Dubai’s ruler and Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum issued instructions on Sunday, January 29, to rename Al Minhad area to ‘Hind City’. The city, which has 4 zones, from Hind 1 to Hind 4, is spread over an area of 83.9 square kilometers.
Once the news reached India, quite a few people online made the claim that the Dubai district has been renamed to acknowledge the contribution of Indians. While no official reason has been given for the name change, it may not be the actual reason behind the renaming of the area.
Ruler of Dubai and PM of UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has ordered that a district in the emirate be renamed.
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) January 30, 2023
Al Minhad and its surrounding 84 Square KM areas will now be known as “Hind City” to honour the contribution of India and Hindus towards humanity. pic.twitter.com/3o5y45FLSU
“Hind” can mean quite a few things in Arabic, and is an old Arabic name as well. In fact, Sheikh Mohammed’s first wife is also named Hind. Hind bint Maktoum Al Maktoum, the senior wife of Sheikh Mohammed, married him on 26 April 1979 in a grand ceremony. The couple had 12 children, including the crown prince and next in line for Dubai’s crown, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. So the district may well be named after her.
Hind can also refer to a large group of camels in Arabic. 100 or more camels are referred to as Hind. Actually, naming your daughters Hind in Arabic meant praying that may she get 100 camels or more.
Then, Hind may refer to India as well. Indians are called Hindi by Arabs.
However, as mentioned, no official reason has been given for the renaming of the district. OpIndia has requested UAE Prime Minister’s office for a comment. This report will be updated if we get the official reason from them for the renaming.
