An online petition, addressed to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, his deputy Nitin Patel and other elected representatives of the legislative assembly of the state of Gujarat has been floated to "assert an opinion" against Patel's statement of November 7, 2018 that the name of Ahmedabad city be renamed as Karnavati.
The government is willing to change the name if it gets past the legal hurdles and receives required support, Patel has been quoted as saying.
Pointing out that the city of Ahmedabad was "founded by the King Ahmed Shah in 1411", the petition agreesthat there were two the earlier settlements in and around the area -- known as Karnavati (after the name of King Karnadev) and Ashawal (after the name of Bhil leader Asha), the petition says, "What is objected is the attempt to erase the name of a Muslim ruler from the name of the city and reidentify it after a Hindu ruler."
Giving reasons why the name of Ahmedabad should be left untouched and not be made Karnavati, the petition says, "There are far more pressing issues requiring your immediate attention and action. The rebranding exercise serves no real economic or social purpose. It also sets very wrong examples of governance. It is imperative for the government to set the vision of the future of the city and the state and not take it 600 years back."
Secondly, the petition says, "As per the Constitution, India is a Secular and Democratic Republic. To efface the Islamic influence and memory from Indian history and to rebrand it under Hindu names is an illegal and immoral exercise of dangerous consequences... Erasing memory of Islamic rule from the History of Country is a blatant violation to the sensibility and morality of the constitution of India."
And thirdly, "There is no real data to show that in fact majority of people of the city of Ahmedabad want the name of the city changed to Karnavati. The name of the city holds important tangible and intangible heritage that its residents are proud of. The recent recognition of World Heritage City is also specifically granted to the old fortified area of the city built by none other than the King Ahmed Shah and his successor Mohammed Begda."
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