[Reader-list] Petition against renaming of Delhi's Aurangzeb Road

[Yousuf]

Please Reverse the Renaming of Delhi’s Aurangzeb Road to APJ Abdul Kalam Road

A petition being sent to 

The Chairman, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, 

The Chief Minister of Delhi, 

The Prime Minister of India 


Many of you are congratulating each other on changing the name of Delhi’s Aurangzeb’s Road to APJ Abdul Kalam Road, and are happy that the ‘wrongs of history’ have been corrected (as Mr.Maheish Girri has been claiming). This renaming simply proves that the decision makers of this nation and the city have absolutely no knowledge of our rich historical past, and are ready to act on such important matters based on rumours and popular demand. To many of us, this renaming is symbolically as incorrect and unfortunate as the 1992 demolition of Babri mosque in Ayodhya, since that was also done on ‘public demand’ and to ‘correct the wrongs of history’.

We would like to know the following: Was any scholar or historian consulted before renaming of Aurangzeb road? How have we come to the conclusion that Aurangzeb was an evil person whose name needed to be removed from our heritage? Was his history and achievements read and understood properly by the people who made this decision? Did any public debate take place to decide the pros and cons of this renaming? Has an authentic and legal document (using the correct historical sources) been prepared to justify this renaming? Can that document be made public? Is renaming of roads as ordinary as cleaning of a road that can be done by a Municipal Corporation? According to what logic was only Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam considered the right person to take Aurangzeb’s place in history? Dr. Kalam is definitely a person worthy of remembrance and a memorial. But why couldn’t any new road or institution be named after him? Can’t we give him a more respectful tribute than such a politically controversial one? Do we want our future generations to remember that the name of one ‘bad’ Muslim was replaced by a ‘good’ Muslim? Is that the kind of history we want to propagate in this country?

We understand that naming of roads, buildings and other public places can become a political act – many roads and entities have been named after people who did not deserve to be remembered, but their name simply helped in the establishment of a certain political identity. But how long will this naming and renaming continue to suit our political end?

We appeal you to reconsider your decision to rename the Aurangzeb Road. We request you to think of a new road or institution to be named after Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam, which he truly deserves. We also request you to arrange public or legal debate involving people who are knowledgeable about the subject before making such decisions in future. 

Thanking you.


Please sign (and add your comments to) this petition at 
https://goo.gl/ZmZXhP