New Delhi: In a move reminiscent of the renaming trend in Uttar Pradesh, the Aligarh Municipal Corporation has unanimously approved a proposal to change the city's name to Harigarh. This decision comes after the high-profile renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj in January 2019. The proposal to change Aligarh's name to Harigarh was presented by Mayor Prashant Singhal during a recent meeting. Notably, all councillors lent their support to this change.


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Mayor Prashant Singhal expressed his optimism, stating, "Now, this proposal will be sent to the administration. I hope that the administration will take cognizance of this and fulfill our demand to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh...This demand has been being raised for a long time," as quoted by news agency ANI.


The Renaming Process


In Uttar Pradesh, a state government possesses the authority to change the name of any city or area within its jurisdiction. After unanimous approval from the municipal body, the resolution for the name change is sent to the state government. Subsequently, the state government forwards it to the Ministry of Home Affairs for final approval.


Continuing the renaming trend


This move follows a similar proposal in 2021 when a zila panchayat meeting cleared the idea of renaming Aligarh to Harigarh. This proposal was then submitted to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Chief Minister Adityanath, who has been at the forefront of this renaming spree, affirmed, "We did what we felt was good. We renamed Mughal Sarai as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay Nagar, Allahabad as Prayagraj, and Faizabad district as Ayodhya district. Where there is a need, the government will take the steps required."


With the successful renaming of Faizabad district and Allahabad, other cities in Uttar Pradesh are now facing similar demands. Suggestions have included renaming Agra to Agravan or Agarwal, and renaming Muzaffarnagar to Laxmi Nagar.


Since assuming power in March 2017, the Yogi Adityanath government has been active in renaming various projects and schemes. This includes the transformation of the Purvanchal Expressway, which was initially initiated by the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government. The renaming trend even extended to the government's pension scheme, replacing "Samajwadi" with "Mukhya Mantri."