Lenin, Marx, Ho Chi Minh out? BJP panel moves to revisit Kolkata’s Communist-era road names

Committee formed to review road, landmark names

The development comes months after Kolkata's Suhrawardy Avenue was renamed Gopal Mukherjee Road amid controversy.

The 10-member committee, headed by Hindu monk Swami Pradiptananda, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, has been tasked with reviewing the names of streets and landmarks across West Bengal, which was governed by the CPI(M)-led Left Front government for 34 years until it was voted out of power in 2011.

The panel includes veteran BJP leader Tathagata Roy, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's adviser Subrata Gupta and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Commissioner Smita Pandey, among others.

The committee is expected to hold its first meeting after Durga Puja.

Lenin Sarani, Karl Marx Sarani among roads under consideration

According to reports, the committee is considering proposals to rename some prominent Kolkata streets, including Lenin Sarani, Karl Marx Sarani and Ho Chi Minh Sarani.

Lenin Sarani was formerly known as Dharmatala Street, while Karl Marx Sarani was earlier known as Circular Garden Reach Road. Ho Chi Minh Sarani was formerly called Harrington Street.

The roads were renamed after international Communist leaders during the period of 1969-70 under the United Front government significantly led by the Left parties.

Tathagata Roy suggests alternative names

Roy has reportedly proposed renaming Lenin Sarani after mathematician and former Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Debaprasad Ghosh.

For Karl Marx Sarani, he has suggested the names of Bengali poets Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Rangalal Bandyopadhyay.

Roy has also proposed renaming Ho Chi Minh Sarani after American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Proposal to rename roads named after Muslim personalities

Roy has further suggested that some roads carrying the names of Muslim personalities could be renamed after figures he described as "nationalist Muslims."

The proposals have added a fresh political and historical dimension to the debate over Kolkata's street names, with questions being raised over how the committee will assess the historical significance of existing names and what criteria it will use while considering replacements.

CPI(M) criticises government's priorities

Reacting to the government's plan, the CPI(M) said the administration had diverted its attention from governance to the renaming of roads.

Speaking to IBNS, CPI(M) West Bengal State Secretary Md. Salim said, "BJP came to power promising to be a game-changer, but it has turned out to be more of a name-changer.

"Instead of focusing on governance and pressing issues such as employment, the government appears more interested in dismantling statues and renaming roads."

BJP defends renaming proposal

Countering the CPI(M)'s argument, BJP spokesperson Bimal Shankar Nanda told IBNS, "The renaming of roads is not a new phenomenon. Several roads that were named during the British era have been renamed since Independence.

"Why should we continue to have roads named after Communist leaders whose traditions were themselves abandoned by the Soviet Union? I see nothing wrong with the government's plan to rename these roads in accordance with Indian culture and traditions."

BJP already renamed Suhrawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road

Kolkata’s Suhrawardy Avenue in Park Circus was renamed Gopal Mukherjee Road by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on June 20, 2026.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari welcomed the move as an attempt to “rectify a historical wrong.”

Adhikari linked the decision to the 1946 Calcutta killings and praised Gopal Mukherjee, popularly known as “Gopal Patha”, for defending Hindu neighbourhoods during the communal violence.

The Bengal BJP described the renaming as a correction of a historical wrong.

The move sparked a debate over the road’s original namesake. Reports citing historical records say Suhrawardy Avenue was named in 1933, well before the 1946 riots, and was associated with Sir Hassan Suhrawardy, a surgeon, educationist and former Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University.

Hassan Suhrawardy and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy were different people, though they were related as uncle and nephew. Critics have therefore argued that the justification for the renaming may have conflated the two.

Mamata Banerjee government also renamed roads

Road renaming is not entirely new to West Bengal's political landscape. During the tenure of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, several Kolkata roads and intersections were also renamed after prominent cultural figures and journalists.

Among the notable changes, Lee Road was renamed Satyajit Ray Dharani, while Dhapa Road was renamed Barun Sengupta Sarani.

An intersection connecting CIT Road and EM Bypass was named Gour Kishore Ghosh Square, while a portion of Moore Avenue was named Amitava Chowdhury Sarani.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation records these changes among its road and street naming decisions.

(Photos: Avishek Mitra/IBNS & ChatGPT)