The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has renamed Suhrawardy Avenue to Gopal Mukherjee Road [1, 2].
The decision marks a significant shift in the city's public geography by removing the name of a former prime minister to honor a figure associated with communal defense. This change reflects a broader effort by the current administration to reshape the historical narrative of the region's street names.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced the renaming on June 22, 2026 [1, 2]. He said the action was a correction of history, arguing that the name of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy is inseparable from the communal violence of the 1946 Direct Action Day massacres [1, 3]. Suhrawardy served as the last Premier of undivided Bengal and later as Pakistan's fifth prime minister [1].
The road now honors Gopal Mukherjee, a former gangster who became a protector of Hindu neighborhoods during the 1946 massacres [1, 3]. Adhikari said, "This is a historic move" [1]. He said Kolkata will have no road names honoring Mughal or Pathan figures [3].
Opposition parties have criticized the move as a distortion of history. A spokesperson for the CPI(M) said, "The wrong Suhrawardy has been targeted" [1]. Critics argue that the renaming is based on incorrect information and targets a historical figure unfairly [2].
While the administration views the change as a necessary act of remembrance for Mukherjee, opponents claim it erases complex political histories. The tension highlights the ongoing struggle over how the events of 1946 and the partition of India and Pakistan are remembered in West Bengal [1, 2].
“"This is a historic move."”
The renaming of Suhrawardy Avenue is part of a wider ideological trend in India to prioritize indigenous or nationalist figures over those associated with the Islamic era or the leadership of Pakistan. By replacing a statesman with a local militia leader from the 1946 riots, the government is shifting the city's symbolic landscape from one of diplomatic and administrative legacy to one of communal identity and conflict memory.
