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How Hindu Nationalists Are Erasing Muslims From Indian History
One city at a time.
Things change at astonishing speed in so-called “developing” nations like India. In the three years that I was away, Starbucks has cropped up on every street corner, selling coffee that is even more obscenely overpriced in a country where the average monthly income wouldn’t even buy you 10 frappucinos. The health craze has reached Delhi’s upper-middle class and there are flax seeds everywhere. If you have money, there is an app for everything you could possibly want, which can be delivered directly to your door. Three-wheeled auto-rickshaws now work with Uber.
But there is a bigger change underfoot — a change which makes entire cities disappear off the map. The familiar names gone, replaced with ones made up by Hindu nationalist leaders in an attempt to reinforce their cultural influence. The BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu extremist party, has been on a re-naming spree over the past few years — especially of any towns with a Muslim association. Faizabad become Ayodhya, Allahabad become Prayagraj, Mughal Serai became Upadhya, Gurgaon became Gurugram. There are dozens of others — just in 2018, the Centre government approved the renaming of 25 towns.
From opponents, the move sparked mockery across social media, but many people also felt genuinely worried — like their history and culture was under attack. Take Allahabad. Its ancient name was “Ilahabas”, coined in the 16th century by the Mughal emperor Akbar. The term mixes both Hindu and Muslim cultures and is a reference to religious harmony: “Ila” means “deity” in Sanskrit, as well as “Ilahi” in Arabic. Changing the name felt, some residents commented, like this history of tolerance and cohabitition was being erased.
What’s in a name?
So what is the big deal about renaming places? India is a country which already juggles dozens of languages, and where places are called by several names simultaneously. Something can be written on a signpost, but everyone will keep on calling it by its former name. Everyone still says Gurgaon. So does it really matter?
Yes. The BJP’s name-changing spree is just one part of a larger campaign to erase Muslim culture from India — from encouraging cow vigilantes…
