With a history of various names, Mughalsarai set to be renamed once again

MUGHALSARAI: This isn't the first time Mughalsarai will be renamed. According to the records, in past centuries, it has been variously known as Mughalchak, Mangalpur and Oven Nagar. The township was named Mughalsarai when the railways established a junction here in 1883.

Located along the Grand Trunk Road, also called Sadak-e-Azam by Sher Shah Suri, Mughalsarai was one of the corridors connecting north India with the east during the Mughal period.

According to railway records, when the British started laying railway lines in this part of the country , the Patna Mughalsarai division came into existence in 1862, followed by the Mughalsarai-Allahabad division in 1864. The Mughalsarai-Varanasi-Rae Bareli and the Mughalsarai-Gaya divisions came into existence in 1898 and 1900, respectively.

In Sangh's records, the name was changed to "Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar" in 1970 itself. Recalling the Jan Sangh icon's connection with the town, RSS district chief Shambhu Nath Gupta said: "Following his mysterious death, Upadhyaya's body was recovered near pole number 36 at the western end of platform one of the railway station on February 11, 1968. GRP kept it as an abandoned body till the then RSS nagar sangh chalak Gurubaksh Kapahi identified it."

Many residents have questioned the logic behind renaming the station, saying Mughalsarai is known across the world because it houses Asia's biggest railway yard. "Why don't the governments think about the problems the renaming will create? People will struggle for a long time before the new name gains currency," said Shyamji Gupta, a trader. "If renaming is being done just because of the word 'Mughal' prefixed to it, it is wrong," said Ramchandra, a porter at the railway station.