Madhya Pradesh: Hindu Guru's Efforts Pay Off As Western Railways Removes Urdu Signboard In Ujjain

Mahamandaleshwar of Avahan Akhada, Acharya Shekhar’s threat to start an agitation has compelled the Western Railways to remove Urdu signboard of newly-built Chintaman Ganesh railway station in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain.

The Hindu guru said it is just a start and demanded Indian Railways to remove names written in Urdu from the signboards of railways stations named after Hindu gods and goddesses.

The Railways built Chintaman Ganesh station six km from Ujjain along the route connecting Indore and Ujjain with Fatehabad. It has been named after the area’s famous Chintaman Ganesh temple, reports Hindustan Times.

“The name was written in Urdu by mistake due to some communication gap. We have rectified our mistake by removing the name with yellow colour paint,” said Jitendra Kumar, railways public relations officer.

“The signboards are to inform people or appease people. Why were the railways’ officials so adamant to write the name in Urdu? They just want to appease a section of people. They should respect the demand of saints,” said Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesman Rajnesh Agrawal.

Similarly in 2020, Railway officials have decided to replace Urdu language with Sanskrit on all signboards at platforms in Uttarakhand. The sign boards which have names of railway stations written in Hindi, English, and Urdu will now be written in Hindi, English, and Sanskrit.

This decision was taken as per provisions of the Railway Manual, which says that names of the railway stations should be written in Hindi, English and in the second language of the state.

In 2010, the Uttarakhand government had become the first state in the country to give Sanskrit the status of second official language.