Earlier, I shared my personal view on changing the name of Durand Cup on this same news channel.
In the article, my first line was “Even after 78 years of independence we are not getting rid of our oppressors”.
I appealed for change of the name of Durand cup by continuing it in the name of some freedom fighter or in the name of our first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
In response, some Senior Army Officers endorsed my views.
The government recently changed the name of more than 300 years old historical Military Garrison Fort William as Vijay Durg, which is indeed a great decision of the present government.
Changing the name of something does not reduce it’s importance, it loses importance only when people do not respect it’s value.The names of these countries have changed but all these countries still exist in the world as before , for example Holland became Netherlands, Persia became Iran, Burma became myanmar ,Siam became Thailand, Ceylon became Sri Lanka etc. Even Motera stadium in Gujarat changed to Narendra Modi Stadium.
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore returned the knighthood in the protest of Jallianwalabagh massacre but did not lose the zeal of writing , therefore changing the name of Durand cup in protest of 200 years of British atrocities will not reduce the enthusiasm of the tournament, people are actually interested in the game , no matter what the name is?
Is the legacy of ” Durand Cup” more important than the sacrifice of the revolutionaries and the valor of our soldiers?
Quoting William Shakespeare – “What’s in a name ? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
But if the name of any Indian revolutionary inspires patriotism in the heart and mind of new generation then the importance of that name will be much more than the legacy of Durand Cup.
Illegitimate people gave birth to a child ,named it “Durand Cup” and now this child is being nurtured by India.There is a price to be paid for carrying any load and one has to pay more for carrying illegitimate burden, if UK is willing to return 45 trillion dollars, the kohinoor and other items willingly and gladly which Britishers looted from India during their regime then changing the name of Durand cup can easily be considered.
The kohinoor is adorning the crown of the Queen , keeping stolen goods with pride, what a shameless audacity!
My one question, why Bhagat singh was hanged 11 hours before the scheduled time along with his two associates , Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar?
Like me, Indians have countless questions to the Britishers, still why is the government delaying in changing the name of Durand cup?
I personally feel, It is more important to immortalize the names of our freedom fighters or decorated Army Chief than to keep alive the name of any Britisher through a game.We believe that the authorities will give due wait to the matter it deserves.
(By Pratyusha Mukherjee, Sr.Broadcast Journalist)
(Author has already shared this article with another publication.)
