Can anyone rename the child of another person and claim it as one's own? But the BJP's habit of trying to claim  the child of  others  as its own without having to undergo the pangs of labour pain, is reaching new heights.  This is a trade without any investment. It is a fact that framing new  schemes, implementing them and  naming them after  some leader, takes a lot of time, effort as well as investment. Instead of having to undergo all these hassles, what happens when the names of schemes are simply changed? The Union Government which has failed to chalk out a strategy to steer the nation out of the severe financial distress, has now chosen the path of "Name Change" just to throw dust at people's eyes.

Such an initiative was first formally launched in Uttar Pradesh by the state's Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. There is a history behind the name of any city, town or monument. A government which tries to  change such names  is in a way  trying to  erase the history of those places. There is no link between these name changes as well as the challenges faced by the nation at present. Neither is this name changing exercise essential for the nation.  The exercise of changing names also have their social, political and economic contours.

In the past, the  government  uplifted those  behind poverty line or the BPL card holders by this very name change exercise.  Changing the yardstick for identifying the poor is also in a way equal to name change. If the government decides to  term those earning even a meagre Rs 35 a day as rich, then the nation will be full of rich people.  The government uplifted the BPL card holders of the nation in phases through such a change. Later, there began a name changing spree of towns and cities and thereby taking the nation towards the  glory of the past. May be in the next few years, the Taj Mahal  monument may even become Tejomahal. The government probably is trying to take India towards the Golden Era of Vedic times.  People on their part are forgetting the reality  by swaying in the name change euphoria.

Recently, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was renamed as Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The government has said it was honouring Dhyanchand by doing so. But in reality more than honouring Dhyanchand, the government  had the malicious intention of offending the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Sports has the power to unite people by transcending all barriers. It is regretful that the  government is trying to  break this unity through such sort of politics. Rajeev Gandhi is a leader who led the nation towards computer rage. He ensured the right to vote to  those who completed 18 years. He was the leader who made India gear up to face the 21st Century, a leader who had great concern for the youth and who sacrificed his life for the cause of the nation.

If the then government had named the Award after him, then there might be a reason behind it. If the present government had announced a new award and named it after Dhyanchand, then it would have been really great.  Or else the  recently inaugurated world's largest stadium at Ahmedabad could have very well been named after Dhyanchand instead of Prime Minister Modi. But by sacrificing the name of an award merely owing to political rivalry, the government has insulted both the sport as  well as Dhyanchand. Some of the names given for awards in the field of sports is really a mockery  of the awards. eg. the Dronacharya award given for sports coaches and the Arjuna award for sports persons. Everyone is aware how Dronacharya who taught  archery to  the Kshatriya children asked  Ekalavya his thumb as Gurudakshina for learning the skill secretly. Dronacharaya who taught only to the upper castes can never be an ideal name for the award for a sports coach. Similarly Arjuna who killed Karna by deceit can never be a role model for sports persons. It is not coincidental that today there are many people with the mindset of Dronacharya in the sports field.

Therefore the Ekalavya Award given by Karnataka government must be given at the national level. The Dronacharya Award must be renamed as Ekalavya Award with the hope that the corruption and casteism in the sports field will reduced. Our sports field is filled with  more Dronacharyas than  Ekalavyas. Such Dronacharayas themselves are a hindrance to excellence.

In Karnataka the Indira canteens are in news. Though the late prime minister faced several allegations. She made politics in the ‘name of the poor’ and not in the name of God. She spoke about feeding the poor and  also ensured Geni rights holders got the land. She also contributed much towards the emancipation of Dalits. A big contribution by then CM Siddaramaiah were the Indira Canteens which fed thousands of people during Covid times.

The need of the hour is to further improve the amenities in these canteens rather than change of name.It would be better for the present government to frame a new scheme and then give a name of its choice instead of renaming the brainchild of former CM Siddaramaiah.

If such name changing trend continues, then the day may not be far off when the government may change the name of Corona and  claim that the state is free from the  virus.

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Karachi/New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI): The men's Asia Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 9 to 28, Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced on Saturday.

As per the draft itinerary in possession of PTI, the marquee group match between India and Pakistan will be held at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday (September 14).

The arch-rivals are clubbed in the same group and are expected to square off again in a Super Four game on next Sunday (September 21). India will start its campaign against UAE on September 10 and are likely to play all its matches in Dubai.

India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman are clubbed in group A, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong are in group B. The ACC will allow 17-member squads for the 19-match tournament and matches will be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Earlier, Naqvi, who is also the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took to 'X' to make a formal announcement.

"I am delighted to confirm the dates of the ACC Men's Asia Cup 2025 in UAE. The prestigious tournament will take place from September 9th to 28th. We look to a spectacular display of cricket. Details schedule will be out soon," Naqvi posted.

The venue of the event was decided at an ACC meeting on July 24. All 25 member nations attended the meeting.

BCCI is the host of the tournament but it is being held in the UAE as India and Pakistan have mutually agreed to compete only at neutral venues till 2027 due to the prevailing cross-border tension between them.

As per ACC's deal with the broadcasters, India and Pakistan will be clubbed in the same group and also get another shot at each other in the Super Four stage with a possibility of a third meeting if both teams reach the final.

This edition of the Asia Cup will be held in T20 format as is the convention with the next ICC global meet being T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

India's Asia Cup Group League itinerary

Sep 10: India vs UAE

Sep 14: India vs Pakistan

Sep 19: India vs Oman.

Super Four Schedule

Sep 20: B1 vs B2

Sep 21: A1 vs A2 (likely India vs Pakistan)

Sep 23: A2 svs B1

Sep 24: A1vs B2

Sep 25: A2 vs B2

Sep 26: A1 vs B1

Sep 28: Final.