Shah Jahan Garden near Taj may be renamed after Ahilyabai Holkar
AGRA The Shah Jahan Garden, a huge green stretch next to the Taj Mahal, may get a new identity as there is a proposal to rechristen it as Ahilyabai Holkar Garden. UP minister and MLA from Agra Dehat legislative constituency, Baby Rani Maurya, has written to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, seeking to rename the garden after the 18th century Maratha queen.
Citing demands by various people’s representatives, the minister stated that Ahilyabai Holkar was a popular woman ruler of the Maratha empire and regarded as a symbol of women’s empowerment.
“Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar, during her reign, had constructed many temples and contributed towards renovation of known temples, including Sarnath, Kashi Vishwanath, Mahakaleshwar beside others. She also got many ghats, wells, ponds and pilgrimages constructed,” highlighted Maurya.
“Maharani Holkar was known for unbiased and effective governance as a ruler. Her personality and deeds brought her into the category of the most influential women leaders the nation has seen,” stated Maurya.
“She worked for education, health, development and grassroots infrastructure and fought for equality and justice in society. She enacted a law for share of widows in the property of her deceased husbands,” she said.
“Various people’s representatives in Agra want that the Shah Jahan Garden be renamed as Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Garden,” the read the letter.
Sources at the office of the minister informed that the chief minister’s office has taken note of the letter that has been forwarded to the UP chief secretary
The upcoming museum near Taj Mahal, named ‘Mughal Museum’ by the Samajwadi Party regime, had already been rechristened after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by chief minister Yogi Adityanath in 2020.
During his visit to Agra on March 26 this year, Adityanath had asserted that Agra’s identity is rooted in Brajbhoomi, Vrindavan Bihari Lal and Radha Rani, not the Mughals, emphasizing that if the city is to be linked with any historical figure, it should be Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
