The town derived its name from Guru Dronacharya; the village was given as "gurudakshina" to him by the Pandavas, hence the name Gurugram

The Haryana Government on Tuesday decided to rename Gurgaon as Gurugram and its neighbouing district Mewat as Nuh.

Announcing the decision, an official spokesman said the decision to change the name of Gurgaon had been taken on the basis of the representations received at several forums.

He said Haryana was a historic land mentioned in the Bhagwat Gita and Gurgaon had been a great centre of learning, where Guru Dronacharya used to provide education to the Pandavas and Kauras.

The town derived its name from Guru Dronacharya; the village was given as “gurudakshina” to him by his students, the Pandavas, and hence it came to be known as Gurugram.

This name in course of time got distorted to Gurgaon. Therefore, the people of the area had been long demanding that Gurgaon be renamed as Gurugram.

The spokesperson said that Mewat, in fact is a geographical and cultural unit and not a town. It is spread beyond Haryana in the adjoining States of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The headquarters of Mewat district is at Nuh town. The people of the area and the elected representatives had been demanding the name change of Mewat to Nuh. He said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the proposal to change the names.

However, the proposal would now be forwarded to the Government of India for its approval and come into force only after a Gazette Notification.

A committee of councillors had also sent a proposal to the government in this regard.

The renaming, however, evoked mixed reactions. While Deputy Commissioner T.L. Satyaprakash said it would not hamper the administrative work, some felt that it would entail unwarranted expenses and the city had already made a place for itself in the global map as Gurgaon.

Reactions

Aam Aadmi Party, Haryana spokesperson, R.S. Rathee said the government should concentrate on improving the infrastructure in the city and tackling the problems of water scarcity, unemployment and lack of connectivity instead of resorting to such cosmetic measures. “What is the government going to achieve with name change?,” he asked.

“As the state government decides to change the city’s name, they should also look ahead at changing the road mobility situation, the waste management and the situation of diminishing forest cover. What is urgently required in Gurgaon or Gurugram is to bring radical changes in the development of this city,” said Embarq India manager (cities and transport) Sarika Panda Bhatt, also the force behind the “Car Free Day”.

Welcoming the move, however, Gurgaon Mayor Vimal Yadav said that he was working along with other councillors on the idea of erecting a statue of Guru Dronacharya at an important intersection in the city. Not only this, after the approval of the State government to change the name, we are also thinking of having Guru Dronacharya’s pictures displayed at all the city entrances, said Mr. Yadav, adding that the renaming would draw the people of Gurgaon closer to its rich cultural heritage.

“It won't hamper the administrative work in any manner. We are slated to get a new stationery in the next few months so it won't make much difference to us. Also it is up to the people as to how they react to the name change,” said Deputy Commissioner T.L. Satyaprakash.

Vivek Kundu, a MBA student of Gurgaon Institute of Technology and Management, said: “It is an unwarranted and unpopular move. Connaught Place was also renamed as Rajiv Chowk. But people still know the place as Connaught Place only. It is a popular name. I believe Gurgaon will also continue to be known as such as people are not going to accept the new name. It sounds old-fashioned and is such a tongue-twister.”