What’s in a name? Quite a bit, politically speaking. The latest name dispute involves Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s proposal to rename Ramanagara district as “Bengaluru South.”
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) are fiercely opposing the change. Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who was instrumental in the creation of Ramanagara from the former Bengaluru Rural district, is especially vocal in his opposition.
On Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced that a proposal had been submitted to the chief minister to rename Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South district.
“This initiative aims to consider the development and future of Ramanagara, Channapatna, Magadi, Kanakapura, and Harohalli taluks,” DKS said while speaking to reporters after submitting the proposal at Vidhana Soudha.
A political pundit remarked that the renaming saga is a political manoeuvre between the Congress and JDS. “Ramanagara is considered a place that gave HD Kumaraswamy a new lease of life. When HDK was the CM, he carved out two new districts: Ramanagara and Chikkaballapur. When DKS first proposed creating the Bengaluru South district, HDK opposed it. Now, with both leaders vying to retain control over the district, the new name will undoubtedly have significant political implications. The strategic timing of the proposal suggests that it might be a move to garner political support ahead of the upcoming elections in Channapatna.”
Some may see it as a step towards modernisation and development, while others may view it as an erasure of their unique local identity.
“Renaming would attract industries to the district, increase its land value,” opines DK Shivakumar.
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