The decision to rename Rajpath and the Central Vista grounds as “Kartavya Path” gave the Modi government another boost in its effort to erase the images of the country’s colonial past. The move comes ahead of the road’s opening after redevelopment as part of Central Vista Avenue. After nearly 20 months of development work, Central Vista Avenue will open on September 8, 2022.
The move to rename the road which the British called “Kingsway” which translates to “Rajpath” comes amid a flurry of actions taken by the Modi administration to remove reminders of colonial legacy from the nation’s capital and elsewhere. Here’s a look at some of the other moves undertaken by the Centre.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the hologram statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate in New Delhi at the canopy adjoining India Gate on his 125th birth anniversary. Before this, the statue of Imperial Monarch King George V stood there till 1968.
The Centre changed Lutyens Delhi’s iconic Race Course Road to Lok Kalyan Marg in 2016. The Prime Minister's famous residential address 7, Race Course Road was changed to 7 Lok Kalyan Marg as part of the name-changing policy.
The Modi Government also did away with the colonial-era presentation of the Budget on the last day of February and moved it to the first day of February.
Ending a 92-year-old colonial tradition, the Modi government merged the Railway and Union Budgets from 2017-18. The practice of a separate railway budget was followed since India was under British rule.
The Beating the Retreat Ceremony, which marks the conclusion of the week-long Republic Day celebrations was done with the bands playing `Abide with Me’, a Christian hymn since 1950. In 2022, the hymn was replaced with the patriotic `Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’ by Kavi Pradeep.
In a bid to do away with the 'colonial past', the Saint George’s Cross on the Indian Naval Flag was removed. The new ensign of the Indian Navy features the national emblem encompassed by an octagonal shield, atop an anchor with the Navy’s motto ‘Sam No Varunah’.
Amar Jawan Jyoti, the ‘eternal flame’, was merged with the flame of the National War Memorial (NWM).
