On Monday, the Uttarakhand government announced that 15 places in the districts of Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar would be renamed. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that the name changes were made in response to public sentiments.

“Taking an important decision today, Chief Minister Dhami has announced the change in the names of various places located in Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts,” according to the statement. “The change of names is being done in accordance with public sentiments, Indian culture and heritage so that people can take inspiration from the great men who contributed to Indian culture and its preservation,” Dhami stated during the announcement.

In the Haridwar district, several places will undergo name changes. Aurangzebpur will be renamed Shivaji Nagar, Ghaziwali will become Arya Nagar, Chandpur will be called Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Mohammadpur Jat will be renamed Mohanpur Jat, Khanpur Kursali will be changed to Ambedkar Nagar, Idrishpur will become Nandpur, Khanpur will be renamed Krishanpur, and Akbarpur Fazalpur will be called Vijaynagar. In the Dehradun district, Mianwala will be renamed Ramji Wala, Peerwala will become Kesari Nagar, Chandpur Khurd will be called Prithviraj Nagar, and Abdullah Nagar will be renamed Daksh Nagar. Nawabi Road will be changed to Atal Marg in the Nainital district, and Panchakki to ITI Road will be known as Guru Golwalkar Marg.

The Nagar Panchayat Sultanpur Patti in Udham Singh Nagar district will be renamed Kaushalya Puri. Manveer Singh Chauhan, the state BJP media-in-charge, stated that this change will help promote the nation’s heritage and culture.

“This decision is highly commendable. Our party welcomes it. The chief minister has been working for the state’s culture and heritage, whether it is addressing the issue of demographic change or working in the interest of the state. This decision is another step in that direction. For centuries, the legacy of foreign invaders had been prevailing in our country despite the immense atrocities they inflicted upon us. Renaming so many places named after foreign invaders will help promote our heritage and culture,” he stated.

Congress state vice president Suryakant Dhasmana criticised the decision, calling the “timing of the announcement very questionable.”

He stated, “When people are celebrating Eid and Navratri, the timing of making such an announcement is very questionable and unfortunate. This makes it clear that the BJP government in the state is brazenly taking ahead its agenda of religious polarisation. They are not focussing on pressing issues like unemployment and hill migration in the state, but rather on such divisive issues like this which has nothing to do with the development of the state.”