The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC), which has been running a campaign to rename city’s Aurangzeb Road as Guru Teg Bahadur Road, has said that it has no objection to the road being renamed as A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Road.
Speaking to this newspaper, DSGMC senior vice president Sardar Mohinder Paul Singh Chadha said: “We have no problems with the government decision. However, we would like the government to rename some other road, preferably in Chandni Chowk area, as Guru Teg Bahadur Road.”
Another office bearer, Amarjeet Singh Pappu said: “We definitely have no objection to the government’s decision because Dr Kalam was a great human being, besides being the President. But we would like the government to name some other road in Guru Teg Bahadur’s memory.”
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), under which the Aurangzeb Road comes, this week decided to rename it as A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Road, following a letter written by BJP Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi, Mahesh Girri, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Girri, in his letter, had said that this will be a great way of preserving Dr Kalam’s memories and legacy forever.
The DSGMC has been running a campaign for renaming the road for a long time. The DSGMC petition signed by president Manjit Singh GK, said that “this road serves as a constant reminder of the horrors which Aurangzeb perpetrated against Indians.” The DSGMC’s argument was that Guru Teg Bahadur was martyred on the orders of Aurangzeb for protecting the religious freedom of non-Muslims in Mughal India. Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das were also executed on his orders. His son and 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh and his whole family were martyred, including his wife and four young children, apart from his close associates.
Following the NDMC’s decision, the Shiv Sena has said it
will soon move a resolution in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation to rename the city as Sambhaji Nagar, after Shivaji’s son.
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