Following protests by the family of 1965 war hero Abdul Hamid, education authorities in Ghazipur reinstated his name at the entrance of the government primary school in his native village, days after it was removed during recent paint work.
The school, located in Dhamupur village under Jakhanian tehsil, about 35 km from the district headquarters, was originally named after Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid, who studied there during his childhood.
However, five days ago, after repainting the school, the Basic Education Department replaced his name with "PM Shri Composite School" at the main gate, sparking outrage.
Initially, education officials attempted to pacify the family by writing Hamid's name on a wall instead of restoring it at the entrance. However, Hamid's grandson, Jameel Ahmad, escalated the matter to higher authorities.
"Today (February 18), the name of the school was restored at the main entrance as 'Shaheed Veer Abdul Hamid PM Shri Composite School, Dhamupur, Jakhanian, Ghazipur district,'" Ahmad confirmed.
Hamid's family criticised the Basic Education Officer Hemant Rao for removing his name in the first place.
"It was an inexcusable mistake to erase the name of a war hero who sacrificed his life for the nation," Ahmad said.
Samajwadi Party president and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP-led state government over the issue.
"It is extremely reprehensible and indecent that those who sacrificed their lives for the country are getting less importance than someone. Now all that remains is that some people change the name of the country from 'India' to 'BJP'," Yadav said on X.
"Those who neither played any role in getting independence nor in saving the independence, how can they know the importance of martyrs," he added.