In yet another pursuit of name change of the cities, the Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra will now be known as Ahilyanagar, announced state Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday.

The district has been renamed after the 18^th century ruler of then Indore state Ahilyadevi Holkar.

CM Shinde while speaking at an event to mark the 298^th birth anniversary of Ahilyadevi or famously known as Ahilyabai at Choundi in Ahmednagar district, the birthplace of the erstwhile ruler, announced the decision.

Ahilya Bai was born to Mankoji Shinde and Sushila Shinde, a Marathi Hindu family.  

Shinde while addressing the gathering said his government works on the ideals of governance that was directed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Ahilyadevi Holkar. Hence, as per the wish of all the people, the decision of renaming the district has been taken.

Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis praising Ahilyadevi said, without her the Kashi Vishwanath temple and other temples of Lord Shiva would not have existed. Fadnavis further termed  the current BJP and Shinde headed Shiv Sena goverment to a Hindutva government.

It is said that at around 1780 CE, the Kashi Vishwanath temple was built by Ahilyadevi Holkar.

Fadnavis also put stress on the earlier decision of their government renaming Aurangabad and Osmanabad in the state.

Earlier, Auranagabad was renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv by the Shinde-Fadnavis government.

Ahmednagar is a district formed in 1822, situated 120 km northeast of Pune in Maharashtra and is said to have named after the 15^th century ruler of the region Ahmad Nizam Shah.

Ahilyadevi Holkar, the former Queen of Malwa has the credits on her name for the construction of many famous temples across India.

There many other structures named after her such as the Ahilyabai Holkar stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh along with a bus stand after her name in Uttar Pradesh and other such structures.

On Wednesday, Allahabad High Court rejected the Muslim side’s plea challenging the maintainability of suit filed by Hindu women worshippers in Varanasi Court seeking the right to worship the Hindu idols  inside the Gynavapi mosque, Varanasi.

A single bench of Justice JJ Munir announced the verdict in the case.

A petition was filed by five Hindu women seeking permission for daily worship of the Hindu idols, claimed to be located in the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The Muslim side filed a petition at the Allahabad High Court against the Hindu women’s plea and argued that the hearing on the matter cannot be done under the Place of Worship Act, 1991.

Currently, the women who filed the petition are allowed to worship the deities inside the mosque complex on the fourth day of Chaitra and Vasantik Navratri.

The petition of the Muslim side was file by Anjuman Intezamia Committee that represents in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri case that challenged the Varanasi District Court verdict on maintainability of the Hindu worshipper’s case.

Hindu side advocate in Allahabad High Court Hari Shankar Jain after the Court verdict said that the day is not far when a construction of a grand Shiv Temple will take place, removing the mosque, currently in place.

The Allahabad High Court on July 14, will further hear  a petitition filed by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board and the Gyanvapi mosque management committee that has challenged the maintainability of a suit filed in a Varanasi court that seeks the restoration of a temple at the site where the mosque exists currently.

The High Court rejecting the Muslim side’s plea has now allowed the Varanasi court to hear the Hindu worshippers petition. On July 7, a civil court in Varanasi will hear the plea of the Hindu side.

Amid the allegations on him, Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Wednesday, attacked the wrestlers protesting, tagging the medal immersion claims as emotional drama and that this would not hang him.

India’s top wrestlers including Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia, Sakshee Mallikh and Asian Games champion Vinesh Phogat have been protesting since January this marking grave allegations of sexual harassment against the WFI President.

Singh said it’s been four months since the wrestlers are protesting demanding to take action against him and hang him for the sexual harassment of female athletes but no action has been taken by the government yet as the protestors have no evidence to prove their allegations.

Singh said the immersion of medals would not hang him and if they(the protesting wrestlers) want so, they should produce the evidence before the police and the Court and if the Court orders him to be hanged, he will happily accept the punishment.

Singh further challenged that if any allegation is proven against him, he will hang himself.

The protesting wrestlers on Tuesday, in a dramatic turn of events gathered at the banks of Ganga in Haridwar to immerse the medals won by them in Ganga as a part of their protest.

Bharat Kisan Union national chief Naresh Tikait jumped in with other leaders of the khap reaching Haridwar to convince the wrestlers to hold off, giving five days ultimatum to the government.

Meanwhile, a mahapanchayat of the farmer leaders and heads and leaders of khaps from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab has been organised in UP’s Muzaffarnagar tomorrow.

The central issue of the discussion in the huge meeting would be the wrestlers protest, where future steps of the protest would be discussed.

The wrestlers until May 28 were protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar since April 23 demanding action against Singh for alleged sexual harassment of female athletes.

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