The Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued a gazette notification renaming Islampur in Sangli district as Ishwarpur.

The notification issued by the state General Administration Department came after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs approved a proposal sent by the state government to rename the town in Walwa taluka, The Indian Express reported.

Ishwarpur will replace Islampur in all official records, the notification stated, adding that all departments had been directed to make the necessary changes.

Several cities and towns have been renamed in recent years after similar proposals from state governments, citing historical or cultural reasons.

State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that the decision to rename the town was a “historic” one that “honours the sentiments” of the public.

“This had been a demand of the local people for many years,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said on social media. “Local representatives consistently raised this issue in the Assembly. Accordingly, Chief Minister Honorable Devendra Fadnavisji pursued this demand of the people with the Union government.”

Sharing Tuesday’s notification on social media, Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state, which also comprises the Shiv Sena group led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

The demand to rename the town was first raised by Shiv Pratishthan, a Hindutva organisation led by Sambhaji Bhide, according to The Indian Express. The group had also submitted a memorandum to the Sangli Collectorate seeking the change.

In Maharashtra in 2022, the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government approved the renaming of the cities of Aurangabad and Osmanabad to Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv. The Union government then cleared both moves.

In May 2024, the Bombay High Court dismissed petitions challenging the renaming of the two cities, an order which the Supreme Court later upheld.

Along with the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, now in the Opposition, includes the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Sharad Pawar.

In March 2024, the state Cabinet approved the renaming of Ahmednagar city to Ahilyanagar, after the 18th-century queen Ahilyabai Holkar. The proposal remains pending with the Union government.

Also read: How Hindutva’s politics of renaming burdens Indian Muslims with imaginary historical guilt

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