Ishwarpur (District Sangli), 24 October – In July, the Maharashtra Government had submitted a proposal with recommendations to the Union Government for renaming Sangli’s ‘Islampur’ city as ‘Ishwarpur’. The Union Government has now approved the proposal, and a letter confirming the approval has been received from the Survey of India. Consequently, the name ‘Islampur’ will now be history, and the city will henceforth be officially known as ‘Ishwarpur’. Accordingly, all official and semi-official departments—such as the Ishwarpur Municipal Council, Ishwarpur Assembly constituency, taluka and district offices—as well as businesses and industries will now use the name ‘Ishwarpur’.
During the monsoon session of the State Legislature, State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal had announced the renaming of the city and had stated that the proposal would be sent to the Union Government for approval.
Brief history behind the name ‘Ishwarpur’
Around four to five decades ago, the then Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief of Islampur, Pant Sabnis, had demanded that the city be renamed ‘Ishwarpur’. Later, during a public rally held in December 1986 at Yellamma Chowk, the Hindu Hriday Samrat Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray had declared from the dais, “This is not Islampur, this is Ishwarpur.” Since then, many Hindu citizens and organisations dedicated to Hindutva had been persistently demanding the name change. Their long-standing demand has now finally been fulfilled.
