President Donald Trump will soon be in India for his first state visit to the country. ANd according to reports, he will be travelling to three cities, namely Ahmedabad, Agra and Delhi.
Reportedly, the President is slated to visit Agra on February 24.
Stand-up comedian Atul Khatri on Tuesday waded into controversy after claiming that the three cities in question were "built by the Mughals".
"Ironically all the 3 cities Modiji is showing off Trump to - Ahmedabad, Agra and Delhi - were built by the Mughals," he wrote on Twitter.
Netizens were quick to troll him, with many reiterating that Ahmedabad had previously been called Karnavati, while Agra was short for Agravana and Delhi had formerly been known as Indraprastha.
And while the origin of these cities is up for debate, as many others pointed out, these cities had not come into being following the coming of the Mughals.
Now, to be fair, it is not wrong to say that the three cities were created by Mughals. But as many on the internet pointed out, they existed prior to the Mughal dynasty too.
Take Delhi for example. The national capital is often thought to be the ancient city of Indraprastha as mentioned in the Mahabharata and in some Buddhist texts (as Indapatta -- the capital of the Kuru kingdom). While not conclusively proven, it is often believed to have been located in the region now known as New Delhi.
As some Twitter users suggested, Agravana too is a Mahabharata based moniker. And while the city is linked to the Mughal dynasty -- with Babar having stayed there and Akbar building the Agra fort and Shah Jahan building the Taj Mahal -- the city was founded by Sikandar Lodi in the 16th century.
Ahmedabad, netizens said, was called Karnavati. And while we're not disputing that, archaeological evidence suggests that the area had been inhabited since the 11th century when it was known as Ashapalli or Ashaval. Karnavati, is believed to have come into existence after King Karna defeated the King of Ashaval and established a city.
This is not the first time Khatri has found himself on the receiving end of netizen's wrath. From sharing a "fifth standard" joke to telling Rangoli Chandel to be quiet -- he has on several occasions faced flak.
But in this present case, perhaps a bit of historical awareness would have helped. All we're saying is, let this be a lesson for all those who wondered "what's in a name?".
