Overview
- Chandni Chowk MP Praveen Khandelwal wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah urging that the national capital be renamed Indraprastha, describing it as a return to the city’s oldest civilisational identity.
- He also appealed to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for a supporting Delhi Assembly resolution and proposed renaming Old Delhi Railway Station and the city’s airport, plus installing statues of the Pandavas.
- Khandelwal’s case cites ASI excavations at Purana Qila showing Painted Grey Ware and early settlement layers around 1000 BCE, while scholars note there is no definitive proof that the site is Indraprastha.
- No government decision has been taken on renaming Delhi, and any change would require constitutional and administrative procedures involving both state inputs and central action.
- The pitch comes a day after the Union Cabinet cleared Kerala’s switch to ‘Keralam’, drawing political responses such as Mamata Banerjee’s query over West Bengal’s pending ‘Bangla’ request and calls from Omar Abdullah for consistent treatment.