Even as the ruling Shiv Sena and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rattle sabres over renaming Aurangabad to ‘Sambhajinagar’, BJP legislator Gopichand Padalkar has now demanded that Ahmednagar be renamed ‘Ahilyanagar’ after the saintly 18th century Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar.
Mr. Padalkar, an MLC and an influential Dhangar (shepherd) community leader, has written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray regarding this issue while stating that the name change of Ahmednagar from its Muslim connotations to ‘Ahilyanagar’ would be a tribute to the memory of the queen, who ruled the Malwa region and was born in Chaundi in Ahmednagar district.
Ahilyabai Holkar, the daughter-in-law of Malharrao Holkar – the famous Maratha chieftain who expanded the Maratha presence in north and central India – ruled the Malwa region after her father in-law’s death and became a byword for benevolent governance. She is revered by the Dhangar community.
