The title, Sher-e-Kashmir, will be removed from nomenclature

The Jammu and Kashmir government is likely to change the name of the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) by dropping the title, referring to National Conference founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.

An official of the SKICC told The Hindu, “The proposal has been moved and a formal order is likely on Monday.”

The convention centre, built in 1977, will be called Kashmir International Convention Centre.

Earlier, the administration dropped Muhammad Abdullah’s birth anniversary from the list of holidays and removed the title from the police medal.

Iltija Mufti, People’s Democratic Party PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, wrote on Twitter, “Sheikh sahab was a political giant and played an instrumental role in J&K’s accession to India. His pro-poor land reforms transformed millions of lives. The Government of India can’t obliterate his contributions by such petty decisions. It’s etched in the hearts of Kashmiris.”

The decision comes at a time when the The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has had previously proposed to rename the Jammu Airport and the Jammu University after Dogra monarchs Maharaja Hari Singh and Maharaja Gulab Singh., who ruled Jammu and Kashmir from 1846 to 1947.

The JMC has already renamed the historic City Chowk in Jammu as Bharat Mata Chowk and Kachi Chawni Chowk as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chowk. A bust of Vajpayee will soon be installed at the roundabout.