Will Delhi Be Renamed As Indraprastha?

The demand to rename Delhi as Indraprastha has been revived once again.

Transcript

00:00This fresh push to rename India's capital has re-ignited an age-old debate

00:08what should define Delhi's true identity, mythology, history or modernity.

00:13In a letter dated November 1,

00:14PGP MP Praveen Khandelwar wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah

00:18urging that Delhi be officially renamed Indra Prasth

00:21to reconnect the city with its ancient civilizational roots.

00:30He even proposed renaming some of the city's major landmarks,

00:41Old Delhi Railway Station to Indra Prasth Junction,

00:44Indrakanthi International Airport to Indra Prasth Airport

00:47and installing statues of the Pandavas at a prominent city site.

00:50Khandelwar said the move would align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of cultural resurgence,

00:55one that has already seen cities like Ayodhya, Kashi and Prayagraj

00:59reclaim their heritage names.

01:01But not everyone agrees.

01:03Historians have warned that renaming Delhi could erase its multi-layered history.

01:07Historian Swapna Liddell said,

01:09while many believe Indra Prasth once stood where Delhi stands today,

01:12there's no archaeological proof.

01:14She added,

01:15the name Delhi or Dilli has existed since the 11th century,

01:19surviving through the Sultanate, the Mughals, the British and modern India.

01:22Other experts say Delhi's strength lies in its plural identity.

01:26Historian Salil Mishra calls it a city of multiple pasts and many beginnings.

01:31Meanwhile, JNU's professor R. Mahalakshmi says,

01:34renaming it after a mythical city would fail to capture its vast evolving history.

01:39From Indra Prasth and Mehroli to Shahjanaabad and New Delhi,

01:43every era has left its mark.

01:45Delhi has never belonged to one name or one story.

01:48So as the debate grows louder,

01:49one question remains,

01:50can't meme ever truly captures Delhi's timeless spirit?