Ahead of PM Modi’s visit, Habibganj railway station in Bhopal renamed after Rani Kamlapati
Rani Kamlapati was the widow Gond ruler of Nizam Shah, chief of Ginnorgarh. The Gond community comprises the largest tribal group of India with more than 1.2 crore population.
FollowAhead of PM Modi’s visit to launch India’s first world-class railway station on November 15, The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh has written to the centre, recommending renaming the Habibganj Railway Station after tribal queen Rani Kamlapati -- the last Gond queen of Bhopal. The decision was taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs upon a request by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday unveil the redeveloped railway station, which has been built under the country's first public private partnership at a cost of around Rs 450 crore. CM Chauhan on Saturday said that he was thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accepting the state’s request. “I thank PM Modi from my heart. I express gratitude on behalf of 8.5 crore people of Madhya Pradesh and the tribal community for renaming Habibganj station after Rani Kamlapati. She was the honour of Gond samaj, the last Hindu queen,” he said.
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A letter of recommendation - sent by state transport department to the Union Home Ministry - reads, “Bhopal was ruled by Gond rulers in the 16th century and to keep intact the memory of Gond Queen Rani Kamalapati, it's recommended to rename Habibganj railway station after Rani Kamlapati.”
Rani Kamlapati was the widow Gond ruler of Nizam Shah, chief of Ginnorgarh. The Gond community comprises the largest tribal group of India with more than 1.2 crore population. Linguistically, the Gonds belong to the Gondi–Manda subgroup of the South Central branch of the Dravidian language family.
The letter from the state's transport department has said that renaming the station is also in accordance with the Indian government's decision to celebrate November 15 as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' in remembrance of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.
Recently, the name of Allahabad railway station in Uttar Pradesh was changed to Prayagraj and Mughalsarai railway junction was renamed as Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction.
