President renames Mughal Gardens as Amrit Udyan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 28

In a further push to indigenisation of national symbols, President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday renamed the famous Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan as “Amrit Udyan”, in line with the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal (the 25 years leading up to the 100th year of India’s Independence in 2047) celebrations.

The move, which came on the eve of the opening of the grand gardens by the President on Sunday, was widely hailed by Union Ministers and BJP leaders, with many describing it as part of the ongoing efforts to de-colonise and indigenise the Indian thought and narrative. The government recently rechristened Rajpath as Kartavya Path. “Why keep the names of those who gave deep wounds to the land of India by raining blood…. Life-giving nectar rains on this earth from time immemorial,” Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said. Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Kiren Rijiju, Giriraj Singh and Narendra Singh Tomar also welcomed the move. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the step signalled India’s readiness to abandon mindset of slavery.

Spread over a vast area, the erstwhile Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan were so called as these derived their inspiration from the Mughal Gardens of Kashmir, the gardens around the Taj Mahal and those that feature in the miniature paintings of Persia.

Originally, the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens included East Lawn, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden. During the term of former Presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Ram Nath Kovind, more gardens were developed, namely Herbal-I, Herbal-II, Tactile Garden, Bonsai Garden and Arogya Vanam. From January 31, the gardens will be opened for the public who can book a visit online. Ceremonially, the President will grace the opening of the gardens tomorrow as part of Udyan Utsav 2023.

This time, the gardens (Herbal Garden, Bonsai Garden, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden) will be open for about two months. The gardens will open to the general public from January 31 till March 26 (except on Mondays and on March 8 which is Holi). From March 28 to 31, the gardens will remain open for special categories on the following days: For farmers on March 28, differently abled on March 29, security personnel March 30 and women, including self-help groups, on March 31.

Changing of names under Modi regime

2015: Aurangzeb Road as Abdul Kalam Road

2016: Race Course Road as Lok Kalyan Marg

2017: Dalhousie Road as Dara Shikoh Road

2018: Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk

2019: Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Delhi, as Arun Jaitley Stadium

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