NEW DELHI/AURANGABAD – Aurangabad railway station has come in for severe criticism, with some seeing it as part of a larger effort to alter India’s historical landscape.
The station, built in 1900 during the Nizam era, holds significant historical value and features architecture reflective of that period. Historians and locals have expressed concerns that the name change erases Muslim contributions to India’s history and cultural heritage.
A government notification officially named the building Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar Railway Station. The century-old station, built during the reign of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, will now operate under the new code CPSN. The order stated that all railway communication and signage will henceforth bear the new name.
“This is not merely a change of name, it’s a change of narrative,” said Abdul Qadir, a historian from Aurangabad. “They want to erase every trace of Muslim contribution to India’s development. Aurangabad was named after Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but its history goes far beyond one ruler – it’s part of India’s composite culture.”
Aurangabad, founded in the 17th century by Mughal Governor Malik Ambar, flourished as a centre of trade, architecture, and learning. The city’s name symbolised its rich Islamic past. During the Nizam era, it became a key railway hub connecting the Deccan to the rest of India.
The Aurangabad railway station stands as a relic of that history. Its architecture and layout bear the imprint of the Nizam’s vision for modernising the Hyderabad State. “This railway station is more than a building,” said Saeed Ahmed, a retired railway engineer. “It represents the Nizam’s progressive policies that helped connect different communities. Renaming it is like renaming history itself.”
The renaming of Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar was first proposed decades ago by Bal Thackeray, founder of the Shiv Sena, but it remained controversial due to its communal overtones. The decision was finally implemented by the Eknath Shinde-led government in alliance with the BJP, which critics say is using historical revisionism to consolidate Hindu votes.
“Every time elections come, the BJP finds a new Muslim name to change,” remarked Asif Khan, a local social activist. “This is part of a larger agenda to portray Muslims as outsiders in their own land. Instead of addressing unemployment or inflation, they rename cities.”
This story was originally published in clarionindia.net. Read the full story here.