The name changing spree under the BJP government doesn’t seem to stop anytime soon with one more addition in its checklist. The latest city has to do with the state of Uttar Pradesh where the Yogi Aditynath government is planning to change Agra’s name to Agravan. The government has consulted Ambedkar University in the same regard.
Sources suggest that earlier Agra was known as Agravan only and the UP government has asked historians to dig into details as to when and how Agravan’s name was changed to Agra.
The History department at the Ambedkar University has been assigned to find out the historical nuances on the same, though an official nod over the proposal is yet to come from the university.
This is not the first time that cities or places are being renamed in Uttar Pradesh. Among the first cities to be renamed was Allahabad which is now known as Prayagraj, then there’s Faizabad which has been renamed as Ayodhya.
In 2018, the Centre approved the renaming of over 25 towns and villages across India of which several have been approved. The proposal awaiting approval is from West Bengal which has been proposed to be renamed as Bangla.
The approval process is a mammoth exercise involving multiple ministries and departments. Some of the approved name change proposals include Rajahmuhdry as Rajamahendravaram from Andhra Pradesh, Outer wheelers as APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha, Arikkod as Areekode in Kerala, Pindari as Pandu-Pindara in Haryana’s Jind district, Samphur as Sanhphure in Nagaland.