting recently.
The Rashtrawadis are also demanding that Bhopal be named Bhojpal, the founding ruler of Bhopal Raja Bhojpal.
Moiz Qadri
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Killing a Person and Chopping Body Parts is Gruesome
Last week the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar and cutting her body in 35 pieces was reported and its gory details are still making headlines. A news report said that a man named Prince Yadav was arrested on November 19 for killing a woman, who was later identified as Aradhana, whose chopped body was found in a well in Azamgarh, UP.
Yadav reportedly had an affair with the victim, who had got married earlier this year to some other person. The report citing police sources said that on November 9, Yadav had taken Aradhana on his bike to a temple. When they reached there, he, with the help of one Sarvesh, strangled her in a sugarcane field. The two then cut her body in six parts, packed them in a polythene bag, and threw it into a well. They threw the head into a pond some distance away.
On November 20, police said that Yadav was hit by a bullet in a gunfire encounter with the police when he was taken to a spot for the recovery of the head of the woman.
The government and civil society members must contain the occurrence of such crimes.
Chandan Kuman
Lucknow, UP
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was one of the most influential independence activists during India’s freedom struggle. He was also a noted writer, poet and journalist. He had said, “Every individual has a right to an education that will enable him to develop his faculties and live a full human life. He was elected as Congress President in 1923 and 1940. Azad was the first education minister of Independent India. He was posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour in 1992.
As young man, Azad composed poetry in Urdu as well as wrote treatises on religion and philosophy. He wrote various articles, poems and books under the pen name “Azad”. His most famous book was Ghubar-e-Khatir, when he was in prison in Ahmad Nagar. His other literary works include India Wins Freedom.
Azad became an enthusiastic supporter of Gandhi’s ideas of non–violent civil disobedience, and worked to organise the non-co-operation movement in protest of the 1991 Rowlet Act.
In memory of this great personality, his birth day is celebrated as National Education Day every year. Maulana Azad laid the foundation of Education System in India by setting up IITs, University Grants Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) among others before his death in 1958. Maulana fought shoulder to shoulder with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. When India was divided, he was asked why he did not go to Pakistan. His reply was for the sake of Indian Muslims I will stay in India.
Nazeer Ahmed Kazi
Secab, Vijaypur, Karnataka