State panel to review Left-era road names; first meeting after Durga Puja
A 10-member advisory committee set up by the West Bengal government is reported to be examining proposals to rename several of Kolkata's roads and public places that bear names associated with the Left-era political and international figures, officials and civic administrators said.
According to a report in The Times of India, the panel was constituted last Friday and is headed by Swami Pradiptananda, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj. The group also includes former Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy, the chief minister's adviser Subrata Gupta and Kolkata Municipal Corporation commissioner Smita Pandey, among others. The report said the panel is expected to hold its first meeting once Durga Puja concludes.
"Ho-Chi-Minh Sarani, Lenin Sarani and Karl Marx Sarani were among the roads set to be renamed," the report cited Kartik Maharaj as indicating.
The committee, as described in the report, will weigh the historical and cultural relevance of the personalities after whom roads are currently named and forward its recommendations to the state assembly. Proposals that have been aired include changing the name of Biswa Bangla Sarani to Shri Krishna Chaitanya Avenue.
- Roads reported under review: Lenin Sarani, Karl Marx Sarani, Ho-Chi-Minh Sarani, and proposals concerning Biswa Bangla Sarani.
- Panel makeup: 10 members led by Swami Pradiptananda and including Tathagata Roy, Subrata Gupta and Smita Pandey.
- Next steps: The committee will deliberate after Durga Puja and send recommendations to the state assembly.
The names in question trace to specific moments in Kolkata's post-independence history. Dharmatalla Street was renamed Lenin Sarani in 1970 during commemorations marking the birth centenary of Vladimir Lenin. Circular Garden Reach Road was rechristened Karl Marx Sarani a year later. Ho-Chi-Minh Sarani originally carried the name of John Herbert Harrington, a British colonial administrator and orientalist who served in Bengal.
The Times of India report quoted Tathagata Roy as categorical that roads bearing Lenin's and Marx's names would be renamed; it added that Roy intended to propose that Lenin Sarani be renamed after a mathematician who had been associated with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Renaming streets and public places often carries administrative and civic consequences: signboards and maps need updating, addresses for businesses and residents must be revised, and municipal records adjusted. For Kolkata — a city whose street nomenclature reflects layered phases of colonial, nationalist and Left-era politics — such changes also trigger public debate over heritage, memory and urban identity.
| Year | Original name | Renamed as |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Dharmatalla Street | Lenin Sarani |
| 1971 | Circular Garden Reach Road | Karl Marx Sarani |
| — | John Herbert Harrington Road (historical) | Ho-Chi-Minh Sarani |
Political parties and resident groups in Kolkata have in the past taken differing positions when names of roads or public institutions were proposed for change. Any formal recommendation from the advisory committee to the state assembly would likely prompt responses from opposition parties, municipal councillors and cultural organisations who often view such moves through the prisms of history and identity.
The committee's stated criterion — to assess how relevant the personalities are to Indian and Bengali culture — indicates the government will attempt to frame recommendations on cultural grounds. How those assessments are received on the city's streets, where every lane and crossing carries memory and association for residents, remains to be seen.
The report did not list every member of the panel nor give a detailed timeline for submission of recommendations beyond the plan to convene after Durga Puja. Further official communication from the state government or the civic body would be required to confirm the panel's full membership, its working calendar and any draft proposals before they are put formally before the assembly.
