Pawan Khera, the Congress Media and Publicity chairperson, condemned the BJP-led West Bengal government's decision to rename Suhrawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road on Monday [1, 2].
The dispute highlights a growing tension over the preservation of historical nomenclature in Kolkata and the political motivations behind erasing colonial or foreign-linked names.
Khera said the move represents "intellectual bankruptcy" [1, 2]. He said the government failed to verify historical facts before proceeding with the name change, suggesting that the administration is confused about the identity of the original namesake [1, 2].
According to reports, there is a contradiction regarding which historical figure the avenue originally honored. One source states the road was named after Huseyn Suhrawardy, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan [1]. Another source identifies the namesake as Sir Hassan Suhrawardy, a different historical figure [2].
Khera said the government should "spare country from intellectual bankruptcy" [1]. He said that renaming landmarks without accurate historical research undermines the integrity of the state's public records, a move he views as politically driven rather than academic.
The BJP-led government has not issued a formal rebuttal to the specific claims regarding the confusion between the two Suhrawardy figures. The renaming of the avenue is part of a broader effort to honor figures associated with Indian independence and regional history, such as Gopal Mukherjee.
“Spare country from intellectual bankruptcy”
This clash reflects a wider ideological battle in India where the ruling party seeks to 'decolonize' public spaces by replacing names associated with the British era or partitioned entities. By questioning the historical accuracy of the renaming, the Congress party is attempting to frame the BJP's cultural nationalism as superficial and factually flawed.
