3 weeks ago
Fresh Proposal Pushed to Rename Aligarh City as Harigarh
Some leaders in a city in India called Aligarh want to give it a new name: Harigarh.
The mayor, Prashant Singhal, sent a request to the state government to make the change.
People who support the new name want to honor a holy man called Saint Swami Haridas.
They also hope the city will be seen as a special religious place, which they call a 'Sanatan City'.
This is not the first time the idea has come up.
Leaders asked for the name change in 2021 and again in 2023.
But a history teacher at the local university says there is no proof the city was ever called Harigarh.
He explains that the name Aligarh comes from an old fort built hundreds of years ago.
Some people worry the change could upset former students of the local university.
For now, the final decision is up to the state's chief minister.
Aligarh Mayor Prashant Singhal said a proposal to rename the city Harigarh has again been sent to the Uttar Pradesh government, with papers forwarded earlier in the week.
The Aligarh Nagar Nigam passed a resolution in 2023 urging the state to rename Aligarh to Harigarh after Saint Swami Haridas.
The first formal renaming step came in August 2021, when Aligarh Zila Parishad president Vijay Singh sent a proposal after a demand by the Aligarh Chatri Parishad.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Dev Maurya raised the renaming issue again during a visit to the city in August 2025.
AMU History professor Manvendra Kumar Pundhir said no historical period shows the city as Harigarh; the name Aligarh derives from a fortress originally known as Sabitgarh.
- Who
- Aligarh Mayor Prashant Singhal, who sent the latest proposal; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who would decide on it; Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Dev Maurya; and AMU historian Manvendra Kumar Pundhir.
- What
- A fresh proposal to rename the city of Aligarh to Harigarh, after Saint Swami Haridas, so it can emerge as a 'Sanatan City'.
- Where
- Aligarh, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
- When
- The latest proposal was sent in the week before the article's August 7 dateline; earlier proposals date to August 2021 and 2023.
- Why
- Supporters say the new name honors Saint Swami Haridas and fulfills the demand of people who want Aligarh to be a true 'Sanatan City'; critics and historians question its historical basis.
Renaming Supporters
Renaming Critics
Renaming Aligarh to Harigarh
Renaming Supporters
Mayor Singhal and other BJP leaders say the change honors Saint Swami Haridas and fulfills the demand of people who want Aligarh to become a true 'Sanatan City'.
Renaming Critics
Former mayor Mohammad Furqan (BSP) urged Chief Minister Adityanath to defer the matter because of the large Aligarh Muslim University alumni network, which has a deep emotional connection with the city's name.
Historical basis of the name
Renaming Supporters
Proponents link the renaming demand to Saint Swami Haridas, presenting Harigarh as a fitting tribute to the saint.
Renaming Critics
AMU history professor Manvendra Kumar Pundhir says the city never bore the name Harigarh in any historical period; the name Aligarh came from a fortress, first called Sabitgarh and later Aligarh Fortress.
Key facts
- Current name
- Aligarh
- Proposed name
- Harigarh
- Namesake
- Saint Swami Haridas
- Latest proposal sent by
- Aligarh Mayor Prashant Singhal (BJP)
- First formal proposal
- August 2021, by Aligarh Zila Parishad president Vijay Singh
- Local resolution
- 2023, by the Aligarh Nagar Nigam
- Chief Minister with final say
- Yogi Adityanath
- Historians' finding
- No evidence the city was ever named Harigarh; the name came from a fortress (Prof. Manvendra Kumar Pundhir, AMU)
Quotes
Prashant Singhal
Mayor of Aligarh
“"If he acts on the proposal, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would be fulfilling a demand of the people who long to see the emergence of the city as a true ‘Sanatan City’.”
theprint.in
Sources
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