Kutianwali, Chamar Khera… villages have a battle of their own

Deepender Deswal

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Tribune News Service

Hisar, April 14

By renaming Gurgaon to Gurugram, the Haryana Government is perhaps trying to bring back the ancient glory of the state. But what about those villages that have derogatory names? Is the government mulling changing the names of such villages?

Ask residents of Kutianwali village in the district’s Adampur block and they say the authorities concerned are not bothered.

“Kutianwali means a place for bitches. I will think twice before taking the name of my village,” newly elected sarpanch Pritam Singh said, adding the entire village was unanimous in changing the name.

Former sarpanch Madan Lal said the panchayat had submitted a proposal for the change in name to the district administration about four years ago, but that got stuck in government files.

“Village elders say that a bitch bit a British in the village long time back. Irked by the incident, the local administration changed the name from Sehzadpur to Kutianwali,” Lal said.

Residents of Kinnar (eunuch) village are concerned as well. The panchayat had passed a resolution to name the village Gabi Nagar, inspired from village deity Gabi.

Kinnar resident Rajbir Singh said villagers had, in 2014, forced the panchayat to adopt a resolution to rename the village. “We were told that it was not simple to change the name,” he said.

Sarpanch Poonam Rani said the district administration must respect the sentiments of villagers.

Named on caste line is Chamar Khera village in Uklana block. It is a Jat-dominated village with a population of about 5,000; only a few Scheduled Caste families live in Chamar Khera.

Dilbagh Singh, husband of the sarpanch Amita, said, “If Gurgaon’s name can be changed, why cannot our village be renamed when all residents demand it? We have nothing against any caste, but the name gives a wrong impression.”

Krishan Swaroop Gorakhpuria, an expert on panchayati raj, said renaming towns was a political drama to divert people’s attention from core issues.

Mahender Singh, professor of history at DN College, Hisar, said: “The names of majority of villages and towns are in Prakrit, Sanskrit, Arabi or Persian. With time, the names were distorted. But now these names are easy to pronounce.”