Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar? In the ‘Name’ of Public Sentiments or Telangana Polls?

From Allahabad to Prayagraj and now Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar, the trend of renaming cities is seeing its own political and historical twist.

With Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking of renaming Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar, the issue has found a new pitch in the Telangana elections.

Adityanath, while speaking in Hyderabad, said, “The Congress made Hyderabad what it is today. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will make Hyderabad Bhagyanagar again. Goddess Bhagyalaxmi is here, and we are committed to naming the city after her. This will be our party’s gift for all Ram Bhakts in Telangana.”

Sarma went even further, “Did anyone ever think that Ram Mandir would be constructed? Did Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi dare to build it? It is happening because of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I believe Hyderabad should be renamed Bhagyanagar. When the BJP government is formed, it will be done in 30 minutes, and no one will even dare to make a racket.”

Responding to it, KT Rama Rao, Bharat Rashtra Samithi Working President, said, “Why don’t you change Ahmedabad’s name to Adanibad first? Yogi ji has renamed himself as well…We will defeat the BJP in Goshamahal.”

But the question that looms is — Does this renaming pitch affect people of this growing hi-tech city, or is it being done for pure political mileage?

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With the creation of states based on linguistics on the recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission 1956, the names of cities were changed. By the late 1970s, the trend to rename cities to reclaim the local identity, language and tradition of the area gained momentum. Assam’s Gauhati became Guwahati, Bezawada, while Vijayawada, Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands were renamed as Lakshadweep.

However, historians and political analysts call it “pure political posturing.”

While historians in Hyderabad do not share the same opinion on the origin of the name Bhagyanagar, it is certainly of interest. One of the most famous lores was that Hyderabad city, which was founded by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah in 1591, named it after a dancer and singer called Bhagmati, whom he fell in love with in his younger days.

Capt L Pandurang Reddy, a historian, said, “There have been references made to Bhagmati and Qutub, but where is the proof? References have been made by an Italian historian, who called the city Baghnagar (city of gardens or Bagh), nothing more.”

“Without knowing history, people are talking about history. The city of Hyderabad was established by Quli Qutub Shah and the original name of Hyderabad is Chichulam. It has no link or evidence to show the existence of a lady called Bhagmati,” he said.

“One government will come and change the name, and then the other will do the same. Does the Assam CM know that the old name of Assam is Kamroop? First, let him change the name of his state. It was ruled by the Ahom dynasty and the name was derived from the word Ahom. It is easy to talk about another state, let him act in his own first,” Reddy added.

The historian also emphasised that Quli Qutub Shah had 18 wives and had written a book, referring to each of them, but there is no mention of a Bhagmati anywhere, which further endorses that it is a fable. “It’s preposterous and political posturing,” he said.

Prof. Shashidhar Nanjundaiah, a political analyst from Hyderabad, compared Hyderabad and Bhagyanagar to India and Bharat.

“It really does not matter. What I have seen again and again is that the leaders come to Hyderabad and repeatedly say that they would change the name to Bhagyanagar. They are trying to set up a kind of rhetoric and I am sure it’s a strategy. Whether that repetition will work on voters or not is the actual question. As of now, that has very little presence. Hyderabad is one of the syncretic cities where Bhagyanagars and Hyderabadis have lived together and in great harmony. I don’t see a need for that to change,” Prof Nanjundaiah told News18.

“This is just a method of mnemonic used to influence the voters,” he added.