Mumbai: Residents not in favour of renaming 'Churchgate' station, suggest other ways to honour CD Deshmukh

A day after the Eknath Shinde faction proposed to rename Churchgate station after former union finance minister Chintamanrao Deshmukh, resident of the area spoke to Free Press Journal and said that the government should think of honouring leaders in some other way instead of renaming places that is part of the Mumbai's history.

"It is a renaming thing going on everywhere these days. C D Deshmukh is a very well known name and respected person. But there are so many ways in which he can be honoured. Have they thought of honouring his legacy by giving a Padmavibhushan or Bharat Ratna posthumously? There are certain things that acquire a name of their own and changing the name does not take away. Had the Churchgate station been named after someone, it would have been a different thing. But it is named after a local place," said Ashok Rao, chairperson of the Federation of Churchgate Residents.

Locals say that names like Churchgate were essential to narrate a part of the city's history and places of historical significance should not be renamed.

"I personally am against all historical names being changed because they tell a story about the place, the building and it is important for the next generation to know that. If you change that you lose history. Even changing names of roads like the Ropewalk Lane in Kalaghaoda. Ropes were made and so it was named such, They speak history of the area," said Nayana Kathpalia, trustee, OVAL Trust, which restored and maintains the Oval Maidan.

'Put a plaque of how Churchgate was named'

Others said that the government should instead look to give more information to its citizens about the significance of the name. "They can probably put a plaque of how Churchgate was named. It was the gate that lead to St. Thomas Cathedral," said Christopher Elisha, member of the Church of North India (CNI) community to which St. Thomas Cathedral belongs and from which the name of the station came (see box).

"Not many people know the legacy of how it got the name. Once the name changes, it will get buried in the archive. If some sort of a plaque explaining the name could be put, it would help. Else the essence of the name will be lost completely," added Elisha.

"With all due respect to Shri Deshmukh, I am personally against renaming of Churchgate Station. It has a historical significance dating back to the late 1800's.

I am sure that Shri Deshmukh must have had an accomplished career but in general, I am against renaming places of historical significance to honour people," said Ashad Mehta, another resident of Oval-Cooperage area.

How did the name Churchgate come about?

Mumbai, was once a fortified walled city with gates for defensive reasons. "The name Churchgate is a remnant of the city's urban morphology. A gate existed that took one to St. Thomas Cathedral from where it gets the name.

The name Churchgate does not come after a British person," said Abha Narain Lambah, conservation architect. The walls and the gates were removed in the 1860s as the city expanded.