Government hoardings calling Hyderabad ‘Bhagyanagaram’ spark outrage

HYDERABAD: Many Hyderabadis were taken by surprise recently when the TRS government in Telangana put up hoardings glorifying its many achievements, including the metro, and referred to Hyderabad as ‘Bhagyanagaram’.
Hard-line BJP leaders have been insisting that Hyderabad be renamed as Bhagyanagar. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityamath had sparked a controversy when he had said in the campaigning for the recent assembly election in Telangana that BJP would rename Hyderabad if it came to power.

Even as political parties and heritage activists fault the TRS government for promoting the name ‘Bhagyanagar’, Telangana chief secretary S K Joshi said on Monday the matter is being probed.“The hoardings in their existing form will either be brought down or a neutral heading introduced,” he told TOI.
The hoardings, with the state government’s logo, have been put up to project Hyderabad as a developing world class city but refers to Hyderabad in Telugu as “Bhagyanaragam.” They also depict Governor ESL Narasimhan flagging off metro rail in the presence of TRS working president KT Rama Rao and animal husbandry minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav.
Though historians and heritage activists maintain that there is no historical documentary evidence to prove the legend of Bhagmati and Bhagyanagar, there is a claim that Hyderabad should be rechristened as Bhagyanagar. It is based on the romantic legend of queen Bhagmati, a dancer who fell in love with the ruler of Hyderabad, Quli Qutub Shah, in the 16th century.
The Congress blamed that the KCR led-TRS government is playing to the tune of BJP. “How did Hyderabad become Bhagyanagar for TRS government when the official name of the city is still Hyderabad? I wonder if TRS is making a covert attempt to satisfy BJP and its ideology. We have seen such unruly acts of changing historical names by BJP governments in various states demeaning the history,” said AICC spokesperson Dasoju Sravan.
Heritage activist and Hyderabadi P Anuradha Reddy said renaming has become the fashion of the day according to political convenience. “Knowledgeable citizens have become irrelevant in the city and the planners have become silent. Has the government taken the opinion of people of old city who are original inhabitants of Hyderabad,” she said.
Telangana Jana Samithi founder-president M Kodandaram, a former professor of political science, said: “Certain names have political connotations. Government should be careful and stick to legally recognised names. We expect that the government in future will use legally recognised name Hyderabad,” he said.
Chief secretary S K Joshi said that an inquiry will be conducted to know who cleared the slogan and wordings in the horading promoting Hyderabad as a world class city. “Action will be taken based on the inquiry report,” Joshi said.