Soon after UP government decided to change Faizabad to ‘Ayodhya’, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani too expressed his desire to rename Ahmedabad. Earlier this month, Rupani asserted that the party would change the name to Karnavati before 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Changing the name of my city won’t help my country to improve its performance on GDP, per capita GNP, HDI, literacy rate or other development indicators. Changing name is an attempt to hurt people’s sentiments because being an Amadavadi I cannot relate/connect to the proposed new name-“Karnavati”.
Over the years, Ahmedabad has developed its brand. From IIM Ahmedabad to Husain-Doshi Gufa (now called Ahmedabad ni Gufa), people across the world associate with Ahmedabad. Changing name would disrupt this.
India is a country of diversity which accepts different castes, religions, and creeds. The latest installation of the Statue of Unity also aimed at promoting this. But this move by the government has been very disappointing. While many people have filed online petitions against this name change exercise, I fear nothing would deter the ruling party.
I wish the government had shown so interest in bringing in policies that could have helped the people of the city. But, the keenness to change the name instead of improving the governance is uncalled for.