While addressing a plea by a BJP leader named Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the Supreme Court slammed the trend of renaming historical cities which have been named after “invaders”.
The BJP leader demanded a commission to find out the original names of the ancient places which have later been renamed.
“Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. Hinduism is a way of life and there is no bigotry in Hinduism. Don’t dig up the past which will only create disharmony. Can’t have the country on the boil.” said the Supreme Court in its statement.
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Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. Credits
The bench consisted of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna, who questioned the motives of the petitioner.
In his petition, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay stated that besides renaming the Mughal garden Amrit Bagh, the government did not act on any other roads or areas. The petition also stated that the continuation of names from the past is against the sovereignty and other rights guaranteed in the Indian constitution.
“We have roads after Lodhi, Ghazni, Ghoris… There is no single road named after Pandavas, though Indraprastha was constructed by Yudhishtir… Faridabad is named after the person who looted the city” wrote Upadhyay in his petition to the Supreme Court.
This plea was filed days after two major cities from Maharashtra were renamed. While Aurangabad was renamed Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, the city of Osmanabad was renamed Dharashiv.
“It’s a historical fact. Can you wish away invasions from history? We have been invaded several times. Have we not got other problems in our country rather than wishing away for things which happened before?” asked the court.
The bench eventually dismissed the petition, highlighting the secular nature of India.
