Aligarh in Line for Name Change After Allahabad and Faizabad

The renaming of Aligarh, if approved by the Uttar-Pradesh-government, will become part of the BJP-ruled-state’s growing list of renamed places.

Following the renaming of Allahabad, another significant city in Uttar Pradesh is contemplating a name change. The Aligarh Municipal Corporation has approved a proposal to rename the city as Harigarh. Mayor Prashant Singhal introduced the proposal in a recent meeting, with unanimous support from all council members.

Approval of Aligarh’s renaming in Uttar Pradesh will contribute to the increasing number of name changes in the BJP-governed state. One of the most high-profile recent examples is the renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj in January 2019.

Aligarh Mayor Prashant Singhal quoted by news agency ANI

Aligarh Mayor Prashant Singhal quoted by news agency ANI said, “We presented a proposal to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh in a meeting yesterday. All councillors unanimously supported it. Now, we will send this proposal to the administration, and we hope the administration will take cognizance of this and fulfill our long-standing demand to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh.”

A state government can change the name of any city or area within the state. After a municipal body unanimously approves a proposed name change resolution, it will write to the state government. The resolution will then be sent by the state government to the Ministry of Home Affairs for approval. If the ministry and other relevant agencies approve the resolution, the state government can officially change the name.

In 2021, a zila panchayat meeting cleared a proposal to rename Aligarh as Harigarh and forwarded it to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. In 2019, Chief Minister Adityanath indicated that his government will keep up with its spree of renaming places across the state.

“We did what we felt was good. We renamed Mughal Sarai as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay Nagar, Allahabad as Prayagraj and Faizabad district as Ayodhya district. Where there is a need, the government will take the steps required,” Yogi Adityanath had said.

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