It may since have been rectified but calling Akbar Allahabadi as ‘Prayagraji’ bleeds one soul

Hindu ho Muslim ek hain dono, yaani aashnaai hain; Hum-watan hum-zubaan wa hum-qismat; kyun na keh du ki bhai-bhai hain…Thus spake Akbar Allahabadi. However, for a short period earlier this week, if any examinee in Uttar Pradesh didn’t mention ‘Akbar Allahabadi’ as ‘Akbar Prayagraji’ in any test paper, her/his marks would have been deducted because the Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Services Commission decided in its wisdom to ‘rechristen’ him exactly a century after his death, following the BJP Government’s notification regarding the change in Allahabad’s nomenclature as Prayagraj. Going by this logic, the lyrics of the popular Hindi number “Mere khwaabo ki shehzaadi, main hu Akbar Allahabadi…” should also be amended to “…main hu Akbar Prayagraaji…”. What fun would that be! And doing this to Saiyid Akbar Hussain, aka Akbar Allahabadi, who was widely acknowledged for his satire and nationalist Urdu poetry? Giving a humorous touch even to love and politics, he was quite vocal about the cynicism and hypocrisy of colonial India’s political leaders, often weaving English words into his shayari.

Now that Faizabad’s name is proposed to be changed to Ayodhya, will ‘Meraj Faizabadi’ be called ‘Meraj Ayodhyavaasi’? Of course, even the Britishers did it, but can one discard or disregard history or banish it to the nether regions, however brutal or painful it may be. If it sets a precedent in the BJP-ruled States, one can only shudder to imagine the fate of popular Urdu-Hindi poets such as Firaq Gorakhpuri, Hullad Moradabadi, Jigar Moradabadi and Majrooh Sultanpuri. Their personalities may be impervious to such shenanigans but the decades-old standing will certainly suffer a jolt, sort of a speed-breaker while negotiating their ‘takhallus’, just as an Aligarhi taala would retain its toughness and looks by any other name but will lose its soul. Merely changing signs bearing the name of Babur and Aurangzeb doesn’t obliterate the suffering of Hindus during their reigns; rather these names should be kept alive so that it serves as a reminder to treat equally people of all religions, castes, communities, colour, creed and sexual preferences. Does the name change entail that the strays get a roti more these days, or does more warmth reach the body and heart of the homeless? Akbar Allahabadi put it beautifully: Duniya mein hu, duniya ka talabgaar nahi hu; Bazaar se guzra hu, khareedar nahi hu…