Ahmedabad netizens trend #WeWantKarnavati to get city name changed, this is why

Ahmedabad netizens demand the city's name is changed to Karnavati (image courtesy: @rashrhit_Sainik on Twitter)

Ahmedabad residents on Wednesday took to Twitter to urge Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to change the city’s name from Ahmedabad to Karnavati.

https://twitter.com/Rastrhit_Sainik/status/1366953444318146562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Some said that the name ‘Ahmedabad’ is a historical mistake and it should be corrected and changed to Karnavati to restore its glory.

https://twitter.com/Pradeep_Mahaur/status/1366964079235981316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Ahmedabad residents said that the city was not ‘established’ by Mughal emperor Ahmed Shah but it was developed by King Karna Dev and hence it should be named after him.

https://twitter.com/BarfaRahul5287/status/1366954323809210373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

A change.org petition was also circulated to appeal to the Gujarat Home Minister for name change.

Screengrab of the petition

The petition reads that the name ‘Ahmedabad’ does not reflect the true glory of the culture and history of the city.

The petition reads, “Karna of Chaulukya dynasty ruling from Anhilwad Patan (1072–1094) made the town his capital, adorned it with two temples, one to Kochrab, the site still known, and the other to Jayanti Devi, and named it Karnavati (Karna’s town). This Karnavati is the same place which is called as Ahmedabad now. Scavenging by the archaeologists revealed some magnificent facts about the history of Ahmedabad. Around the 10th century, the place was called Ashapalli ruled by the Bhil kings and later by Solanki King Karandev. Their reign lasted up until the 13th century when the Vaghela dethroned Solanki’s. Ahmed Shah who seated as the Sultan and renamed the city as Ahmedabad. There are many instances where Ahmed shah was known for his cruelty.   

The 14th–century Jain scholar Acharya Merutunga in his seminal Sanskrit text Prabandhachintamani claims that King Karnadev habited a village to establish Karnavati with the construction of a Karnasagar lake and a temple for Karneshwara Deva during the last decade of the 10th century.

On searching the true history  of this place we can say that the name Ahmedabad is a historical mistake and original name of this town was Karnavati named after Lord Karneshwara who is one of the form of Lord shiva.

I would request honorable minister to rename the town as Karanavati.”

The online petition is signed by one Harshid Desai, Romesh Shah and Pradeep Mahaur.

Netizens said that it is a shame to name a city after the Islamic invaders who raped and killed our mothers and sisters. Many said that the cities and towns named after such barbaric invaders should be immediately changed.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia