Govt to rename New Delhi’s Rajpath as ‘Karthavya Path’

According to initial reports, Kartavya Path will cover the stretch of road between Netaji Statue and the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

NDMC has convened a special meeting on 7 September and the proposal to rename Rajpath as Kartavya Path will be placed before the council. "NDMC has convened a special meeting on 7 September with the objective of renaming Rajpath and Central Vista lawns as Kartavyapath... The entire road and area from the Netaji statue at India Gate to the Rashtrapati Bhavan will be known as Kartavyapath," a PTI report quoted a source as saying.

The move, which is part of the government’s programme of removing all remnants of the country’s colonial past, comes days after the government replaced the King's Cross with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Rajmudra in the Indian Navy emblem. 

The rechristening of Kingsway to Kartavya Path was only the latest in a series of endeavours by PM Modi to move away from the nation’s colonial past.

Rajpath, or King's Way, was named in honour of Britain’s King George V during British Raj. The centre said the move was aimed at "shedding remnants" of the colonial yoke, a work in progress even after 75 years of independence.

Earlier, in 2016, the government renamed Race Course Road, where the Prime Minister’s official residence is located, to Lok Kalyan Marg, marking the first shift at the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi.

The iconic road was renamed after BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi wrote to the New Delhi Municipal Corporation, suggesting the name of the road on which the PM lives should be changed to "match the Indian culture".

Days later, the Prime Minister’s address changed from 7, Race Course Road to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.

On the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on 23 January  this year, PM Modi unveiled a hologram statue of the freedom fighter at India Gate in New Delhi as part of his government’s efforts to promote the ‘Idea of Bharat’.