Renaming of historical places is a pet peeve of mine. Every time some place is renamed, the liberal in me wakes up and is deeply offended. I consider every such exercise as an ostrich like attitude towards life - refusing to acknowledge the truth and face the consequences.
A fortnight back, Delhi Development Authority announced their decision to rename the Coronation Park in Delhi, which was the site of 1911 coronation of King George in the British times. This is not unusual. DDA, after all, is run by the government, ergo, by the politicians who normally chose populist moves over any erudite ones. Here is where I read this:
What I found unusual was various academicians and historians agreeing that Coronation Park in its present name " is inappropriate and glorifies a British event".
My wife accuses me of being a pseudo when I give this "liberal" argument. She says keeping original names indeed glorify the British and is being regressive rather than being liberal. This is a part of history which might well remain in the books but not needed to be shouted from the rooftops. I frankly do not know how to respond to this. May be she is right and I am being only naive.
Nonetheless, I shot a letter to the Indian Express, which I share with you here below:
Meanwhile, the debate at home continues...
A fortnight back, Delhi Development Authority announced their decision to rename the Coronation Park in Delhi, which was the site of 1911 coronation of King George in the British times. This is not unusual. DDA, after all, is run by the government, ergo, by the politicians who normally chose populist moves over any erudite ones. Here is where I read this:
What I found unusual was various academicians and historians agreeing that Coronation Park in its present name " is inappropriate and glorifies a British event".
My wife accuses me of being a pseudo when I give this "liberal" argument. She says keeping original names indeed glorify the British and is being regressive rather than being liberal. This is a part of history which might well remain in the books but not needed to be shouted from the rooftops. I frankly do not know how to respond to this. May be she is right and I am being only naive.
Nonetheless, I shot a letter to the Indian Express, which I share with you here below:
No comments:
Post a Comment