04-26-2006, 01:05 AM
This is the state of things today in India today:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hyderabad street may be named after Khomeini
Hyderabad, April 24: With Indo-Iran ties on the boil, a local municipal corporator has come up with a proposal that could soothe some ruffled feathers. She is proposing that a street in the posh Banjara Hills locality here be named after the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Ms Syeda Mumtaz Fatima wants Road No 7, Banjara Hills, where the Consulate-General of the Islamic Republic of Iran is located, to be named after Ayatollah Khomeini. Ms Fatima, corporator of the Darulshifa division in the city and standing committee member, belongs to the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) which has 36 seats in the 100-seat corporation.
The BJP prefers that the road be named after President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The issue is before the general body of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, which is the approving authority. Ms Fatima says she has the support of her party, alliance partner Congress and the Opposition Telugu Desam. This should give her the support to get the proposal passed.Ms Fatima told this correspondent that naming the street after Khomeini would strengthen Indo-Iranian ties.
âIt will be a fitting tribute to the Indo-Iran and Deccan-Iran relations which date back 700 years,â she said. The corporator said the presence of historical monuments in Hyderabad with Persian architecture bear witness to the ties. There are more than 2,000 families of Iranian descent residing in Hyderabad, running restaurants, bakeries and the ubiquitous âIrani hotelsâ. The city also has a significant population of Shias. Ms Fatima says Tehran has streets named after Mahatma Gandhi and Moulana Abul Kalam Azad, and an auditorium in the Azadi Square named after shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan.
But deputy mayor Subhash Chanderji of the BJP is not amused. âWe have high regard for people of other faiths, but we feel it would be inappropriate to name the street after Khomeini. Why not name the street after our own President, who has done yeoman service to the nation in the field of science,â he asked. The MIM corporator is confident that she would get the backing of a majority of corporators. âI am confident that it will be approved,â she said.
http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What next?, naming streets after Ghazni, Ghori, Abdali and Aurangzeb?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hyderabad street may be named after Khomeini
Hyderabad, April 24: With Indo-Iran ties on the boil, a local municipal corporator has come up with a proposal that could soothe some ruffled feathers. She is proposing that a street in the posh Banjara Hills locality here be named after the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Ms Syeda Mumtaz Fatima wants Road No 7, Banjara Hills, where the Consulate-General of the Islamic Republic of Iran is located, to be named after Ayatollah Khomeini. Ms Fatima, corporator of the Darulshifa division in the city and standing committee member, belongs to the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) which has 36 seats in the 100-seat corporation.
The BJP prefers that the road be named after President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The issue is before the general body of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, which is the approving authority. Ms Fatima says she has the support of her party, alliance partner Congress and the Opposition Telugu Desam. This should give her the support to get the proposal passed.Ms Fatima told this correspondent that naming the street after Khomeini would strengthen Indo-Iranian ties.
âIt will be a fitting tribute to the Indo-Iran and Deccan-Iran relations which date back 700 years,â she said. The corporator said the presence of historical monuments in Hyderabad with Persian architecture bear witness to the ties. There are more than 2,000 families of Iranian descent residing in Hyderabad, running restaurants, bakeries and the ubiquitous âIrani hotelsâ. The city also has a significant population of Shias. Ms Fatima says Tehran has streets named after Mahatma Gandhi and Moulana Abul Kalam Azad, and an auditorium in the Azadi Square named after shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan.
But deputy mayor Subhash Chanderji of the BJP is not amused. âWe have high regard for people of other faiths, but we feel it would be inappropriate to name the street after Khomeini. Why not name the street after our own President, who has done yeoman service to the nation in the field of science,â he asked. The MIM corporator is confident that she would get the backing of a majority of corporators. âI am confident that it will be approved,â she said.
http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What next?, naming streets after Ghazni, Ghori, Abdali and Aurangzeb?