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…
