Rename Habibganj Railway Station after tribal queen Rani Kamlapati: Madhya Pradesh govt writes to Centre

Source: Twitter/RailMinIndia

Ahead of the inauguration of newly-developed Habibganj Railway Station, the Madhya Pradesh government on November 13 has written to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) about renaming it after the 18th Century Gond queen of the region, Rani Kamlapati.

Madhya Pradesh govt writes to Centre to rename Bhopal's Habibganj railway station after the tribal queen, Rani Kamlapati pic.twitter.com/b2Q0EUICgX

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— ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2021

The letter from the state's transport department said that renaming the station is also in accordance with the Indian government's decision to celebrate November 15 as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' (Tribal Pride Day) in remembrance of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the station which has been redeveloped at a cost of Rs 100 crore on November 15, the day government launches the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas', a week-long celebration of the pride of the Scheduled Tribes in India.

Here is the glimpse of the newly developed station

Newly developed Habibganj Railway Station shall offer world-class facilities.

Catch glimpses of swanky interiors of the station building. pic.twitter.com/OGSWC9SiqT

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— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) October 29, 2021

According to a letter by the MP government, Rani Kamlapati was the widow Gond ruler of Nizam Shah, chief of Ginnorgarh. The Gond community comprises the largest tribal group of India with more than 1.2 crore population. Linguistically, the Gonds belong to the Gondi–Manda subgroup of the South Central branch of the Dravidian language family.

The letter states that the renaming of the station will honour Rani Kamlapati's legacy and bravery.

Meanwhile, the decision of the state government to rename the station as Rani Kamlapati station comes a day after BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur demanded that the station be renamed after former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

भोपाल में 15/11/2021को मान. PM श्री @narendramodi जी का #जनजातीय_गौरव_दिवस
पर आना हमारे भोपाल के लिए शुभ संकेत हैं मुझे विश्वास है कि मान.मोदी जी हबीबगंज रेलवे स्टेशन को पूर्वPM श्री अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी के नाम पर होने की घोषणा करेंगे और मेरे पूर्व से इस आग्रह की पूर्णता होगी।

— Sadhvi Pragya singh thakur (@SadhviPragya_MP) November 11, 2021

Earlier, the name of Allahabad railway station has been changed to Prayagraj and Mughalsarai railway junction has been renamed Pandit Deen Dayal Uphadyay junction.

(With inputs from PTI)