Bengal panel examining proposals to rename roads

A 10-member committee, established by the West Bengal government, is currently assessing suggestions to rechristen several roads, bridges, and public spaces throughout the state. This includes potential name changes for three major Kolkata avenues currently named after communist leaders: Lenin Sarani, Karl Marx Sarani, and Ho Chi Minh Sarani.

Swami Pradiptananda, also known as Kartik Maharaj of Bharat Sevashram, leads the panel, which is set to convene following Durga Puja to consider renaming proposals. The KMC official revealed that the first meeting will take place post-Durga Puja, when the committee will likely focus on renaming roads within Kolkata. No decisions have been made yet, with any modifications in names contingent upon the committee's recommendations.

The panel comprises notable figures such as former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, Chief Minister's Adviser Subrata Gupta, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Commissioner Smita Pandey. Kartik Maharaj stated that the committee would evaluate the relevance of the personalities after whom roads are named, taking into account Indian and Bengali heritage, sanskriti, and culture.

Discussions have also surfaced for renaming other roads, as the panel awaits recommendations to submit to the state Assembly. Former BJP state chief Tathagata Roy advocated renaming Lenin Sarani in honor of mathematician and former Bharatiya Jana Sangh president Debaprasad Ghosh, while proposing alternatives like Bengali poets Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Rangalal Bandyopadhyay for Karl Marx Sarani in Kidderpore.

Ho Chi Minh Sarani could potentially be renamed after American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., according to Roy. The former Jana Sangh chief also called for the removal of the Lenin statue at the junction of Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Sidhho-Kanhu Dahar, suggesting that a prominent city road be named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Roy additionally recommended changing the names of select locations bearing the names of Muslim figures to those of "nationalist Muslims," suggesting alternatives such as writer Qazi Abdul Wadud, educationist Begum Rokeya, and author S. Wajed Ali for the Titumir-named bus stand in Barasat. The proposed renaming exercise has sparked debates on whether altering longstanding names could potentially erase or alter aspects of Kolkata's political and cultural history.

As of now, no road names have been officially altered, pending the committee's submission of recommendations.