Bengal panel weighs renaming of Lenin, Marx and Ho Chi Minh roads in Kolkata

A 10-member committee constituted by the West Bengal government is examining proposals to rename several roads, bridges and public places across the state, including three prominent Kolkata thoroughfares named after communist figures — Lenin Sarani, Karl Marx Sarani and Ho Chi Minh Sarani.

The panel is headed by Swami Pradiptananda, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj of Bharat Sevashram. According to a Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) official, its first meeting is expected to be held after Durga Puja, when proposals concerning the renaming of city roads are likely to be taken up.

The official said no decision has been taken so far and that any change in names would follow the committee's recommendations. Among the panel's members are former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, Chief Minister's Adviser Subrata Gupta and KMC Commissioner Smita Pandey.

Kartik Maharaj told reporters that the panel would assess the relevance of the personalities after whom roads have been named in the context of Indian and Bengali heritage, culture and tradition. He said the three Sarani roads would be renamed and that proposals had also been received for changing the names of other roads. The committee's recommendations would subsequently be sent to the state Assembly, he added.

Mr. Roy, a former BJP state chief, advocated renaming Lenin Sarani after mathematician and former Bharatiya Jana Sangh president Debaprasad Ghosh. For Karl Marx Sarani in Kidderpore, he suggested the names of Bengali poets Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Rangalal Bandyopadhyay, citing their association with the area, while for Ho Chi Minh Sarani he proposed American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Mr. Roy also called for the removal of the Lenin statue at the crossing of Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Sidhho-Kanhu Dahar, and suggested that an important city road be named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He further proposed that some places bearing the names of Muslim figures be renamed after personalities he described as "nationalist Muslims", putting forward the names of writer Qazi Abdul Wadud, educationist Begum Rokeya and author S. Wajed Ali as alternatives for the Titumir-named bus stand in Barasat near Kolkata.

Lenin Sarani was earlier known as Dharmatala Street and was renamed in 1970 during celebrations marking Lenin's birth centenary. Circular Garden Reach Road was renamed Karl Marx Sarani the following year.

The proposed exercise has already raised questions over whether changing long-established names could erase or alter aspects of Kolkata's political and cultural history. The committee is currently examining the proposals and no road name has been officially changed so far, the official said, adding that a final decision will be taken after the panel submits its recommendations.