NEW DELHI: The newly elected BJP MLA from Deoband, Brijesh Singh, vows to launch a proposal to change Deoband’s name to Deovrind.
Mr Singh said that the city should be known for its historical association with Mahabharata and not the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband.
Brijesh Singh said that this proposal would be the first one that he would move in the state assembly after formation of the government.
“Deoband is quite sacred for Hindus because of its historical association with Mahabharata. Pandavas visited Deoband when they were in exile and living incognito. Their visit to the town also led to the foundation of the famous temple here,” Singh said. “The historical association of Deoband with the Mahabharata needs to be highlighted and reinforced in public memory. It would be unfair if Deoband is known and talked about only as a place where Darul Uloom Deoband is located,” added the BJP MLA.
Mr Singh insisted that several ancient structures were found in villages such as Rankhandi, Jakhwala and Jarauda Panda, pointing towards their association with the Mahabharata.
“This is not a new proposal but in the past also many people raised this. Everyone knows how centuries-old structures were found in villages such as Rankhandi, Jakhwala and Jarauda Panda,” added Singh.
Mr Singh also said that “nothing against Darul Uloom Deoband which is like those old religious Sanskrit schools. In its current form, the town stands to symbolise only the Islamic seminary whereas historically Deovrind represented much more than that. I only want this town to get that identity back”.
Deoband is one of the five assembly segments of Saharanpur, which the BJP swept, however, Muslims make up 30 percent of Deoband’s electorate.
