Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India May Rename Shimla As Shyamala To End 'Mental Slavery' of British Colonial Era

In a bid to end oppressive mental slavery of the past, India is likely to rename British colonial government’s former summer capital, Simla located in country’s northern Himalayan region.

The local unit of country’s Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in Shimla wants to rename the hill town established by the British in 1864 after the name of Hindu goddess, Shyamala Devi.


Before the arrival of British to Shimla, the hill town was known as Shyamala. Himachal Pradesh state chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said last week that his government would seek opinion of the people on the demand to rename the historic hill town.

Hindu right wing organisations, such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or World Hindu Council are also urging the concerned for Shimla’s renaming.

According to VHP head Aman Puri, sticking to the names of the places given by the British oppressors is a symbol of mental slavery. Changing such names is tiny thing but significant step in renouncing it (servitude), Puri noted.

In a bid to resurrect India’s rich past, India’s federal and state governments have started a nationwide movement to rename several towns. In such a move, country’s northern Uttar Pradesh state renamed holy town Allahabad as Prayagraj, the ancient name it was known by five centuries earlier.

Puri of Shimla’s VHP said that British had a problem in pronouncing Shyamala and thus changed its name as Simla, which remained until India’s independence 1947.

However, in 1972, as per the measures undertaken by the Indian government to reorganise the Indian states, the name Simla turned as Shimla and till today the hill town has been known that way.

VHP also urging the government to rename another hill town Dalhousie located in Himachal Pradesh which is named after Dalhousie, India’s governor General from 1848 to 1856 who was notorious for his the doctrine of lapse, an annexation policy.

The VHP wants Dalhousie to be renamed after Subhash Chandra Bose, an anti-British revolutionary.

More For You

Streeting hails India’s global role as Labour backs bilateral relations

Wes Streeting addresses the Republic Day reception at the Guildhall in London last Tuesday (28),joined by Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Vikram Doraiswami

Streeting hails India’s global role as Labour backs bilateral relations

WES STREETING spoke of the priority prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour government attach to relations with India when he addressed a Republic Day reception at the Guildhall in London last Tuesday (28).

But the secretary of state for health and social care won over the large Indian crowd by paying an unexpected tribute to Rishi Sunak.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate with Adani over renewable energy plants

Gautam Adani

Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate with Adani over renewable energy plants

SRI LANKA’S government started talks with India’s Adani Group to lower the cost of power from two wind power projects the group will build in the island nation’s northern province, the cabinet spokesman said last Tuesday (28).

Sri Lanka has been reviewing the group’s local projects after US authorities in November accused billionaire founder Gautam Adani and other executives of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts. Adani has denied the allegations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Badenoch proposes stricter citizenship rules for all migrants

Kemi Badenoch delivers speech on January 16, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Badenoch proposes stricter citizenship rules for all migrants

CONSERVATIVE PARTY on Thursday (6) proposed a clampdown on all migrants by tightening citizenship rules and barring social benefit claimants from residency rights.

Kemi Badenoch, who took over from Rishi Sunak in November last year, outlined her first major policy agenda as Tory leader in a move seen as an attempt to win back the support of Conservative voters drawn to the far-right anti-immigrant Reform party.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan court gives unusual punishment to Youtuber Rajab Butt for owning lion cub

Pakistani zookeeper Mohammad Amir holds the confiscated lion cub at Lahore’s safari zoo last Tuesday (28)

Pakistan court gives unusual punishment to Youtuber Rajab Butt for owning lion cub

A PAKISTANI YouTube star who was gifted a lion cub on his wedding day avoided jail after promising a judge to upload animal rights videos for a year.

Rajab Butt has one of the largest online followings in south Asia, and his week-long nuptials in December were plastered over celebrity gossip websites.

Keep ReadingShow less
Theft and violence in retail shops hit record high in 2024

The Labour government has pledged to address the rise in retail crime through stronger measures to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour

iStock

Theft and violence in retail shops hit record high in 2024

THEFT and violence against retail workers in Britain soared to record levels last year, driven partly by criminal gangs, and are “out of control”, according to a report last Thursday (30).

The British Retail Consortium's annual crime survey found that more than 20 million thefts occurred in the year to August 31, 2024 – an average of 55,000 a day – costing retailers £2.2 billion.

Keep ReadingShow less