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'Akbar ka Quila' No Longer Akbar's, Rajasthan Minister Renames It As 'Ajmer Ka Quila'

Without any formal notification.
The magazine in 1818 A.D. Akbar's Palace at Ajmer
Dinodia Photo via Getty Images
The magazine in 1818 A.D. Akbar's Palace at Ajmer

After Rajasthan Education minister, Vasudev Devnani, received a threat letter for changing the name of Akbar ka quila, it came to the fore that he had indeed done so and rather quietly.

'Akbar ka quila' in Ajmer which was built in 1570 by the Mughal emperor, Akbar, for his son Salim and now serves as a museum for Mughal and Rajput artifacts has been renamed 'Ajmer ka quila and sanghralaya' simply based on a verbal order from the education minister.

A report in the Times of India says that the fort was christened 'Akbar ka quila' by a gazzette notification in 1968 and no other amendments have been made since then to change the name. Devnani who is an MLA from Ajmer North simply asked the sub-divisional magistrate to issue verbal orders and get the name changed, after which the plaque at 'Akbar ka Quila' was promptly replaced with one bearing the changed name.

According to a report in the Indian Express, Devnani said that since he is a nationalist, he will try to rename places named after 'terrorists'. The minister has however, claimed that he used the word 'aakranta' or invader and not 'aatank kari' (terrorist).

Devnani has now ended up with a threat letter from a 'Tarannum Chisty' warning him of strict action for renaming 'Akbar ka quila'. The threat letter has been referred by the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) to the kotwali police station for probe.

Recently, at the unveiling of a special edition of RSS-affiliated magazine, Pathey Kan, Devnani reiterated that between Maharana Pratap and Akbar, it was Maharana Pratap who was truly great and it was he who had won the Battle of Haldighati. "Maharana Pratap was undoubtedly the winner of the battle of Haldighati. Had Akbar won the first battle, why would he need to attack Mewar multiple times after that," asked Devnani, reported PTI. He also blamed the 'leftists' for distorting India's history.

'The great' suffix which usually follows Akbar's name was dropped in the state's history textbooks back in 2015.

(With inputs from PTI)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.