IEarlier this month, the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government decided to rename Ahmednagar district as Ahilya Nagar after the 18th-century queen Ahilya Devi Holkar. In February it renamed Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.
This renaming spree that the government has started is a form of majoritarian politics. It suggests erasing those parts of history that are associated with Muslim rulers and can be seen as an attempt to make a community feel inferior by erasing its contribution to the nation. Aurangabad was named after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb; Osmanabad is named after Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad; And Ahmadnagar is associated with Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah, the founder of the Nizam Shahi dynasty. This trend has also ignited communal unrest. Nearly a week after the decision to rename Ahmednagar, tension prevailed in Kolhapur after right-wing organizations protested over social media messages that allegedly glorified Aurangzeb and the 18th-century Mysore ruler, Tipu Sultan.
In fact, it was the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government that decided to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad in response to a long-standing demand of the Shiv Sena. This was the last cabinet decision of the MVA government before its fall in June last year. After coming to power, the Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government quashed the decision saying that the Uddhav Thackeray-led government did not have a majority and claimed that the decision would face legal hurdles. Its cabinet once again approved the renaming proposal, and Aurangabad and Osmanabad were renamed in a way the government hopes will appeal to its core voter base in the Marathwada region.
Now, by renaming Ahmednagar, which locals refer to as Nagar, the government is aiming to woo the Dhangars, a pastoral community with significant electoral influence in parts of western Maharashtra, Marathwada and northern Maharashtra, by invoking regional pride . Ahilya Devi Holkar, born in Chaundi, Ahmednagar, belongs to the Dhangar community, which today is the second largest community in the state after the Maratha-Kunbis. At least seven Lok Sabha and about 40 assembly constituencies each have 15,000–25,000 Dhangar voters. In high-profile constituencies that are strongholds of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, including Baramati, Daund, Shirur, Indapur and Sangola, Dhangars hold substantial voting power. The move is in line with the BJP’s ‘Madhav’ formula, through which it hopes to consolidate Mali (MA), Dhangar (DHA) and Vanzara (V) and expand its presence in western Maharashtra. It hopes to attract the powerful vote bank of the Other Backward Classes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Hoping to further weaken the NCP’s hold on power in the region, the government also announced that the Baramati Medical College would be renamed as Punyashlok Ahilya Devi Holkar Government Medical College. Mr Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule represents the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency and his nephew Ajit Pawar is the MLA from Baramati. These seats were earlier held by Mr. Pawar.
The MVA has been wary about opposing the remainder because it fears that doing so will benefit the ruling coalition. It also does not want to be seen engaging in the politics of ‘Muslim appeasement’ given the widespread narrative of Muslim rulers being anti-Hindu and cruel.
Meanwhile, the influential Maratha community, which believes that the Dhangars, with the support of the BJP, are trying to wrest power in the state have opposed the renaming to Ahmednagar. Initially, even the BJP’s Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and his son Dr. Sujay-Vikhe Patil, who hail from the Maratha community from Ahmednagar, were against this demand.
The decision to change the name will have far-reaching implications. They underline the delicate balance between emphasizing regional and caste identity, attracting a specific voter base and maintaining communal harmony. Whether such name changes actually fetch votes remains to be seen. But ruling parties must ensure inclusiveness and unity while navigating such sensitive matters.