Name-changing wave hits Bengal too; VHP changes Islampur to Iswarpur in school board

Kolkata, Nov 12: At a time when Uttar Pradesh is seeing a name-changing spree and the saffron camp is also vowing to change names of geographical entities in other states as well, Trinamool Congress (TMC)-ruled West Bengal also could not escape the wave.

In Islampur in Bengal's North Dinajpur district, the location of a school run by the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has been re-identified as 'Iswarpur' in place of Islampur. The incident has created a controversy as questions are being asked whether a school affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education can change the name of its location, according to a report in Bengali daily Ananda Bazaar Patrika. State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, a frontline leader of the ruling party, has assured of looking into the matter. He even said that whether the school is at all affiliated to state education board will be investigated.

Local VHP sources said the word 'Islam' was forced upon by the Muslim rulers in the past and Iswarpur is the actual historical name of the place and hence they decided to change it.

Historians have slammed the move, with some calling it "ridiculous" and others even "saffron terrorism". They have all agreed over the point that the VHP's claims to history have no valid base. Eminent local residents also said that they have no confirmation whether Islampur was indeed known as 'Iswarpur' earlier.

The Yogi Adityanath government of UP has been carrying out a name-changing project at the moment. While Allahabad has been renamed as Prayagraj, Faizabad has been changed into Ayodhya. Mughal Sarai was also renamed into Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar and talks are on to change Agra's name into Agravan or Agrawal. Noted historian Irfan Habib recently said BJP national president Amit Shah's surname should also be changed since it has a Persian origin.