The newly elected BJP MLA from Deoband, Brijesh Singh, has said he will ensure that the new government in the State changes the name of the town to Deovrind. Mr. Singh said Deoband should be known for its historical association with Mahabharata and not the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband.
Mr. Singh said the proposal to change the name of the town to restore its historical glory would be the first proposal he would move in the State Assembly after the formation of the government.
Several groups like the Bajrang Dal had, in the past, raised the issue of renaming Deoband to Deovrind, but this is the first time it is being proposed by an MLA.
“Deoband is quite sacred for Hindus because of its historical association with Mahabharata. Pandavas visited Deoband when they were in exile and living incognito. Their visit to the town also led to the foundation of the famous temple here,” Mr Singh said. “The historical association of Deoband with the Mahabharata needs to be highlighted and reinforced in public memory. It would be unfair if Deoband is known and talked about only as a place where Darul Uloom Deoband is located,” added the BJP MLA.
Mr. Singh tried to substantiate his argument, and said several ancient structures were found in villages such as Rankhandi, Jakhwala and Jarauda Panda, pointing towards their association with the Mahabharata.
“This is not a new proposal but in the past also many people raised this. Everyone knows how centuries- old structures were found in villages such as Rankhandi, Jakhwala and Jarauda Panda,” added Mr. Singh, who is the first BJP candidate to have won from the constituency in the past 21 years.
Deoband is one of the five Assembly segments of Saharanpur which the saffron party swept, defying conventional wisdom as Muslims make up 30% of Deoband’s electorate.
Mr. Singh said he had “nothing against Darul Uloom Deoband which is like those old religious Sanskrit schools. In its current form the town stands to symbolise only the Islamic seminary whereas historically Deovrind represented much more than that. I only want this town to get that identity back.”
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It is good news that the people of Bharat is waking up and remembering the historical background of this once mighty nation Bharat with wonderful history, old civilization that could rival today’s advancement in science. But the main point is that India is now a multicultural, multi-faith, all inclusive nation. Any changes can only be implemented with the support of all citizens. So the first step should be to teach children the real history of India. Until now the so called secular Congress has poisoned the minds of the children with propaganda, painting our culture and religion as bad, restrictive and backward. Perhaps this is the beginning of a much needed change. But looking at the trouble in Gujarat where the so called backward class, the untouchable people were beaten-up and the role RSS played which ended in the resignation of the then CM of Gujarat Anandiben does not install much confidence at least among Overseas Hindus. But let us hope for the best and let time shape the future of this great nation.
I congratulate the new minister to take this initiative. This particular sect has been responsible to influence the spread of terrorism and fundamentalism not only in India but across the world. Their name have no right to exist in a place which of historic significance for the Hindus. As to the role of overseas Hindus, rather than picking up alleged faults of their own should get involved in media and politics in their respective place of abode. For example in the UK we remain the chattering class, knowing fully well how the Labour party supports one major group at the expenses of the remainder ethnic religious communities. The effect is well evidenced in places like Newham, Walthamstow, Luton and Birmingham to name few. To keep empowering an entity where majority of terrorists emanate from is disastrous for the rest. I mean the proliferation so called tuition centres in shopping parades who are more apt to teach Arabic rather than GCSCE subjects, taking over of community centres or even police stations which are up for sale. In my opinion the Hindu community should be more vocal here, press their elected readers for more rights (or boycott them if in marginal wards) and be media savvy. Eshadoot is doing a great job by bringing timely news – Well done
Great you pick up a very relevant subject to all of us and high light it.