A name change for Hyderabad on the cards? The significance of ‘Bhagyanagar’ explained

Changing names of cities have come par for the course in Indian politics. The latest city which could be re-christened is Hyderabad. The Telangana capital may be renamed Bhagyanagar. The buzz started after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in the city for the big Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive meeting, referred to Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar. The PM said that it was in Bhagyanagar that Sardar Patel, the freedom fighter icon, had coined the term “Ek Bharat” during his address to delegates from across the country.

Lively atmosphere in Hyderabad. Addressing a rally. https://t.co/CKJfZ6QmD7

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 3, 2022

“PM Modi said that Hyderabad is Bhagyanagar which is significant for all of us. Sardar Patel kept the foundation of a unified India and now it’s BJP’s responsibility to carry it further,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said in Hyderabad quoting Modi. Why Bhagyanagar? Some leaders of the BJP have claimed that Hyderabad’s earlier name was Bhagyanagar. “Since ancient times, the land of Maa Bhagyalaxmi has been called Bhagyanagar. Fate of Bhagyanagar is about to change, to improve. Telangana is calling for BJP,” BJP leader Dinesh Sharma said after day the national executive meeting in Hyderabad. A small but significant shrine – the Bhagyalakshmi temple – dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi is adjacent to the southeast minaret of the famous Charminar and is at the centre of all the buzz around the name change. The temple, the politicians say, was named after Bhagyanagar. Earlier, BJP leader and member of Parliament from Secunderabad G Kishan Reddy had claimed that the temple came up before Charminar, the monument whose construction was started in 1591, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Visited the Bhagyalaxmi Temple at #Charminar in #Hyderabad today.

Prayed to Goddess Bhagyalaxmi for the good health and wellbeing of all. pic.twitter.com/ZeN6ME22kU

— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) October 13, 2021

The temple is a modest makeshift structure of bamboo, tin, and tarpaulin. It has been there since the 1960s, but there are no official records of how it came up. It draws several Hindu businessmen from Hyderabad, especially those who have establishments around Charminar. Devotees throng it during festivals like Diwali and the long queues often dwarf those outside the 16th-century monument. What does the ASI say? According to the Archaeological Survey of India, which is responsible for the conservation of Charminar, the temple is an “unauthorised construction”. A small guard pillar was put up to protect the Charminar from vehicles, say ASI officials. Sometime in the 1960s, it was found painted saffron and people started worshipping there. When a state road transport bus hit the guard pillar damaging it, a small structure made of bamboo was built overnight and the idol of the goddess was placed, The Indian Express report says. The temple started slowly expanding but the Andhra Pradesh high court in 2013 ordered that expansion should stop. Why has the temple become so politically significant? The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP, has been batting for the capital city to be renamed Bhagyanagar. The temple assumed more political significance during the 2020 municipal elections in Hyderabad when Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited it. He began his rally for the polls after praying at the temple.

Took blessings at Maa Bhagyalakshmi temple in Hyderabad and prayed for the prosperity of the people of Telangana. May Maa Lakshmi bless the entire nation with good health and happiness. pic.twitter.com/AC2rR4fhKV

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 29, 2020

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too visited the temple while campaigning in Hyderabad for the civic polls and called for renaming the city after Goddess Bhagyalakshmi. “Some people were asking me if Hyderabad can be renamed Bhagyanagar. I said, why not?” he had said. Last month, Congress leader Rashed Khan started a signature campaign seeking the reopening of the mosque inside Charminar for namaz. He also said that the Bhagyalakshmi temple was an “unauthorised encroached illegal construction”, citing an ASI report. The temple has once again come to the limelight with the PM hinting at a name change. During the two-day executive meeting which began on Saturday, several top BJP leaders including Adityanath visited the temple.

आज हैदराबाद स्थित श्री भाग्यलक्ष्मी मंदिर में माँ लक्ष्मी जी के पावन दर्शन-पूजन से मन अभिभूत है।

माँ लक्ष्मी सभी का कल्याण करें। सभी के जीवन में सुख, शांति और समृद्धि का वास हो।

जय माँ भाग्यलक्ष्मी! pic.twitter.com/Nn7N5gBknb

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) July 3, 2022

On Friday other BJP dignitaries, including national vice-president Radha Mohan Singh, Bihar MP Purvi Champaran, Arunachal Pradesh president and MLA Biyuram Wahge, MP from Mangaldoi (Assam) Dilip Saikia, North-East BJP general secretary Ajay Jamwal, Uttar Pradesh MP Rekha Verma, Haryana MLA Assem Goel, former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das, Jagatguru Swami Raghavacharya of Ayodhya and other leaders offered prayers at the temple, reports The Hindustan Times. What are rival leaders saying? The talk of the name change has upset Telangana leaders. In response to a report by news agency ANI that quoted BJP’s Raghubar Das that Hyderabad’s name will be changed if his party comes to power, KT Rama Rao, or KTR as he is also known, tweeted: “Why don’t you change Ahmedabad’s name to Adanibad first? Who is this Jhumla Jeevi by the way? (sic)”

Why don’t you change Ahmedabad’s name to Adanibad first?

Who is this Jhumla Jeevi by the way? https://t.co/xD8y6mrfUi

— KTR (@KTRBRS) July 3, 2022

With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.