Faizabad Junction now Ayodhya Cantt: Mixed reactions from historians, locals on station renaming
Faizabad (UP) (PTI): Old signboards at platforms painted over, trilingual signages on top of the station's facade summarily removed and a banner bearing its new nomenclature 'Ayodhya Cantt' casually hung on its porch front - Faizabad Junction is in a state of transition.
The recent move of authorities to rename the 19th Century station, three years after Faizabad district was rechristened to Ayodhya, however, has drawn a mixed response from historians and local residents, many of whom feel it will "erase the identity of this historic city" and "create confusion".
Another section, though, welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government's decision, with some saying the name Ayodhya should be used everywhere in public places, as "it is Bhagwan Ram Ki Nagari (city of Lord Ram)".
Sadhu Ram, 55, a rickshaw-puller, who usually parks his rickshaw in front of the iconic station building, said, "The change of name was not necessary. There is already an Ayodhya station. Passengers will face confusion now."
Ram, who moved to Faizabad from Jalalabad in Shahjehanpur district when he was 12, said he was now in two minds - whether to call it "Faizabad" or "Ayodhya Cantt" while ferrying his passengers.
Rajesh Kumar, 30, who has been working as a coolie at the Faizabad Junction since 2008, is equally perplexed after the renaming of the station that is said to have been opened in 1874.
He points to the engraving on his brass badge: 'Licenced Porter N.R. 77 Faizabad' and then motions towards the temporary banner at the station's porch which carries the new name 'Ayodhya Cantt' in bold black fonts and in four languages-- Hindi, Sanskrit, English and Urdu.
"It will create a lot of confusion as there is Ayodhya City station already, about 10 km from here. Passengers coming to Faizabad or Ayodhya for the first time may end up getting down at the wrong destination," he said.
Faizabad city is located about seven km from its twin town Ayodhya in Ayodhya district (earlier Faizabad district), and the Faizabad station is a major railway junction, which comes under the Northern Railway zone and falls in the Lucknow-Varanasi section. Ayodhya town is located about 120 km from state capital Lucknow.
The trilingual signages -- English, Hindi and Urdu -- which earlier stood on top of the station building's facade were removed recently after railway authorities issued an order on its renaming.
On the day of Diwali, old station signboards were also painted over, replacing 'Faizabad Junction' (station code FD) with 'Ayodhya Cantt' (station code AYC).
Ankit Pandey, 25, a tourist guide based in Ayodhya town, who takes pilgrims to Ramjanmabhoomi site, Hanuman Garhi and Kanak Bhawan in the temple town, said, "Renaming was necessary. Faizabad name cannot remain as the entire district is Ayodhya now, and Ayodhya is 'Prabhu Shri Ram ki Nagari'".
While the opposition has dubbed the move as an attempt to play with Hindu sentiments for political benefits, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has justified the renaming, saying it is part of the efforts to "restore the rich historical and cultural identity" of the place.
Manzar Mehdi, historian and editor of a Faizabad-based bilingual publication 'Aap ki Taqat', which promotes communal harmony with the slogan 'Hindu-Muslim do bhai, Hindi-Urdu do behen', feels dejected over the renaming.
He alleged it was all "driven by dirty politics" and an "attempt to erase the very identity of Faizabad".
He, however, points out that many shops and other establishments in Chawk and other prominent areas continue to use the old name 'Faizabad' on their boards or 'Faizabad, Ayodhya' referring to both the old city name and the new district name.
"Faizabad was the first capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, saw a period of glory and has a rich architectural and literary heritage. I revere Ayodhya as a holy place, but my Faizabad has its own identity. Faizabad will neither be erased or replaced from my office board as long as I am alive," he said.
The BJP government had also renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj and Mughalsarai Railway Junction as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction in 2018. Mehdi fears that more cities with Islamic names in Uttar Pradesh might get renamed.
Delhi-based historian and author Rana Safvi said Ayodhya and Faizabad have always been known as twin towns and are a symbol of India's "Ganga-Jamuni tahzeeb (syncretic culture)".
"It's not that Ayodhya was the old name of Faizabad. These are two different cities with different cultures and have co-existed for centuries. Now, they don't want that co-existence. They can change names of a place or a station, but I feel, Faizabad has been etched in the hearts of the people," she said.
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SC quashes chargesheet against ex-Army officer in rape case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed a chargesheet against a former Army officer in an alleged rape case saying it was an "abuse of process of law".
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran granted the relief to Capt. Rakesh Walia (retired) noting that the Delhi High Court erred in its decision of not quashing the chargesheet.
Walia had challenged a Delhi High Court order dismissing his plea against the chargesheet.
Advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the complainant's testimony showed there was no offence and the FIR deserved to be quashed.
Dubey said the woman ran a "sextortion" racket and filed multiple FIRs against different persons, blackmailing them for money.
He submitted that a wrongful and malicious prosecution was initiated against his client.
Dubey said seven FIRs against nine different people, including the petitioner, at seven different police stations, were registered at her instance in the last eight years.
The high court in its order on July 31, 2024, observed the matter was before the trial court, which would consider the arguments on behalf of the petitioner, and pass an appropriate verdict.
"Petitioner is a 63-year-old decorated officer of the Indian Army with critical medical ailments, who has also suffered a massive heart attack and has two stents implanted. He was diagnosed with cancer and clinically declared as a highly immune-compromised case," his plea said.
The former Army officer, said the plea, was a "victim of an unscrupulous abuser" of law whose modus operandi was to extort the "hard-earned money of respectable citizens like him" by misusing the rape and molestation laws.
It came on record that during the COVID-19 lockdown somewhere between 2019 and 2020, the complainant got in touch with the petitioner claiming to be a social media influencer.
The call was regarding the promotion of his book titled "Broken Crayons Can Still Colour" on various social media platforms for a wider audience reach.
According to the plea, the petitioner was interested in the complainant's offer and decided to avail her service in June 2021, soon after the lockdown ended.
On December 29, 2021, the petitioner agreed to meet the complainant in person to discuss the modalities for the promotion of his autobiography and they met at the Chhattarpur Metro Station following which they drove towards Noida, the plea said.
The petitioner, however, claimed that after he had dropped her off in Noida, he received a call from the local police at around 6 pm, informing him about the woman's complaint alleging he had drugged and assaulted her sexually at around 4.15 pm.
