The tension caused in Madhya Pradesh due to the holding of “Narmada Samajik Kumbh” in the State is yet to be defused. In the meantime, the BJP government of the State has announced its intention of changing the name of Bhopal, the Capital of the State. The BJP wants the city to be renamed as Bhojpal. The idea is to cherish the memory of Raja Bhoj—an eleventh century king who ruled various parts of the country, including some areas that form part of the present MP. There is hardly any historical evidence to support the claim that he ever ruled over the Bhopal city and its surrounding areas. In fact, it is not clear whether Bhopal existed at that time.

The Madhya Pradesh government organised a three-day cultural fest to commemorate the one thousandth year of the coronation of Raja Bhoj. A huge statue of Raja Bhoj has been installed in the middle of Bhopal’s famous Upper Lake. More than two crores of the tax payer’s money was spent on the celebrations.

Though there is absolutely no historical evidence of Raja Bhoj’s connection with Bhopal, the BJP government has resolved to rename the city after him as Bhojpal.

The “Narmada Kumbh” had targeted the Christians. The propaganda during the Kumbh and during its run-up, accused the Christian missionaries of converting tribals into Christianity. The propaganda material even questioned the loyalty of the Christians to India. It quoted Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda out-of-contest, deploring the very concept of Conversions. It also claimed that the tribals were Hindus. This claim was hotly contested by the tribal leaders and the priests of the adivasis. The propaganda and the Kumbh led to tension in the tribal-dominated areas of the State, including the Mandla district, where the Kumbh was held. There is no doubt that the Sangh Parivar succeeded in polarising the society on religious lines

The Sangh Parivar hardly has any love for Raja Bhoj. But it knows pretty well that the decision to rename Bhopal will cause resentment among the Muslims. Bhopal was ruled by Muslim Nawabs for more than a century and the Muslims have an emotional attachment to the city. The Sangh Parivar expects that the proposal to rename Bhopal will polarise the residents of the city on religious lines. But much to the discomfiture of the BJP, besides Muslims, a large number of citizens hailing from other religions are voicing their disagreement with the proposal.

At a meeting attended by representatives of the main opposition Congress, the Communist party, the Samajwadi party, trade unions, NGOs etc. the proposal was criticised in strong terms. The meeting also chalked out a strategy for mobilising public opinion against the proposal. Interestingly, the young residents of the city are at the forefront in voicing their protest. Nandita Chibber, in her twenties, has written a passionate letter to the Chief Minister, protesting the move. She writes, “In the heart of my hearts I consider myself only a Bhopali”. One correspondent with the CM asks him how he would feel if the famous comical character in the epoch-making film “Sholay: would introduce himself as “Soorma Bhojpali”.

Among those who have made their resentment public is MN Buch, a 76-years-old retired IAS officer. Buch, who is regarded as the architect of today’s Bhopal, has penned an open letter to the Prime Minister, requesting him not to succumb to the demand of the state government. It may be pertinent to mention here that the name of a city cannot be changed without the concurrence of the Union government.

In his letter, Buch traces the history of Bhopal and points out that the name Bhopal has no Islamic connotations. In Sanskrit, the word “Bhopal” means protector of the land. The proposed name Bhojpal would thus replace a perfectly fine name, which has a deep environmental connotation, by one which merely commemorates the memory of a person. There is no logic in naming Bhopal after a person, who did not create it. Bhopal has a substantial Muslim population, which is aggrieved by the decision. The move will inevitably lead to communal tension because there is already a Hindu-Muslim divide over the proposal.

Several historians have also opposed the move. For instance, Dr. Bhagwatilal Rajpurohit, the director of “Maharaja Vikramaditya Shoudpeeth”, Ujjain avers that there was no reason to believe that Bhopal was ever called Bhojpal. Dr. Purohit, incidentally, has done a PhD in Sanskrit on Raja Bhoj. (IPA Service)