Renaming the Bardhaman Jn. railway station- an open letter to Mr. Nityanand Rai

To,
Mr. Nityanand Rai
Union Minister of State for Home, Govt. of India

Re: Few words on the recent proposal of renaming Burdwan Jn. Railway station to Batukeshwar Dutt Jn.

Respected sir,
I, Shubhayan M am a proud citizen of the Republic of India. By writing to you today, I am exercising my democratic right of free speech and of opposing the government against a step wrongly taken. As someone who has been living in Burdwan since birth and knows the city inside-out, I believe I am the ideal candidate to tell you this.

On July 20th, 2019, while on a visit to Batukeshwar Dutt’s post-independence home at Patna, you declared that the Burdwan Jn. Railway Station will be named after Dutt, a noted freedom fighter, and a close aide to Bhagat Singh. Keeping in mind the genuine intention of honoring this brave son of Bengal by renaming the railway station of the second most populous city of W.B., I would like to point out that this move only feels cosmetic at its best.

Batukeshwar Dutt was born in Oari village, Khandaghosh, which is a Community Development block under Burdwan Sadar, South Section. He is one of the many revolutionaries that Burdwan has produced over the years.

The Burdwan Jn. railway station is soon going to complete 165 glorious years of functioning on August 15th, 2019. And in its term of active service to the public, this place has served to be the spot of millions of tears before departure, and millions of enthusiastic waits before the arrival of loved ones. To the people of Burdwan, this is way more than just a station. It would be an understatement if I say that my fellow city mates are exceedingly emotional about, and have deep personal links to this place.

I earnestly request you to come down to the city and stay for a day to visit and understand how the station functions. The Burdwan Jn. overshoots its purpose daily! Early in the morning, it serves as the distribution point of newspapers for the entire East Burdwan district. A bit later, you will find that this place has turned into one of the largest wholesale markets of bakery products- freshly baked biscuits, bread, toffees, edibles and what not! Throughout the day, this serves as the livelihood for thousands of rickshaw and e-rickshaw drivers, and hawkers, vending a vast variety of goods and edibles. Evening brings in the buzz to this station with the fifteen plus tea and snacks stall coming to life, and the strong aroma of freshly brewed tea leads the visitors to a mandatory cup before they hop off. Residents from all over the small, peace-loving town flocks in towards their favorite adda point- the station. Daily passengers hang on for a good half hour for a healthy dose of chit-chat with a flavorful cup of tea and snacks before heading home. It is a social space, one of the most prominent ones in the town. And in all this, the big signboard that states Bardhaman Jn. in big bold blue silently watches over, like the watchful grandfather. It has been doing so since the last century and a half.

Fact would state that renaming the junction would rob it of its prized identity, and will serve to be a sudden and major disconnect, one that has the potential to hack down the deep bond the city shares with the station.

Honoring freedom fighter Batukeshwar Dutt can be done in a much better way. There are multiple new and upcoming things to be freshly named, and renaming a very old station that serves as the primary identity of an important city is an unnecessary move. Let us think of naming the longest suspended rail bridge, soon to be inaugurated in Burdwan after Dutt? Sounds logical, right? If you visit the station at night, you will find dozens of homeless sleeping on the pavements and the area outside the station. Let the government allot a small budget for creating a basic settlement for them so that they can get a temporary roof over their head during night time, and save themselves from the perils of rain and cold? Let us name that shelter after Batukeshwar Dutt?

If you need a better solution, let us move a bit away from the city, towards Oari in Khandaghosh, where he was born. Let me request you to allot some funds for an optimum up-gradation of Khandaghosh. Let the primary healthcare center be upgraded, and be named after Dutt? In his village Oari, let the problems be addressed and a memorial be installed? I am sure he will be happier if his birthplace were to get a makeover in his honor. I am sure he will feel more honored by that than he would be by renaming a station which holds an immense amount of emotional and aesthetic weight in its identity.

In the end, I will reiterate Nayanjot Lahiri, Professor of History, Ashoka University- “They are trying to remove from public domain names of places that are an integral part of our country’s history. It’s a pity.” Burdwan Jn. is an integral part of the lives of all Bardhaman-vasis. It is the last and the first point of contact for anyone leaving or arriving in the town. For me when I go to work, I stand at the door and wave to my parents standing on the platform of Burdwan Jn. That is the memory I cling onto for the coming months. When its homecoming, excitement knows no bounds when I see that the next station is Burdwan Jn. With all due respect to Batukeshwar Dutt, I will always prefer landing at Burdwan Jn. than at Batukeshwar Dutt Jn. Railway Station. And the fact that it will always remain Burdwan Jn. for the residents, that the new identity will only be limited to official documents and will never be accepted by the public will be an even bigger disservice to the revolutionary man who fought for our freedom.

It is an earnest request from me on behalf of all my city-mates to reconsider this decision and revoke the same before it reaches official tables, sir.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,
A Bardhaman-vasi who loves his city very much.

Written by Shubhayan M, Co-founder & Editor, Sthapatya.

Residents of Burdwan, support this cause by signing a petition to request Mr. Nityananda Rai to reconsider renaming the Burdwan Jn. Railway Station.

LINK TO THE SUCCESSFUL PETITION HERE

Feature Image source, credits to Pinakpani.

স্থাপত্য সাধারন মানুষের মধ্যে আর্কিটেকচার ও ডিজাইন নিয়ে সচেতনতা গড়ে তোলার উদ্দেশ্যে বাংলা ভাষায় একমাত্র অনলাইন ম্যাগাজিন। আমাদের পাশে থেকে ও সমর্থন করে এই উদ্দেশ্য সফল করতে আমাদের সাহায্য করুন।
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