Maharashtra govt to rename Islampur to ‘Ishwarpur’

Mumbai: Islampur city of Sangli district will be renamed as Ishwarpur, announced Maharashtra Food and Civil Supply Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday, IANS reported.

“There has been a demand from the citizens of this area for many days in this regard,” the minister claimed. “The government has approved the naming of Islampur as Ishwarpur, and a proposal is being sent to the central government,” said Minister Bhujbal. He made this announcement after the state cabinet gave its approval on Thursday.

Minister Bhujbal further said, “The Central Government has the right to change the name of the village and city. As per the guidelines of the Central Government, the proposal to rename Islampur (tehsil Walwa) in Sangli district as Ishwarpur is being sent to the Central Government with the recommendation of the State Government. After the approval of this proposal from the Central Government, the name of Islampur in Sangli district will be changed to Ishwarpur.”

According to a report by The Indian Express, the demand to rename Islampur was raised by the Hindutva organisation Shiv Pratishthan, led by Sambhaji Bhide. The organisation had submitted a memorandum to the Sangli Collectorate demanding the change. The organisation also warned that they would not withdraw from the campaign they started until their demand was met.

Meanwhile, a Shiv Sena leader from the area claimed that the demand for the name change was first proposed in 1986.

The renaming bid for Islampur is the latest of a series of such rechristenings of places in the state undertaken by the state government. In 2022, the state government renamed Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv, and both renaming proposals were cleared by the BJP-ruled Centre.