Hindu Sena Blackens Delhi's Babar Road Signage, Demands Renaming After Indian Personality

Right-wing outfit Hindu Sena on Saturday blackened the signage for Babar Road near the Bengali market in Delhi demanding that the road be renamed after a "great Indian personality". However, the signboard was cleaned soon after it came to notice. Located in the heart of the national capital, near the iconic Cannaught Place, Babar Road is named after King Babur or Zahir ud-Din Muhammad, the founder and first Emperor of the Mughal dynasty.

Speaking to the news agency PTI, Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta said, "We demand that the government rename the road, which is after a foreign invader, to some great Indian personality". "Hence, we have blackened the road signage erected by the NDMC," Gupta added.

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However, there is no update yet on whether the authority will take any action or rehister a case against the vandalism. Officials of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which is responsible for the upkeep of the road, were not immediately available for comment on the issue.

A similar incident took place in May, 2018, when a poster with 'Maharana Pratap Marg' written on it was found pasted on an Akbar Road signboard in Lutyens' Delhi, with the police later removing it. In 2016 too, Akbar Road signboards were defaced and posters of 'Maharana Pratap Marg' were put up by Hindu Sena members.

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General VK Singh (retired) also dashed a letter to then Union Minister for Urban Development, proposing that Akbar Road be renamed Maharana Pratap Road. However, no formal decision has been taken in this regard so far.

The Akbar road vandalism occured on the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap, who was involved in a war with Emperor Akbar after he refused to accept the suzerainty of the Mughals.