Ram statue removed from Basheerbagh amid row over ‘Sriram Chowk’ name

A statue of Lord Ram installed at Basheerbagh crossroads for Dasara celebrations was removed in the early hours of Saturday (October 24), amid heavy police deployment and a controversy over demands to rename the junction as ‘Sriram Chowk’.

The statue, installed as part of the Navaratri festivities at the nearby Kanaka Durga temple, was taken down by the temple authorities and loaded onto a truck following directions from civic authorities.

The development came days after Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) national spokesperson and Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS) general secretary R. Shashidhar urged people to refer to Basheerbagh as ‘Sriram Chowk’.

In an X post on October 19, Shashidhar said: “No longer Bashir Bagh, from today it is Sriram Chowk,” and urged people to use the proposed name in their addresses. He also invoked the heritage of “Bhagyanagar” and called on people to participate in what he described as a “historic transition”.

The post by BGUS functionary triggered angry reactions from a section of citizens. The issue subsequently drew a response from Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan, who questioned the proposed renaming as well as the installation of the large statue at the site.

In a statement shared on X on October 23, Khan said Basheer Bagh was named after Bashir-ud-Dowla Nawab Asman Jah Bahadur, who served as Prime Minister of the erstwhile Hyderabad State from 1887 to 1894. He said Asman Jah built the Basheer Bagh Palace in 1880 and invited gold and diamond traders to establish businesses around it.

Mr. Khan questioned the authority of political parties or organisations to rename a public road and alleged that the statue or cut-out had been installed without permission from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

He also questioned the barricading of roads leading towards Nizam College Ground and Fateh Maidan and sought an explanation from the authorities over the arrangements in the area. The controversy intensified with BJP leader and former Saroornagar corporator Akula Sarvani also backing the proposed name, according to reports.

Meanwhile, police were deployed in large numbers at the junction when the statue was removed. The removal came after the Dasara and Navaratri festivities associated with the installation had concluded.