Indian schools name change fiasco: war hero’s legacy restored after outcry

WEB DESK: A school in Uttar Pradesh, India, ‘Shaheed Hamid Vidyalaya’ named after a war hero of 1965 war, decide to change its name to ‘PM Shri Composite School’. This happened six days ago. Yesterday, the name change was reversed. Here is everything that happened in these five days with the Indian school name change fiasco.

Abdul Hamid, Recipient of Param Vir Chakra Award

While anti-Muslim hate and the distortion of war history is not an alien concept to the state of India, there are some tokens of history from the days gone-by that still commemorate truth and legacy. Such a token can be seen in a school is situated in Dhamupur village under Jakhanian tehsil, about 35 km from the district headquarters, of Uttar Pradesh province in India.

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The school has been originally named after Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid, who studied there during his childhood. The Param Vir Chakra is India’s highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the “Wheel of the Ultimate Brave”, and the award is granted for “most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy”.

The Fortuitous Events

Six days ago, the management of the school decided to do a paint job. After repainting the school, the Basic Education Department replaced the name displayed at the main gate of the school with “PM Shri Composite School.” Needless to say, it did not sit well with the public, sparking outrage.

Initially, education officials attempted to pacify the family by writing Hamid’s name on a wall instead of restoring it at the entrance. However, the war hero’s grandson, Jameel Ahmad, escalated the matter to higher authorities.

Hamid’s family also criticised the Basic Education Officer Hemant Rao for removing his name in the first place. The family contended that erasing the name of a war hero – who sacrificed his life for the nation and was deeply honored for it too – was an inexcusable mistake.

The Reversal

The matter soon caught the attention of social media, then media and then ultimately the politicians, who could not let the opportunity pass. Samajwadi Party president and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for its anti-Muslim and hatemongering policies, blaming them for this issue.

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Yadav wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “It is extremely reprehensible and indecent that those who sacrificed their lives for the country are getting less importance than someone. Now all that remains is that some people change the name of the country from ‘India’ to ‘BJP’,” adding, “Those who neither played any role in getting independence nor in saving the independence, how can they know the importance of martyrs.”

Eventually, the backlash resulted in knocking some sense into the school’s management and the name change was reversed. The school’s main gate now displays the name ‘Shaheed Hamid Vidyalaya’ once again, on a building now painted anew.