CM Yogi announces renaming UP village Mustafabad to Kabir Dham - 'No Muslim family lives here'

Yogi Adityanath

A village in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district is set for a name change, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announcing that Mustafabad will be rechristened ‘Kabir Dham’.

The announcement was made by the chief minister on Monday during a visit to the Vishwa Kalyan Ashram in the village for the ‘Smriti Prakatotsav Mela’. According to a report from TOI, the decision followed an on-the-spot inquiry by Adityanath about the village's demographics.

“Upon arrival, I asked about the village and came to know that it is named Mustafabad. I asked about the Muslim population here and was told that no Muslim family lives here,” the CM told the gathered crowd, as cited by TOI. “I assured the residents that we will rename the village Kabir Dham.”

He immediately directed the concerned authorities to send a formal proposal to expedite the renaming process.

Linking the move to a broader political narrative, the chief minister criticised previous administrations for what he characterised as acts of historical and religious insensitivity. He asserted that names of cities like Ayodhya and Prayagraj had been altered to Faizabad and Allahabad, respectively, to “hurt religious sentiments of the people.”

He reportedly characterised such past name changes not as secularism but as hypocrisy, stating that under his party's government, cities like Ayodhya and Prayagraj had their "old, glorious heritage" restored, with Mustafabad now following the same path. He added framing the latest decision as part of a continuing process to reclaim India’s cultural legacy.

Mustafabad, located in the Gola Gokaran Nath Tehsil, is a small settlement. As per the 2011 Census, the village was home to 495 people across 77 families. The population, which is projected to be around 600 by 2026, comprises a mix of Brahmin, Yadav and Verma communities. Scheduled Castes account for 24.2% of the village's residents, while there is no Scheduled Tribe population, as per TOI report.

The new name, Kabir Dham, pays homage to the 15th-century mystic poet and saint Kabir, who is revered across communities for his teachings that transcended religious divides.