Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister of Assam, revealed on Tuesday that the name of Karimganj district in the state will be changed to Sribhumi in tribute to Rabindranath Tagore.
“Over a 100 years ago, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had described modern day Karimganj District in Assam as ‘Sribhumi’- the land of Maa Lakshmi. Today the #AssamCabinet has fulfilled this long standing demand of our people,” the Chief Minister referred to it in a post on X.
The Assam Chief Minister shared a picture which stated that the decision to rename Karimganj as Sribhumi would “reflect the expectations and aspirations of the people of the district”.
“Honouring the vision of Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore who named the current geographical area of Undivided India as Sribhumi, Assam Cabinet has decided to rename Karimganj as Sribhumi district,” it said.
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It also stated that the choice will mirror the hopes and dreams of the residents in the area.
“We are slowly renaming places with no historical references or definitions from the dictionary,” Himanta Biswa Sarma told India Today NE.
“‘Kalapahar’ and ‘Karimganj’ are not found in either Assamese or Bengali dictionaries. Usually, place names have origins in language meanings, and numerous names, such as Bhasoni Chowk in Barpeta, have already been changed,” he told the website.
He mentioned that changing the name of Karimganj will protect its cultural significance as the new name holds significance in both Assamese and Bengali languages.
