From Allahabad to Prayagraj; Whats in the name?

Ram Puniyani
October 27, 2018

Adityanath Yogi, Chief Minister of UP seems to be on the name changing spree. In his latest move he has changed the name of famous city of UP, Allahabad to Prayagraj. Prayag is the meeting point of rivers and since this city is the meeting point of Ganga, Yamuna and probably of invisible Sarswati, this name might have been chosen by him in his attempts to remove the Islamic touch to the names of our cities. As such many a versions of the origin of the name of this city are circulating. One such says that it was Ila-vas. Ila being the mother of mythological Pururva. Another such says it was in the name of Alha of Alha-Udal (part of popular folk lore) fame. More concrete records tell us that Akbar had named it Illaha-bad or Illahi-bas. Illaha is a generic term of Gods. He regarded this city as holy city of Hindus and Illah-bas in Persian means ‘abode of Gods’. This is clear from the records and from the coins of that time and reflects the inclusive spirit of Akbar. Earlier Yogi had made many changes in the names like that of Mughal sarai to Pundit Deendayal Upadhayay Junction, Agra airport in the same leader, Urdu Bazar to Hindi Bazar, Ali Nagar to Arya nagar etc. He regards all Muslim sounding names as being alien.

In an interview Yogi said he has to change many more names. On his agenda is to change the name Taj Mahal to Ram Mahal, Azamgarhg to Aryamgarh and to cap it all as per him the name India in our constitution should be changed to Hindustan. As per him these places were renamed after invasion of Muslim kings, so there is a need to re-change them. In UP Mayawati had already begun this name changing game which was to some extent reversed by his successor Akhilesh Yadav. Now in a more persistent way Yogi is identifying the Muslim sounding names and changing them one by one.

Adityanath Yogi is the Mahant of famous Gorakhnath Math. His predecessor of Math was in also politics, and Yogi has been a major player on the political chess board in UP. He comes from the Hindu Mahasabha stream of politics. His dominance has been very visible as his slogan, UP mein rahna hay to Yogi Yogi Kahna hoga (If you want to stay in UP, you have to Chant Yogi-Yogi) had been prevalent in parts of UP. His Hindu Yuva Vahaini has been in the news off and on; not for right reasons. He belongs to the group of large number of Holy men, Sakski Maharaj, Sadhvi Uma Bharati, Sadhvi Nirnajan Jyoti etc. who have been part of Hindu nationalist agenda. As such Holy men are supposed to have renounced the World to focus on spiritual pursuits, but this lot seems to be more active in Worldly pursuits.

The phenomenon of these holy men-women being in politics seems to be there in many post-colonial states. In these countries there has been absence of radical land reforms and there is persistence of hold of landlord-clergy which seems to be the reason for the God people to be in political arena. In these places God men and women has been part of the politics, which opposes the democratic values as being Western or alien, being against the spirit of ‘our’ land. They in a way harp on the pre Industrial values of birth based hierarchies. Surveying these countries one can see the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran, succeeded by many Ayatollahs. In Pakistan the Mullahs have been working closely with the military and landlord elements to undermine the democratic possibilities in society. In Pakistan the most prominent name which emerged was that of Maulana Maududi, who worked closely with Zia Ul Haq in Islamization of Pakistan. In neighboring Mynamar, the monks like Ashin Wirathu, also called ‘Burma’s bin laden’, are part of the politics to oppose the democratic society, to target the religious minorities there.

Back to India we have seen the crop of these Holy men, dominating the political scene in various ways. Most of these Godmen-women have been part of Hindu nationalist movement and are very vicious as far as hate speech is concerned. One recalls that Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti had used the word haram Jade, Sakshi Maharaj was booked for blaming Muslims for population growth. Yogi himself has many cases pending against as far as hate speech is concerned. The worst of these was when he advised the rape of dead Muslim women.

Yogi has intensified the communal agenda to no end. UP state is organizing Hindu religious festivals. One recalls that the on occasion of Divali, the Helicopter carrying Lord Ram and Sita landed and the Gods were received by Yogi. UP State also organized the lighting of lamps in big numbers. Recently he had again been in news for the declaration that state Government will spend 5000 crores for the Kumbh mela. All this is taking place at a time when the state is suffering sever crunch in regards to health care and other infrastructure related issues. Young children, infants have died in hospital for lack of facilities; times and over again. The cities where name change has been brought about languishes with bad infrastrures and state constantly lags behind in Human growth indices, what to talk of the abysmal condition of human rights in the state. The condition of minorities is worsening as state sponsored moves to trample on their livelihood in the form of closing many the meat shops, which was done right at the beginning of his rule in UP, among other steps which is order of the day.

Yogi also bluntly stated that secularism is a big lie. His actions are showing as to how he is forcing the march of the state in the direction of Hindu nation, without any qualms for secular values as enshrined in our Constitution!

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Well Wisher
 - 
Wednesday, 31 Oct 2018

I prefer Goondaraj instead

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Agencies
March 15,2020

Jakarta, Mar 15: Indonesia's transport minister is in intensive care after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, an official has said, as schools and tourist attractions were ordered to close over the health threat.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi was receiving treatment at an army hospital in Jakarta, State Secretary Pratikno said on Saturday.

A hospital spokesman said Sumadi was encountering difficulty breathing but that his condition was improving.

Pratikno said Sumadi was involved in virus mitigation efforts, particularly the evacuation of Indonesians from epicenters of the outbreak, and that President Joko Widodo had called for tests to be carried out on other ministers.

Cases of the virus in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, have jumped from zero two weeks ago to 96, with five deaths, according to government spokesperson Achmad Yurianto.

He also said the virus has spread outside Greater Jakarta to Bandung in West Java, Solo in Central Java, Manado in North Sulawesi, Pontianak in West Kalimantan, as well as holiday havens Yogyakarta and Bali.

Following the increase, the government on Saturday established a task force on COVID-19 mitigation.

Jakarta's Governor Anies Baswedan announced that schools would close for two weeks starting Monday, and ordered the closure of city-owned tourist attractions, such as Ragunan Zoo and Ancol beach.

He emphasized that Jakarta would not be locked down but urged people "to be responsible" and called for social distancing when possible.

Similarly, the administration of Solo, Central Java, Friday announced that schools and tourist attractions would close after a coronavirus patient died in the region.

The World Health Organization has said it is particularly concerned about high-risk nations with weaker health systems, which who may lack the facilities to identify cases.

A day after declaring the coronavirus outbreak to be pandemic this week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Indonesia's president Widodo and both agreed to "scale up cooperation."

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News Network
June 26,2020

New Delhi, Jun 26: "Iam Indira Gandhi's granddaughter, not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said, as she alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government is threatening her through various departments for speaking the truth. Priyanka Gandhi's dare to the Uttar Pradesh government came days after the Agra administration asked her to withdraw within 24 hours the claim of high coronavirus deaths in the district.

The Congress general secretary in-charge UP East has accused the Yogi Adityanath government of indulging in propaganda instead of dealing with the pandemic. "As a public servant, my duty is towards the people of Uttar Pradesh. And this duty is to put out the truth before them and not to put forth government propaganda. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me through its various departments," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"They can take whatever action they want, I will keep putting forth the truth. I am Indira Gandhi's granddaughter not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders," she said. This week, Priyanka Gandhi repeatedly attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the "high" COVID-19 mortality rate in Agra and on other issues related to the state government's handling of the pandemic.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 2: New daily coronavirus cases in the United States soared past 50,000 for the first time Wednesday, as the World Health Organization delivered a grave warning that the global pandemic is accelerating.

Restaurants, bars and beaches in the world's worst-hit nation closed from California to Florida, as states reeling from yet another surge in the deadly virus braced for Independence Day festivities.

Global infections have hit their highest level in the past week, WHO data showed, with chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying new cases topped "160,000 on every single day."

The grim milestone came as the European Union left the United States, Brazil and Russia off its final list of nations safe enough to allow residents to enter its borders.

With more than 52,000 new COVID-19 cases in the United States alone in the past 24 hours, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, several US states imposed 14-day quarantines on visitors in the buildup to the long weekend's July 4 celebrations.

California suspended indoor dining at restaurants in Los Angeles and several counties, while New York scrapped plans to allow restaurants to seat customers inside from next week.

President Donald Trump reiterated his belief that the contagion will "at some point... sort of just disappear, I hope."

But the US leader who has yet to be seen in public wearing a face mask during the pandemic added he would have "no problem" doing so.

EU travel ban eased

The rollbacks came as the European Union reopened its borders to visitors from 15 countries.

The bloc hopes relaxing restrictions on countries from Algeria to Uruguay will breathe life into its tourism sector, choked by a ban on non-essential travel since mid-March.

Travelers from China, where the virus first emerged late last year, will be allowed to enter the EU only if Beijing reciprocates.

And Brazil -- which has suffered the most deaths globally for the last week, and is the second-worst affected country overall -- was excluded entirely.

It topped 60,000 total fatalities Wednesday, after suffering 1,000 deaths in just 24 hours.

However, with over 10 million known infections worldwide and more than 500,000 deaths, the pandemic is "not even close to being over", the WHO warned.

Data provided by the UN health agency for the seven days from June 25-July 1 showed the highest number of new daily cases ever recorded came on June 28, when over 189,500 new cases were registered worldwide.

'Dutch brothels reopen'

According to the United Nations, the coronavirus crisis could cost global tourism and related sectors from $1.2 to $3.3 trillion in lost revenue.

Greece, which has suffered fewer than 200 virus deaths, has seen its economy hit hard by lockdowns and travel restrictions -- all but ending its lucrative tourism season before it began.

Romanian Cojan Dragos was "the first tourist" in one Corfu hotel after driving there with his wife and daughter.

"We have the whole hotel just for us," he told news agency.

Separately, Spain and Portugal held a ceremony as they reopened their land border.

The Netherlands also confirmed the reopening Wednesday of another tourist draw -- its brothels and red-light districts.

"I'm totally booked," said sex worker Foxxy, adding that she had held a "little party" when she heard restrictions would be lifted.

Clusters spur new lockdowns

Russia did not make the EU's list of approved countries so its citizens will be absent from the bloc's tourist hot-spots.

The country, however, enjoyed a public holiday Wednesday as it voted in a referendum to approve constitutional changes allowing President Vladimir Putin to stay in power for another 16 years.

Putin was forced to postpone the vote in April as his government tackled an outbreak that has infected almost 650,000 people -- the third-highest in the world.

In other countries, clusters are still causing problems.

Parts of the Australian city of Melbourne suffered sharp rises in infections, spurring new stay-at-home measures.

The Palestinian Authority announced a five-day lockdown across the West Bank after a surge in confirmed cases.

And textile factories in the central British city of Leicester were suggested as the reason for a spike in infections that has prompted the reimposition of local restrictions.

Americas spike

In the United States, spikes across southern and western states are driving a surge in national infections.

Texas, which again smashed its daily COVID-19 record with over 8,000 new cases, joined Florida and California in closing some beaches for the upcoming holiday weekend.

Apple announced it would close another 30 US stores on Thursday, half of them in California.

A further 700 deaths nationwide took the US past 128,000 deaths in total.

The Pan American Health Organization warned that the death count in Latin America and the Caribbean could quadruple to more than 400,000 by October without stricter public health measures.

The US government announced this week it had bought 92 percent of all remdesivir production -- the first drug to be shown to be relatively effective in treating COVID-19.

Britain and Germany, however, said Wednesday they had sufficient stocks of the drug.

'Corona baby'

In Britain, some 1,500 acts from Ed Sheeran and Coldplay to Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones urged the county's government to save the live music industry, which has been collapsing because of the coronavirus.

But while lockdown measures have been a disaster for many, some have welcomed the chance to spend more quality time with hard-working partners.

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