Palampur: Days after Member of Parliament (MP), Rajya Sabha Subramanian Swamy requesting Governor Bandaru Dattatreya to change the name of prominent hill station Dalhousie to Subhash Nagar, former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar has also urged CM Jai Ram Thakur as well as Governor to do the same.
In a letter written to CM and the Governor, Kumar has requested them to fulfil the decision made in 1992 by then BJP government to change the town’s name.
He said that when he was the CM, he had ordered to change the name of Dalhousie but the order was later cancelled by Congress led government.
Giving the reasons to change the name of the town, Kumar said that Dalhousie shares deep memories of three great revolutionary men i.e., Rabindra Nath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh.
“Tagore had to Dalhousie and wrote some part of his famous poem Gitanjali. Not only this freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose stayed in Dalhousie for a while and he had come up with an idea of establishing Azad Hind Fauj here. Ajit Singh, uncle of Bhagat Singh had also stayed and passed away in Dalhousie” he said.
“Dalhousie is famous for being a hill station but considering its history, building statues of these three revolutionaries in this town will also make it a historic town” he added.
BJP has been demanding to change the town’s name, however Congress party, tourism stakeholders and many local residents are not in favour of changing the name of town. They have claimed that the name Dalhousie gives the town an international identification and the hill station attracts millions of national as well as foreign tourists.
The issue has also sparked a debate amongst the people on social media and many have shared their opinions for and against it.
Dalhousie town was established in 1854, the town was named after British Governor General Lord Dalhousie.
