Politics of renaming has become fashionable

Shiv Sena’s recent demand, that the Bombay Blue chain of restaurants be renamed Mumbai Blue, brings the spotlight back on the practice of rechristening. Shubhangi Khapre dishes out some home truths about the politics of renaming. On one hand, political parties use it as a tool to beat up passions. On the other, it also helps them sweep under the carpet more pressing public issues

When Mumbai airport was rechristened Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance’s primary concern was to thwart the Congress party’s plans to name it after India’s first prime minister, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. The decision to rename Victoria Terminus (VT) after the great Maratha king Chattrapati Shivaji was a strategic decision taken by the Sena-BJP to wipe out all imprints of British Raj.

In the Congress-dominated constituencies of Mumbai, slums named after Indira Gandhi were effortlessly renamed after her son, Rajiv Gandhi under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority schemes (SRA). The entire exercise is neither driven by ideology nor philosophy any longer. The map of Mumbai is dotted with thousands of such meaningless instances where roads, slums, parks and educational institutions get a new name at the drop of hat. Not surprisingly then the long pending cry to change Bombay into Mumbai was inevitable in the saffron regime.

The process of remaining has become politically fashionable. Even the hardcore ideologically driven politicians, who believe in bringing revolt through ideas and mass movement, often buckle under the short-sighted rhetoric of renaming to stay ahead of their rivals and often allow the transformation without raising a hand in protest.

The virus of “renaming” has broken all barriers and is being adopted by all political parties across the country.

Barely 24 hours after Mayawati heralded socio-political change through social engineering of forward and backward castes in the Hindi Heartland, the process of replacing old boards with new names became the most important agenda of the state administration.

Whether it is the backward state of UP or the progressive Maharashtra, the politics of renaming appears to have come to stay for some time.

Not surprisingly, when Mayawati decided to rename a University after Shahu Maharaj — among the most revered social reformers in Maharashtra — state leaders expressed their discomfort and realised it was the first step taken by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader to make inroads in the state through such symbolic gestures. The question is whether the politics of renaming has the support of the people? Does it ever translate into power politics? Or has it become a weapon used by the netas to divert attention from public issues?

BJP leader Madhav Bhandari, said, “I have yet to come across any party or individual who may have polled more votes because of renaming an airport or a road. How does it help the people when you rename a road after

Rajiv Gandhi or a chowk after Chhatrapati Shivaji? Apart from sentimental value in some cases, renaming is short-sighted politics. It can never make or break any leader.”

Not withstanding the pragmatic views of some politicians, the fact of matter is that the state government, every year, receives more than 500 proposals seeking sanction and funds for the renaming a certain road or an establishment in their respective districts across state. The names most in demand are that of Dr BR Ambedkar and Rajiv Gandhi.

Even as there is a scramble to find a suitable name to change the old one, there are thousands of noted writers, litterateurs and freedom fighters who have been long forgotten. Or else how does one explain the Right wing, Left wing and the Centre engaged in promotional politics, which revolves around dynasties or are confined to a handful of leaders used as vehicles to climb up the political ladder. When the BJP chose Shyama Prasad Mookherjee or Veer Savarkar, it was to assert its politics over Congress’ Gandhi-Nehru culture, which had captured almost the entire nation.

Republic Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athavale argues, “There is growing demand for Dr BR Ambedkar across the country, because this is the only way dalits and non-dalits too can pay their respects to the mahamanav.”