ISF, CPI(M) to meet CM Suvendu over renaming of Kolkata’s Suhrawardy Avenue

Opposition leaders on Tuesday criticised the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s (KMC) decision to rename Suhrawardy Avenue in south Kolkata as Gopal Mukherjee Road, alleging that the move was based on a historical misunderstanding and amounted to distortion of history.

Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Naushad Siddiqui said that he would write to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, urging the state government to restore the road’s original name.

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Speaking outside the Assembly, Siddiqui said the civic body had committed a serious error by linking the avenue’s name to former undivided Bengal Premier Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.

“The road was named after Dr Sir Hassan Suhrawardy, a distinguished physician, educationist and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta. He also served as Chief Medical Officer of the East Indian Railway and was a member of the Bengal Legislative Council. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was his nephew. The two were not the same person,” Siddiqui said.

He maintained that while Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy’s role during the 1946 Calcutta riots remains a matter of historical debate, that should not become the basis for removing the name of Dr Hassan Suhrawardy from a city road.

“I am writing to the Chief Minister on this issue and, if necessary, will seek a meeting with him,” the ISF legislator added.

Supporting the demand, CPI(M) MLA Mustafizur Rahman alleged that the renaming reflected an attempt to rewrite history.

“History is being distorted. This is harmful for Bengal and Bengalis. The Chief Minister should verify the facts and ask the KMC to examine the historical records. If, by mistake, an uncle is being punished for the actions attributed to his nephew, it would be unfortunate,” Rahman said, adding, “I would speak to Adhikari if i get an appointment over this issue.”

He clarified that he had no objection to the new name itself but questioned the reasoning behind erasing the existing one.

The KMC recently renamed Suhrawardy Avenue, which passes through the Park Circus area and is prominently marked near institutions such as Lady Brabourne College, as Gopal Mukherjee Road. The decision was taken around the observance of Paschimbanga Divas (West Bengal Day) and was welcomed by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

State Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay also publicly praised the move.

The renaming, however, has triggered a political debate over historical memory and the legacy of prominent figures associated with Bengal’s past.