West Bengal has formally constituted a 10-member Kolkata road renaming committee to examine proposals involving roads, streets, avenues, bridges, public places and other public assets, with the panel headed by Kartik Maharaj of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha.
The order, issued by state chief secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, says the committee will assess the historical, cultural, social, heritage and public significance of proposed names and determine their suitability. It adds that the panel will remain in force for a period decided by the state government and may be reconstituted or modified when considered necessary.
The committee includes former BJP state president Tathagata Roy, chief adviser to chief minister Suvendu Adhikari Subrata Gupta, and representatives of the urban development and municipal affairs department, the West Bengal Heritage Commission, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the information and cultural affairs department, the Public Works Department, and the home and hill affairs department.
The members will consider proposals submitted by government departments, local bodies, district administrations and other authorised institutions. The order also says that proposals to restore historical and traditional names should be examined where they are supported by relevant records and historical evidence. It directs the committee to consider the contribution of distinguished personalities, historical events, cultural heritage and other matters of public significance.
The state government had announced in June that Kartik Maharaj would head a committee to evaluate the names of roads in Calcutta. After the panel was formally constituted, he said members would examine existing proposals and send their recommendations to the Assembly for formal clearance. He said the committee had already received proposals involving Biswa Bangla Sarani and Ho Chi Minh Sarani, arguing that the names were not connected to Bengal’s culture or history.
The move follows the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s renaming of Suhrawardy Avenue in Park Circus as Gopal Mukherjee Road through a June 20 circular. State opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari had welcomed that change, although the report noted that he appeared to have confused scholar Hassan Suhrawardy with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who was referred to as the “Butcher of Bengal”.
Kolkata’s street names include references to Muslim, Christian and Hindu figures, reflecting the city’s layered and syncretic history. Several colonial-era names have also been replaced by those of Indian public figures, including Harrison Road, which became Mahatma Gandhi Road; Cornwallis Street, which became Bidhan Sarani; and Lansdowne Road, which became Sarat Bose Road.
The committee is expected to begin with roads in Kolkata before examining proposals from districts, according to sources cited in the report. Its members are likely to hold their first formal meeting after the Puja period, with Kartik Maharaj saying they plan to meet once a week and complete the work at the earliest. For roads under the KMC’s jurisdiction, the order says the committee must consider the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, including provisions relating to the advisory committee for naming streets.
