BHOPAL: Barkatullah University will retain its existing name after a proposal to rename the institution was put on hold, according to local media reports.
The university’s Executive Council had approved a proposal on June 3 to rename the institution as Vagdevi Bhojpal University. The move triggered opposition from students, faculty members and political parties.
Supporters of the proposal said the new name would reflect the cultural significance of Vagdevi, another name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati, and Bhojpal, which is regarded as the historical name of Bhopal.
However, opponents argued that new institutions could be named after Vagdevi and Raja Bhoj, while the university should continue to honour freedom fighter and scholar Mohamed Barkatullah Bhopali.
Local media reports said the proposal lost momentum following sustained protests by students and faculty members and the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Suresh Kumar Jain last week.
Registrar Samar Bahadur Singh was quoted by local media reports as saying that the renaming initiative had been largely driven by the former vice-chancellor and had been shelved after his departure. He also said officials in the Higher Education Department were not in favour of the name change.
Established in 1970 as Bhopal University, the institution was renamed Barkatullah University in 1988 in honour of Mohamed Barkatullah Bhopali.
A native of Bhopal, Barkatullah was a prominent freedom fighter, scholar and journalist. He served as prime minister of India’s first provisional government in exile, formed in Afghanistan on Dec. 1, 1915, under the leadership of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh.
Associated with the Ghadar movement, Barkatullah taught in London, Liverpool and Tokyo and travelled extensively across several countries while supporting India’s independence movement. He was also known for his command of Arabic, Persian, English and Japanese.
According to local media reports, the renaming proposal questioned Barkatullah’s contribution to the region, stating that apart from being a resident of Bhopal, there was little evidence of a significant regional contribution compared with Raja Bhoj.
