VIJAYAPURA : The Congress government, which renamed Bijapur as Vijayapura in 2014, is apparently in a mood to rename the district again.
Now, the government wants to rename Vijayapura after Basaveshwara, the 12th century social reformer. Basaveshwara was born in Basavanabagewadi taluk of Vijayapura district.
Deputy Commissioner T Bhooblan told TNIE that the government has issued a notification in this regard. The notification reads that the government proposes to rename the district after Basaveshwara, who strove for equality and social justice.
Considering Basaveshwara’s contributions, the government wants to rename the district as ‘Basaveshwara district’ or ‘Basava district’. In this regard, the government has sought the opinion of elected representatives, eminent personalities, NGOs and the general public. The government has appealed to the people to share their views within 15 days.
Meanwhile, several leaders, including some from Congress and the Dalit community, and historians said that they will not support the idea of renaming the district again. Calling it unnecessary, they said the government should give priority to the development of the district instead of renaming it.
Opposing the move, Krishna Kolhar Kulkarni, historian, writer and recipient of Rajyotsava Award, said, “There is no need to rename the district again....”
‘No need to change dist’s name’
Opposing the move, Krishna Kolhar Kulkarni, historian, writer and recipient of Rajyotsava Award, said, “I was against the decision of the government to change the name of Bijapur to Vijayapura. The region has been identified as Bijapur for over three centuries. For no reason, the name was changed to Vijayapura. The government wants to change the name of the district again, which is pragmatically incorrect.”
“You can develop Basavanabagewadi taluk where Basaveshwara was born. We already have a train, ‘Basava Express’, named after him, and there is a proposal to name the new airport here after Basaveshwara. There is no need to change the name of the district again,” he said.