Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its renaming spree, renowned historian Irfan Habib has reportedly said that the party should first rename its president Amit Shah since his surname is of Persian Origin.
Speaking to TOI, the Aligarh Muslim University professor emeritus said, “His surname ‘Shah’ is of Persian origin and not of Gujarati.” Habib also explained that the word ‘Gujarat’ also has Persian roots, “It was called Gurjaratra earlier. They (the BJP) should also change it.”
Also Read: BJP’s Renaming Spree Continues, Gujarat Government says Ready to Rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati
He added, “The BJP governments’ renaming spree is very much in line with the RSS’s Hindutva policy. Just like the neighbouring country Pakistan where everything that is not Islamic has been removed, BJP and right-wing supporters want to change things which are non-Hindu, particularly of Islamic origin.”
Habib was speaking in context of the letter that Jagan Prasad Goyal, a BJP MLA from Agra, had written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath demanding that the name of Agra be changed to ‘Agravan’ or ‘Agrawal’ after the Agrawal community.
Also Read: Renaming U.P. Cities a ‘Lollipop’ From BJP to Lure Voters: Shiv Sena
Habib slammed the BJP lawmaker’s argument saying, “The entire history of Maharaja Agrasen is mythical. It’s nothing but fiction. Secondly, the Agrawal community claims its origin from Agroha in Haryana, and not Agra. So, both the arguments for renaming the city do not hold water.”
He said, “We first hear the term ‘Agra’ during the reign of Sikandar Lodhi in the 15th century but before that, the area was more prominently known as Doab – land between Ganga and Yamuna.”
The BJP is facing a lot of heat for renaming Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad to Ayodhya. Opposition parties are calling the move a distraction from the party’s failure to fulfil electoral promises.
Also Read: Yogi Adityanath’s Minister Slams Renaming of Cities; Says BJP Should Rename Its Muslim Leaders First