Kolkata renames Suhrawardy Avenue Gopal Mukherjee Road

A political dispute has erupted in Kolkata over the renaming of a city street, centering on competing interpretations of history and the identity of the figure originally honored. On June 20, West Bengal Day, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation announced it was renaming Suhrawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road. The 500-meter stretch connects Park Circus Seven Point Crossing and Don Bosco Circle.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari praised the decision, calling it a historic step to rectify a longstanding wrong. He stated that for decades a major city artery had borne the name of someone who misused state power and orchestrated violence against innocent citizens, a reference widely understood to be Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the last premier of undivided Bengal. Adhikari said renaming the road after Gopal Mukherjee, popularly known as Gopal Patha, would restore historical justice by honoring a true guardian. Mukherjee is remembered by supporters as a local leader who organized armed Hindu self-defense groups during the intense communal violence in Calcutta in August 1946, an episode known as the Great Calcutta Killings or Direct Action Day.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from...