The Aligarh Municipal Corporation in Uttar Pradesh has passed a proposal to change the city’s name to Harigarh, following in the footsteps of Allahabad and Faizabad. The proposal, presented by Mayor Prashant Singhal, received unanimous support from all councillors. If approved by the Uttar Pradesh government, Aligarh will join the list of places that have been renamed in the BJP-ruled state.
The renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj in January 2019 is one of the most notable examples of this trend. Mayor Prashant Singhal expressed his hope that the administration will consider and fulfill their demand to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh, which has been a long-standing request.
In Uttar Pradesh, a state government has the authority to change the name of any city or area within the state. Once a municipal body unanimously approves a proposed name change resolution, it will be forwarded to the state government. The resolution will then be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for approval. If all relevant agencies give their approval, the state government can officially change the name.
The proposal to rename Aligarh to Harigarh was initially cleared by a zila panchayat meeting in 2021 and was subsequently sent to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. In 2019, Chief Minister Adityanath stated that his government would continue renaming places across the state as deemed necessary.
The ruling BJP has been advocating for the renaming of various cities over the years. Suggestions have included renaming Agra as Agravan or Agarwal and renaming Muzaffarnagar as Laxmi Nagar. The Samajwadi Ambulance Swasthya Sewa was renamed by the Yogi Adityanath government, replacing “Samajwadi” with “Mukhya Mantri” in the government’s pension scheme.
The proposal to change Aligarh’s name is now awaiting a response from the Uttar Pradesh government.
