Historic UP Sultanpur dist renamed after Hindu deity Ram’s son

ISLAMABAD: The historic district Sultanpur in Indian state Uttar Pradesh (UP) is being renamed as Kush Bhavanpur after Hindu deity Ram’s son, Kush.

It is the latest in the BJP governments’ (and the Centre and in UP) spree of renaming places, especially those which have names bearing Muslim names or signs of Mughal rule in India. Three years ago, the UP cabinet cleared a proposal to rename Allahabad “Prayagraj”. Two weeks later, Hindu Pujari chief minister of the state Adityanath announced that Faizabad district will be known as Ayodhya.

In the same year, the railway station, Mughalsarai, was renamed after RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhayaya. According to media report, a memorandum to change the name of the district was handed over to the chief minister during his visit and he has assured that it would be done soon.

Vijay Singh Raghuvanshi, media in-charge of BJP MP from Sultanpur, Maneka Gandhi, widow of Sanjay Gandhi, said the locals had given a letter to her, seeking the renaming of Sultanpur as Kush Bhavanpur. Sultanpur is adjacent to Ayodhya, where historic Babri Mosque

was situated and it was demolished by BJP gangsters and now Ram Temple is being built on the site.

The BJP claims that Sultanpur had been the capital of Dakshin Kosala during the Ramayana period. Mythology has it that Ram ‘gave’ Dakshin Kosala to his eldest son Kush, who established a new capital city on the banks of Gomti that came to be known as Kush Bhavanpur. The BJP zealots claim that Alauddin Khilji named it Sultanpur.

Last year, an office-bearer of the Uttar Pradesh unit of BJP sought to change the name of Ghazipur district (in eastern Uttar Pradesh) to Gaadhipuri. In 2018 alone, the BJP Union government under Modi consented to the renaming of at least 25 towns and villages across India, having Muslim names previously.