Aurangzeb Road renamed after APJ Abdul Kalam

One of Delhi’s most elite addresses, Aurangzeb Road, will be renamed after former President Late APJ Abdul Kalam, and it was announced on Friday by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

“Congrats. NDMC <g data-gr-id="22">jst</g> now decided to rename Aurangzeb Road to APJ Abdul Kalam Road,” tweeted Kejriwal, who has been locked in a fierce turf war with the Centre over who controls the reins of the national Capital.

The decision was taken by the civic body, which is in charge of Central Delhi, after an all-clear from the Union home ministry. Within an hour, Kejriwal’s comment was retweeted over 900 times and favourited 600 times. 

The BJP’s Mahesh <g data-gr-id="26">Girri</g> wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month suggesting that Aurangzeb Road should be named after Dr Kalam, who died on July 27.

“As a tribute to the People’s President, I propose to rename the ‘Aurangzeb Road’ in New Delhi to ‘Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road’. In my opinion, this will be a great way of preserving his memories and legacy forever,” wrote Mahesh <g data-gr-id="23">Girri</g>.

His demand set off a huge buzz on Twitter, with comments like: “Let us name Aurangzeb Road APJ Kalam Marg, as Aurangzeb was <g data-gr-id="30">ruthless</g> ruler.”

Many also opposed the move, saying that renaming a road cannot change India’s history. In 2014, a prominent Sikh body in Delhi had petitioned PM Modi to change the name of Aurangzeb Road to Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib Road. Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal Emperor, ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century.