19:59
A view of the Aligarh Muslim University/ANI Photo
Aligarh Mayor Prashant Singhal has said that a proposal to rename the city to Harigarh has again been sent to the state government for action.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader on Thursday told reporters that all papers concerning the proposal were sent earlier in the week.
Singhal said that in 2023, immediately after he was elected, the Aligarh Nagar Nigam had passed a resolution urging the Uttar Pradesh government to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh after Saint Swami Haridas.
He said that 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".
The first formal step to rename Aligarh was taken in August 2021, when the newly elected president of the Aligarh Zila Parishad, Vijay Singh, sent a proposal to the state.
The request was made after a demand for it was raised by the Aligarh Chatri Parishad through a memorandum.
At that time, then mayor Mohammad Furqan (BSP) urged Adityanath to defer the matter for the sake of the large Aligarh Muslim University alumni network, which has a deep emotional connect with the eponymous city.
In August 2025, deputy Chief Minister Keshav Dev Maurya once again raised this issue during a visit to the city. -- PTI
