CPI MP Binoy Viswam on Monday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu requesting her to reconsider the decision of renaming the Mughal Gardens to Amrit Udyan and sought the views of historians and scholars over the matter. The Rajya Sabha MP also termed the decision as 'arbitrary and unfortunate.'
Viswam further said that the names of places such as Mughal Gardens are 'historical details' that 'illuminate' a particular period of our history.“Being part of an empire, it is true that the Mughal rulers had their positive and negative records. The same is true of Hindu empires,” Viswam said in his letter to the President.
The CPI MP further said that the attempt to 'erase' the word 'Mughal' can be seen as an attempt to rewrite Indian history.“What is lost in the renaming is an essential component of Delhi's history. It is quite unfortunate that someone as honourable as you were made instrumental for implementing such a communally motivated decision,” he wrote.
The MP requested President Murmu to look into 'all the possibilities' for reversing the decision.“Henceforth, I would humbly urge you to reconsider such a decision and consult historians, scholars, and academicians regarding the matter,” he said.
The Central government's decision to rename the Mughal Gardens came on Saturday in line with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav - an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements. Spread over an area of 15 acres, this garden is famous for hundreds of varieties of flowers and is open to the public once a year during the months of February and March.
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