Delhi's Dalhousie Road renamed after Mughal prince Dara Shikoh

New Delhi: The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Monday renamed Dalhousie Road in the heart of national capital after the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh, elder brother of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

The NDMC had initially planned to rename Aurangzeb Raod after Dara, however, after the untimely death of APJ Abdul Kalam, the road was named after him.

The eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan, Dara Shikoh was born on March 20, 1615 at Taragarh Fort Ajmer.

Prince Shikoh was known for his work towards promoting Hindu-Muslim unity and had translated 50 Upanishads from Sanskrit to Persian.

Shah Jahan had favoured him as his successor to the Mughal throne. However, the plan never materilaised as his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin challenged the claim.

The bitter struggle for throne ended with Dara Shikoh death at the hands of Muhiuddin in 1659 – who later ascended the throne as Emperor Aurangzeb.

Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of India from 1848 to 1856. Among his achievements are railway line between Bombay and Thane and telegraph connection between Calcutta and Agra.

This is the third time that the NDMC has renamed a road in less than two years. In 2015, Aurangzeb Road was named as APJ Abdul Kalam Road. Race Course Road, where the Prime Minister's residence is located, was renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg last year.

Historians and urban planners have slammed the renaming of Dalhousie Road to Dara Shikoh Road in the national capital as a "populist move" while alleging that history was being "distorted and appropriated" for political gains in the garb of rechristening.

"One should not meddle with the past, a city's life span is layers of past and present and, the past, whether good or bad, cannot be erased or wished away. These names are not just names, but also documentation of our past.

"It is sad that one after another, streets are being renamed. History is always the first victim of politics and now, with a spree of rechristening, history has been distorted and appropriated," noted historian Irfan Habib alleged.