My name change versus yours: Why is Mamata Banerjee angry?
Accusing the central government of stonewalling her government’s decision to change West Bengal’s name to ‘Bangla’, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of changing names of historical places and institutions ‘unilaterally’ to suit its vested political interests.
Questioning whether there was a double standard in dealing with name change proposals, Banerjee said, “Our Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution to change the name of our state on the basis of local sentiments related to our mother tongue, Bangla… But, it is pending there for a long, long time. It clearly shows deprivation to the people of Bengal.”
Calling out Banerjee’s name change proposal “politically motivated”, BJP has threatened to oppose it.
“Do people of Bengal want this name change? Some want it for their own political interest. We won't allow this,” Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh has challenged.
In the midst of this tug of war, Didi is clearly unhappy. Her principal political rival seems to have snatched a potent political weapon from her this election season.
Quick came her ultimatum on Facebook. “Whether a political party with zero strength in the state will decide the name of our state or the unanimous resolution passed by our state Assembly in accordance with the constitutional obligations and federal structure should be respected? The people of Bengal must get a positive response immediately,” she wrote.
So what does this really boil down to?
Clearly, Banerjee does not oppose name changes in principle, rather she supports them.
“After independence, there have been changes in the names of few states and cities, like Orissa to Odisha, Pondicherry to Puducherry, Madras to Chennai, Bombay to Mumbai, Bangalore to Bengaluru etc, keeping in view the sentiments of the state and local language. Those are genuine,” Banerjee says, suggesting that BJP’s recent name change exercise was arbitrary.
But there is more to it than just a simple rechristening exercise. People close to Didi know very well that she has quite a way with words. Her knack for giving new names to the old and new alike has often caught the imagination of the masses.
From streets to railway stations, water tanks, flyovers, and even the new state secretariat building 'Nabanna', all have had her distinct personal touch.
Mamata's naming spree began way before she took over as the chief minister. In 2009, she named seven new metro stations — as the then Union railway minister — each after some Bengal luminary or the other.
In 2014, when Bengali screen icon Suchitra Sen passed away, Didi was quick to dedicate an important south Kolkata road to her memory. Thus the iconic Ballygunge Circular Road was renamed Suchitra Sen Sarani. Except, it soon turned out that the road had already been dedicated to the legendary Pramathesh Barua.
But in order to accommodate Didi's wish, the Trinamool-led Kolkata Municipal Corporation made use of an innovative idea — it divided the 2.5km stretch between the two screen legends. While Suchitra got a lion's share of the road, Barua had to make peace with a 350m portion.
Another Bengali icon recently got a taste of Didi's legendary tribute whims. For ages, Bishop Lefroy Road remains an iconic address in Kolkata, home to Satyajit Ray. Adjacent to it is the Lee Road, which has recently been decorated with designer street lamps with posters of some of Ray's most celebrated works. When Mamata inaugurated the newly renovated stretch earlier this year, she was once again struck with a brilliant idea.
Thus, Lee Road was renamed as Satyajit Ray ‘Dharani’ — another first for the city. While the Bengali term ‘Sarani’, which literally translates to road, is generally used as a suffix for many roads in Kolkata, use of the term ‘Dharani’, meaning earth, has surprised even her ardent admirers.
Then there was the new Parama Island flyover connecting central Kolkata with the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. Sanctioned during the Left regime, when the project was completed Mamata named it ‘Maa’!
Of the innumerable books she has penned, one is called Namanjali. Sounds like Tagore’s Gitanjali? Well, it is a book of name suggestions to help future parents to name their future kids!
Released in 2016, the book derives its own name from the Bangla word for name, that is, naam.
Now can we blame her for being angry?