New Delhi, February 25 BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday to rename Delhi as Indraprastha, claiming that it reflects the city's true historical roots and cultural legacy.
In a letter to Shah, a day after the Union Cabinet gave its nod to rename Kerala to Keralam, the Lok Sabha MP from Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency said that the Mahabharata describes Indraprastha as a magnificent city built on the banks of the Yamuna river, precisely matching the geographical setting of modern Delhi.
He also cited the Archaeological Survey of India's excavations at Purana Qila in support of his claim.
"Historical literature, archaeological findings, and long-standing civilizational traditions establish that the present-day Delhi corresponds to the ancient city of Indraprastha, the grand capital established by the Pandavas as described in the epic Mahabharata," he said in the letter to the Union home minister.
He pointed out that the epic describes Indraprastha as a magnificent city built on the banks of the Yamuna river, precisely matching the geographical setting of modern Delhi.
Excavations conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India at Purana Qila have revealed ancient settlement layers dating back to around 1,000 BC, along with Painted Grey Ware pottery associated with the Mahabharata era, Khandelwal claimed, adding that these findings strongly support the belief that the ancient city of Indraprastha once flourished at the site where Delhi stands today.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) also raised the demand last year, arguing on the same lines. The name Indraprastha is also used by some academic institutions and a CNG supplier to the city – IGL.
Khandelwal argued that the name Delhi emerged during a much later historical phase. Scholars believe the name evolved from medieval references such as Dhillika or Dehli, associated with ruling dynasties of the early medieval period, he claimed.
"While these phases are part of the city's history, they do not represent its earliest identity or civilizational origin. As such, the name Delhi reflects a limited historical period rather than the deeper and more enduring legacy of the city," he argued in the letter.
"In view of the above, I respectfully urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate a formal process to examine and implement the renaming of Delhi as Indraprastha, after consultation with historians, archaeologists, and other relevant stakeholders," said the MP.
Restoring the name Indraprastha would therefore reconnect the capital of modern India with its ancient civilizational foundation, he asserted. "It would symbolize that the seat of the world's largest democracy stands upon the legacy of one of humanity's oldest cultural traditions."
