‘Criticise me, not Rabindranath Tagore’, says Assam CM on renaming Karimganj

Guwahati, Nov 20 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asked the opposition on Wednesday that they should criticise him and not the legendary poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore over changing of name of Karimganj district to Sribhumi.

“They can criticise me, but why are they criticising Rabindranath Tagore? In Assam, why should a place’s name be kept after an unknown person? It should have been changed a long ago,” the Chief Minister told media persons.

Earlier, Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi aiming at Sarma said that the name of Chief Minister must be changed. “I do not like the name Himanta Biswa Sarma and many people pronounce it wrongly. So I suggest that the Chief Minister should change his name as well,” said the MLA.

The Chief Minister reacting to Akhil Gogoi said, “Had Rabindranath Tagore given me another name 100 years ago, I could have changed it gladly.”

Sarma also asserted that the previous name Karimganj had no resemblance with either Assamese or Bengali sentiments and the new name has been coined in line with the cultural heritage of the place.

There have been wide-scale celebrations across the district after the Assam government changed the name of Karimganj district to Sribhumi.

“Glad to see the celebration in Sribhumi district. Its erstwhile name Karimganj had no resonance with either Assamese or Bengali sentiments. Sribhumi is a fitting tribute to the region’s ancient Sanskriti,” said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Following the decision of the Assam Cabinet to change the name of Karimganj district to Sribhumi on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said that Rabindranath Tagore described the Karimganj district as Sribhumi at least 100 years ago and the state government decided in line with this to change the name of this district.

“Over 100 years ago, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had described modern-day Karimganj District in Assam as ‘Sribhumi’- the land of Maa Lakshmi. The state cabinet has decided to change the name of Karimganj district to Shribumi. This was done keeping in mind the historical significance of the place. In our state, many places were named that do not go well with the cultural value of that location and we will gradually rename those places giving due importance to their historical trait,” the Chief Minister wrote on X.

He also stated that the ruling dispensation had earlier changed the names of a few places.

“In the recent past, locations like Kalapahar and Sarabhatti in Guwahati city were renamed. This practice will be continued in the upcoming days,” the Chief Minister said.

Assam has 35 districts, including Karimganj - now Sribumi district. In addition to being the largest town in the district, Karimganj serves as the administrative headquarters of the district. It is situated in southern Assam and has borders with Bangladesh's Sylhet Division and Tripura. Together with Hailakandi and Cachar, it forms the Barak Valley.

Prior to India's partition, Karimganj was a part of the Sylhet District. In 1983, it was given district status.