Bhopal's Habibganj Railway Station Renamed After Tribal Queen Rani Kamlapati

The Central Government has reportedly accepted the request by the Madhya Pradesh Government to rename Bhopal's Habibganj railway station after the tribal queen Rani Kamlapati.

"I thank PM Modi for renaming Bhopal's Habibganj railway station after the tribal queen, Rani Kamlapati. She was the pride of Gond society. She was the last Hindu queen," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Saturday.

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On Friday, just three days before the redeveloped Habibganj railway station was to be inaugurated, the Chouhan government wrote to the Centre to rename Bhopal's Habibganj railway station after the tribal queen, Rani Kamlapati.

The letter from the state's transport department informed that renaming the station is also in accordance with the Central government's decision to celebrate November 15 as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' in remembrance of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

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Rani Kamlapati was the widow Gond ruler of Nizam Shah, chief of Ginnorgarh. The Gond community comprises the largest tribal group of India with more than 1.2 crore population. Linguistically, the Gonds belong to the Gondi¨CManda subgroup of the South Central branch of the Dravidian language family.

The letter by the MP government had said that the renaming of the station will honour Rani Kamlapati's legacy and bravery.

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Earlier, controversial BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur had demanded that the station be renamed after former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to dedicate the country's first world-class railway station at Habibganj in Bhopal on November 15.

The redevelopment of Habibganj railway station began in 2018 to give it a makeover in lines of Germany¡¯s Heidelberg.

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The new station will feature glimpses of Madhya Pradesh's tourism and culture at its main entry, waiting rooms, VIP lounge and air concourse, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Glimpses of world heritage sites such as Sanchi Stup, Bhojpur Temples, Bhim Baithika, Birla Mandir, Tawa Dam, Tribal Museum among others, will be displayed in the main areas of the Habibganj railway station, said Shivshekar Shukla, the state's principal secretary tourism, culture and public relations.

A souvenir shop will be set up in the coming days and tribal art paintings will also be displayed.

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A tourist information lounge will be set up and a large LED screen will be put up on the first-floor waiting hall to provide information about tourism and culture of the state, the official said.

Literature related to tourism and culture, coffee-table books, brochures and leaflets will also be made available to people alighting at Habibganj station, he said.

The tourism and culture department will play a major role in the beautification of the station, the official added.

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