In UP, village with an identity crisis gets a new name, and hopefully some marriage proposals

“Despite there being no Kirar community people, our village continued to be identified with them. This misrepresentation has been causing social difficulties for the villagers for years,” said Neel Kamal, a member of the Thakur community.

“Gaon mai shaadi karne mein pareshani ho rahi thi. Har jagah Kirar likha hota hai, aur log jo shaadi key liye aatein hai woh sochtey hai ki hum unko gumrah kar rahey hai. Woh hum logo ko Kirar hi samajhne lagey hotey hai. Badi pareshani hoti hai phir unko samjhaney mai. (We have been facing difficulties in arranging marriages. The word ‘Kirar’ is written everywhere, and people who come here with marriage proposals think we are trying to mislead them. They assume that we belong to the Kirar community. It used to be very difficult for us to convince them about our true identity,” said Rishi Kumar Jadaun, who sent the proposal to rename the village to the local district administration in 2022.

According to villagers, members of the Kirar community are Rajputs, but they have a different gotra.

“For the past three years, villagers have been demanding that the name be changed to Harinagar,” said 35-year-old village pradhan Neeraj Dhanraj.

The villagers also took up the matter with state minister Jaiveer Singh, seeking his support.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Firozabad, Gajendra Pal Singh, said after the village pradhan and other residents submitted a proposal seeking to rename the village as Harinagar, the district administration carried out due verification. “Satisfied with the documents and procedures, the proposal was forwarded to the state government for approval,” the SDM said.

“The government has now announced the change in the village’s name to Harinagar. However, the district administration is yet to receive the official notification in this regard,” he added.

Meanwhile, the celebrations continue in the village. “We came to know through social media that the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath) has approved the change in the village’s name. We have been distributing sweets to celebrate the occasion,” said Rishi Kumar.