Lagatar24 Desk
Bhopal, Nov.13: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Saturday that the “most modern” Habibganj railway station in Bhopal has been renamed after Gond queen Rani Kamlapati, and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision.
Chouhan praised Rani Kamlapati as the Gond community’s pride and the last Hindu queen of Bhopal, whose realm was deceitfully seized by Afghan commander Dost Mohammed.
PM Modi will dedicate the renamed railway station, which has been refurbished with modern airport-like amenities, on November 15, when he visits the MP capital to address a tribal convention commemorating tribal icon and independence warrior Birsa Munda.
According to the Chief Minister, the people of Madhya Pradesh are grateful to the Prime Minister for renaming the Habibganj railway station after Rani Kamlapati, the Gond queen of Bhopal.
He said that the Prime Minister had boosted tribal pride by designating the country’s most modern railway station after the Gond queen.
“Rani Kamlapati is the pride of the Gond community and the last Hindu queen of Bhopal. Her kingdom was usurped by Afghan commander Dost Mohammed by deceit under a conspiracy. When she saw that victory was not possible, she committed “Jal Jauhar” (a practice of committing suicide) to save her respect,” Chouhan stated.
He said Rani Kamlapati’s son Naval Shah had been killed at Lalghati, a part of Bhopal.
The Madhya Pradesh government wrote to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday, requesting that the refurbished Habibganj railway station be renamed to honour the legacy and valour of the widow of Nizam Shah’s Gond monarch.
With a population of over 1.2 crore, the Gond community is India’s largest tribal group.
Pragya Singh Thakur, a BJP MP from Bhopal, demanded that the Habibganj station be renamed after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday.
The West Central Railway’s Rani Kamlapati railway station is located in Bhopal city.
Rani Kamlapati was the widow of Nizam Shah, the chief of Ginnorgarh, according to legend.
The Kamlapati Palace overlooking the Upper and Lower lakes in Bhopal is named after the Gond queen.
