Cantonment roads renamed to honour war heroes
Shedding colonial legacy, the Indian Army is renaming British-era roads and localities within its 62 cantonment boards to honour Indian war heroes and veterans. Roads such as Baird Place and King’s Way are now renamed with Param Vir Chakra (PVC) awardees, including Captain Anuj Nayyar and Major Shaitan Singh.
As suggested by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the renaming is taking place in major cantonments, including Delhi, Meerut, and Belagavi, where 34 roads were recently renamed.
In Delhi Cantonment, Baird Place is now known as Anuj Nayyar Vihar, and Kirby Place becomes Kenuguruse Vihar. The cantonment, set up in 1914, is located in southwest Delhi. As part of the renaming, an old name, Parade Road, has been retained. The upcoming new Sena Bhawan is located on the road.Sources said the following names are scheduled to change: Tigris Road, Mall Road, Cassel Road, Maude Road, Lorry Road, Gymnasium Road, Probyn Road and Kotwali Road.
These will be replaced with the following names: Hoshiar Singh Marg, Arun Khetrapal Marg, Manekshaw Marg, Thimayya Marg Extn, Ramaswamy Parameshwaran Marg, Padmapani Acharya Marg, Shaitan Singh Marg and Captain Anuj Nayyar Marg.Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran was awarded a PVC for the Indian Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka. Army renames cantonments to honour war heroes Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal and Colonel Hoshiar Singh are PVC awardees of the 1971 India-Pak war. Major Shaitan Singh was awarded a PVC for his bravery in the 1962 war with China.
Major Padmapani Acharya and Captain Anuj Nayyar were awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for bravery in the Kargil conflict with Pakistan in 1999. General KS Thimayya was the Army Chief from 1957 to 1961.
The renaming will also include a change of name for Baird Place, Kirby Place, Nicholson Line, Nicholson Range, Kingsway Camp and Khyber Lines. The new names would be Anuj Nayyar Vihar, Kenuguruse Vihar, Joginder Singh Vihar, Digendra Kumar Vihar, Taurus Range and Abdul Hamid Vihar.
British Infantry Lines in Meerut is renamed Jawahar Nagar. Patterson Road Quarters renamed to Dhan Singh Thapa Enclave in Ambala.
Training cradle of officers, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun(IMA)has renamed Collins Block to Nubra Block.
This initiative, managed by the Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE), reflects a broader effort to solidify national identity within defense infrastructure.
