Students in West Bengal have been protesting for the last month. Since November 11, they have been circulating an online petition and holding demonstrations across college campuses. The reason: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to change the name of the West Bengal University of Technology to Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad University of Technology.
As it turns out, this is neither the first re-christening by Banerjee nor the first time she is facing criticism for it. Since taking the state’s helm three years ago, she has been on a renaming spree, causing obvious inconveniences. Thus far, 18 streets, four stations and one university have been given new names at her behest.
Although many have raised objections to her way of “honouring great individuals”, Banerjee has gone ahead with her crusade unfazed. Here are five instances of the chief minister’s renaming obsession, some of which have got her into trouble:
1. Water treatment plant in Kolkata
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided to scrub out the name of former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu from a water treatment plant in Dhapa, Kolkata. Mayor Sovan Chatterjee called the name a “burden of somebody’s emotions”, adding that proper guidelines will be followed to rename the plant. Naturally, the move met with opposition from the opposition parties. “It’s Trinamool Congress’s political vendetta,” CPM councillor Rupa Bagchi was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. “The party had been busy naming and renaming things across the city. People will speak against these acts through the ballot.”
2. West Bengal University of Technology
Students of the West Bengal University of Technology have been trying to persuade the government to reverse its decision to rename the varsity before the move takes effect. A Facebook page made after the state’s announcement is being followed by more than 15,000 people. Many students across the state have joined the cause, shouting slogans like “name is identity” and “tol hillol” (rough translation: raise a wave).
3. 17 Kolkata roads
In May 2013, Banerjee renamed 17 streets in Kolkata after famous personalities from a variety of fields, including Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ram Manohar Lohia and RP Goenka. Not content with this, Banerjee renamed Dhakuria Bridge as Sri Chaitanya Setu and Jerut Bridge as Ma Saradamoni Setu – causing trouble, most of all, to tourists.
4. Railway stations
Before roads, Banerjee went on a drive renaming railway stations. In 2012, four stations in the Hooghly district were named after luminaries from the state like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. This zeal drew criticism from even the railway authorities, who had to step in and prevent the chief minister from renaming more stations after Vivekananda, Ambedkar and Ramakrishna. The authorities reasoned that they were looking for ways to “rename stations according to their locations, so that people can easily identify them”.
5. Running out of roads
In January, when Bengali screen icon Suchitra Sen died, Banerjee quickly announced a memorial to her and renamed Ballygunge Circular Road as Suchitra Sen Sarini. But, as it turned out, the 2.5 km road had already been assigned to Pramathesh Barua, who is regarded as the first star of Bengali cinema. Caught in a bind, the government sliced off a stretch to accommodate Suchitra Sen, while leaving Barua with only a 350-metre portion.
A similar quandary descended on the government when it received requests from Kishore Kumar’s fan club to name a road after the singer-actor. The municipal body of Kolkata could not find a stretch long enough. A breakthrough came when the family of novelist Ashapurna Dev, after whom a road was already named, requested for the name to be shifted to a road in Garia’s Kanungo Park.
Postscript
The government’s headaches are far from over. In the coming days, the opposition is unlikely to stop protesting against the renaming of the water treatment plant, and the students of the West Bengal University of Technology are planning to widen their agitation. Meanwhile, the state’s renaming committee is looking hard for space to extend the Tipu Sultan Road because the Shahi Imam of the Tipu Sultan Mosque in Esplanade has demanded so.
As it turns out, this is neither the first re-christening by Banerjee nor the first time she is facing criticism for it. Since taking the state’s helm three years ago, she has been on a renaming spree, causing obvious inconveniences. Thus far, 18 streets, four stations and one university have been given new names at her behest.
Although many have raised objections to her way of “honouring great individuals”, Banerjee has gone ahead with her crusade unfazed. Here are five instances of the chief minister’s renaming obsession, some of which have got her into trouble:
1. Water treatment plant in Kolkata
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided to scrub out the name of former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu from a water treatment plant in Dhapa, Kolkata. Mayor Sovan Chatterjee called the name a “burden of somebody’s emotions”, adding that proper guidelines will be followed to rename the plant. Naturally, the move met with opposition from the opposition parties. “It’s Trinamool Congress’s political vendetta,” CPM councillor Rupa Bagchi was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. “The party had been busy naming and renaming things across the city. People will speak against these acts through the ballot.”
2. West Bengal University of Technology
Students of the West Bengal University of Technology have been trying to persuade the government to reverse its decision to rename the varsity before the move takes effect. A Facebook page made after the state’s announcement is being followed by more than 15,000 people. Many students across the state have joined the cause, shouting slogans like “name is identity” and “tol hillol” (rough translation: raise a wave).
3. 17 Kolkata roads
In May 2013, Banerjee renamed 17 streets in Kolkata after famous personalities from a variety of fields, including Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ram Manohar Lohia and RP Goenka. Not content with this, Banerjee renamed Dhakuria Bridge as Sri Chaitanya Setu and Jerut Bridge as Ma Saradamoni Setu – causing trouble, most of all, to tourists.
4. Railway stations
Before roads, Banerjee went on a drive renaming railway stations. In 2012, four stations in the Hooghly district were named after luminaries from the state like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. This zeal drew criticism from even the railway authorities, who had to step in and prevent the chief minister from renaming more stations after Vivekananda, Ambedkar and Ramakrishna. The authorities reasoned that they were looking for ways to “rename stations according to their locations, so that people can easily identify them”.
5. Running out of roads
In January, when Bengali screen icon Suchitra Sen died, Banerjee quickly announced a memorial to her and renamed Ballygunge Circular Road as Suchitra Sen Sarini. But, as it turned out, the 2.5 km road had already been assigned to Pramathesh Barua, who is regarded as the first star of Bengali cinema. Caught in a bind, the government sliced off a stretch to accommodate Suchitra Sen, while leaving Barua with only a 350-metre portion.
A similar quandary descended on the government when it received requests from Kishore Kumar’s fan club to name a road after the singer-actor. The municipal body of Kolkata could not find a stretch long enough. A breakthrough came when the family of novelist Ashapurna Dev, after whom a road was already named, requested for the name to be shifted to a road in Garia’s Kanungo Park.
Postscript
The government’s headaches are far from over. In the coming days, the opposition is unlikely to stop protesting against the renaming of the water treatment plant, and the students of the West Bengal University of Technology are planning to widen their agitation. Meanwhile, the state’s renaming committee is looking hard for space to extend the Tipu Sultan Road because the Shahi Imam of the Tipu Sultan Mosque in Esplanade has demanded so.
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