Naam badalne se kalyan hoga? City rages over road renaming

A fresh green board at the roundabout near the Delhi Gymkhana Club bears the name Lok Kalyan Marg and points to a heavily-guarded, gated road that leads to the Prime Minister's residence. Barely 48 hours ago, it used to be Race Course Road, the name evoking images of galloping stallions, smart jockeys, and smug owners of the place that has been home to Delhi's horseracing circuit.That was then.

The new name roughly translates to public welfare avenue and nearby petrol pump manager Vijender Singh is befuddled. “Our address, and letterhead--all mention RCR.We will have to change all of that now,“ he says. An attendant is not too impressed. “Naam badalne se kya kalyan hoga (What welfare will a name change bring?),“ he asks.

The road was rechristened on Wednesday , after much deliberation. Other contenders for the names were Ekatma Marg and Sri Guru Gobind Singh Marg. The name change is the third in the Delhi-NCR region in recent months. In April this year, Gurgaon was renamed Gurugram. Before that, in August last year, Aurangzeb Road was renamed after former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. But name-changing as a political pastime famously goes back to 1995 when Connaught Place was renamed Rajiv Chowk. The decision led to protests, indignant proclamations by political figures, and even Parliament walkouts. Life for the average person on the street, mean while, has continued.

At the press conference announcing the name change for the erstwhile Race Course Road, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said that the name did not reflect “Indian ethos“ and did not befit the stature of the location as the PM's residence. However, this particular change stands out from the long line of others--it doesn't seem to have made a political point, as was the case with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road. It is also different from changing the name of cities (Bombay to Mumbai, Madras to Chennai) where asserting local identity in the face of the colonial was key . Social commentator Santosh Desai says, “With other name changes, you can debate and disagree, but here, there is no larger story or narrative to do so. It's a harmless move from the inoffensive to the unremarkable.“

Next to the Jaipur Polo Grounds in the area, from which the Race Course Road got its name, autorickshaw driver Brijesh Kumar has another concern--he feels the new name has no top-of-themind recall value. “The earlier name was nicer. Who will remember a name like Lok Kalyan Marg? It's all politics.What will this change for us?“ he asks.

Manoj Kumar, who runs a packaged snacks stall nearby , couldn't care less. Like several others who earn a living around the area, the change in the most powerful address in the country has barely impacted him. “How does it matter? It's the same to me. But it will confuse new people,“ he says, as tourists disembark from a bus across the road, and troop over to buy water.

(TOI)