Change Habibganj railway station's name to Rani Kamlapati station: MP govt

New Delhi, Nov 13: The Madhya Pradesh government has written to the Ministry of Home Affairs about renaming the recently redeveloped Habibganj station after Rani Kamlapati, the 18th Century Gond queen of the region.

The letter from the state's transport department has said that renaming the station is also in accordance with the Indian government's decision to celebrate November 15 as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' in remembrance of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the station which has been redeveloped at a cost of Rs 100 crore on November 15, the day government launches the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas', a week-long celebration of the pride of the Scheduled Tribes in India.

The letter also explains the reason behind the decision to rename the station. Rani Kamlapati was the widow Gond ruler of Nizam Shah, chief of Ginnorgarh.

The Gond community comprises the largest tribal group of India with more than 1.2 crore population.

Linguistically, the Gonds belong to the Gondi-Manda subgroup of the South Central branch of the Dravidian language family.

The letter states that the renaming of the station will honour Rani Kamlapati's legacy and bravery.

The decision of the state government to rename the station as Rani Kamlapati station comes a day after BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur demanded that the station be renamed after former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"Arrival of the hon'ble prime minister on 15/11/2021 to participate in Janajatiy Gaurav Diwas is a good omen for Bhopal. I am sure that Modi ji will announce to rename Habibganj railway station in the name of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji and fulfil my old request," Thakur said in a tweet on Thursday.

The name of Allahabad railway station has been changed to Prayagraj and Mughalsarai railway junction ras been renamed Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction.