File image | Photo Credit: PTI

Jaipur: In a shocking move ahead of the upcoming Assembly Elections, the Union Home Ministry, acting on the proposal of the Rajasthan government led by Vasundhara Raje, has approved the change of the Muslim names of eight villages. For instance, the name of a village called ‘Miyon ka Bara’ in Barmer district has been changed to ‘Mahesh Nagar’. The state government has offered two shocking excuses, justifying the move.

One excuse is that the names have been changed because they were inhabited by a majority of Hindus. Another is that renaming the villages would boost matrimonial prospects as the earlier name gave an impression that the village was inhabited by Muslims. Notably, the Mughalsarai railway junction was recently renamed as Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction, igniting a debate.

The Rajasthan government had sent a proposal to the Union Home Ministry to change the name of 27 such villages. The Ministry has given its nod to change the name of eight villages as yet. The move is seen as a part of the Raje government to woo voters ahead of the crucial Assembly Elections.

The villages whose names have been changed are: Miyon ka Bara in Barmer is now known as Mahesh Nagar, Islampur in Jhunjhunu renamed as Pichanva Khurd, Salemabad in Ajmer as Shri Nimbark Teerth, Mandfiya in Chhitaurgarh as Sanwaliyaji, Navabpura in Chittaurgarh as Nai Sarthal, Mohammadpur in Chittaurgarh as Medikh Kheda, and Rampura-Ajampur in Chittaurgarh as Sitaramji Kheda.

In the meantime, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has described the move as a bid to isolate Muslims. Notably, the 'Miyon ka Bara' village in the Barmer district has a population of approximately 1,400. According to Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Siwana tehsil, Tahir Samma, the name of the village was 'Mahesh Ro Bado' prior to Independence and changed to 'Miyon ka Bara' later.

The Union Home Ministry contemplates the proposal for renaming railway stations, villages, and cities once the proposal is received from the Rajasthan government.