India govt okays renaming of Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar
The Indian government has approved the renaming of BJP-Shiv Sena-ruled Maharashtra state's Aurangabad city as `Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar' and Osmanabad city as `Dharashiv'.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis shared the news on Twitter, reports our new Delhi correspondent.
Aurangabad derived its name from 17th century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb while Osmanabad was named after a 20th century ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad.
Chhatrapati Sambhaji was the eldest son of Hindu warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and was the second ruler of Maratha state founded by his father. Sambhaji Maharaj was executed on Aurangzeb's orders in 1689.
Dharashiv, the name of a cave complex near Osmanabad, dates back to the 8th century as per some scholars.
Hindu right-wing organisations had been demanding renaming of the two cities for long.
Fadnavis tweeted two letters from the federal Home Ministry to the deputy secretary of the state General Administration Department dated February 24, which stated that the Indian government had no objection to the change in the names of these two central Maharashtra cities.
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