Calcutta has become Kolkata, Bombay Mumbai,Madras Chenni and now Banglore Bangalooru...An earstwhile State of PEPSU and a district of Haryana in India , JIND is once again in news for being "renaming". Does it really serve any useful purpose...? Jind in Punjabi has many connotations ranging from jaan, zindagi, atma,etc. The Tribune's Senior Correspondent talked to me and filed this story which appeared in their September 18 issue.May find it interesting.
Naveen S Garewal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh,September17
Chandigarh,September17
The move to rename “Jind” as “Jeend” has not gone down well with many people in the state who feel that meddling with a city’s name is not only undesirable but also unacceptable as it creates unnecessary confusion. Besides, in the specific case of Jind, historical and documentary evidence is available that suggests that “Jind” was spelt differently at different times in history.
A senior Haryana police officer, Rajbir Deswal, has supplied The Tribune with a large number of postage stamps, photographs and an envelope of a registered letter from the British era in which “Jind” is spelt as such and also as “Jeind”, “Jhind”, etc. But the most authentic of them all is a photograph taken by Deswal outside a court that spells the state’s name as “Jheend”.
The main objection of those opposed to a name change or a change in its spelling is that it must serve some purpose. “Merely changing the name for the sake of change leads to a lot of messing up with records and documentation, besides ignoring the sensitivity and disposition of the people towards a particular name which they have been used to for generations. ‘Jind’ connotes something; we must learn to respect historicity”, says Deswal.
During pre-Independence days Jind formed part of Punjab . Historically, Sardar Gajpat Singh is documented to be the first notable chief of Jind State who made Jind town his capital in 1746. A fief of the Delhi Empire, he was given the title of Raja. His empire gained strength after he married off his daughter Raj Kaur to Sardar Mahan Singh Sukarchakya, chief of the Sukarchakya Misl, in the Trans-Satluj region in 1774 at Badrukhan. Some historians believe that Maharaja Ranjit Singh was born at Badrukhan on November 13, 1780 . Incidentally, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s wife was also named Rani Jind Kaur or “Jindan”.
Postage stamps and postage covers and pictures showing different spellings of “Jind” during different periods of time.
There are several documents from the beginning of the current century that mention “Jind” State. One of the most important of these is the list of medals of the Third Afghan War, 1919, that mentions the Jind Imperial Service Infantry as one of the recipients of the award. Colonel-in-Chief, Jind Imperial Service Regiment, Suraj Mukhi is also listed in British records as a recipient of the Prince of Wales (1876) and KIH (1877) gold medals.
According to Prof M.R. Sethi’s narration about the history of Jind, as described on the website www.Jindcity.com, “mythologically, the son of Lord Inder, Jayant, named the city after his name. As per another mythological story, the city derives its name from Jainti, the goddess of victory, in whose dedication a temple was erected by the Pandavas. They offered prayers to the goddess to seek her blessing for success before launching the Battle of Mahabharata. The authenticity of the fact can be ascertained from the Mahabharata and the Padam Purana. Jind forms part of the Kurukshetra Bhumi i.e. divine land of 48 Kosa. That is why, unlike in other cities, the mortal remains of those who die in Jind are not taken to Haridwar for immersion in the Holy Ganges but are immersed in Jind itself in some holy pond or canal”.
A senior Haryana police officer, Rajbir Deswal, has supplied The Tribune with a large number of postage stamps, photographs and an envelope of a registered letter from the British era in which “Jind” is spelt as such and also as “Jeind”, “Jhind”, etc. But the most authentic of them all is a photograph taken by Deswal outside a court that spells the state’s name as “Jheend”.
The main objection of those opposed to a name change or a change in its spelling is that it must serve some purpose. “Merely changing the name for the sake of change leads to a lot of messing up with records and documentation, besides ignoring the sensitivity and disposition of the people towards a particular name which they have been used to for generations. ‘Jind’ connotes something; we must learn to respect historicity”, says Deswal.
During pre-Independence days Jind formed part of Punjab . Historically, Sardar Gajpat Singh is documented to be the first notable chief of Jind State who made Jind town his capital in 1746. A fief of the Delhi Empire, he was given the title of Raja. His empire gained strength after he married off his daughter Raj Kaur to Sardar Mahan Singh Sukarchakya, chief of the Sukarchakya Misl, in the Trans-Satluj region in 1774 at Badrukhan. Some historians believe that Maharaja Ranjit Singh was born at Badrukhan on November 13, 1780 . Incidentally, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s wife was also named Rani Jind Kaur or “Jindan”.
Postage stamps and postage covers and pictures showing different spellings of “Jind” during different periods of time.
There are several documents from the beginning of the current century that mention “Jind” State. One of the most important of these is the list of medals of the Third Afghan War, 1919, that mentions the Jind Imperial Service Infantry as one of the recipients of the award. Colonel-in-Chief, Jind Imperial Service Regiment, Suraj Mukhi is also listed in British records as a recipient of the Prince of Wales (1876) and KIH (1877) gold medals.
According to Prof M.R. Sethi’s narration about the history of Jind, as described on the website www.Jindcity.com, “mythologically, the son of Lord Inder, Jayant, named the city after his name. As per another mythological story, the city derives its name from Jainti, the goddess of victory, in whose dedication a temple was erected by the Pandavas. They offered prayers to the goddess to seek her blessing for success before launching the Battle of Mahabharata. The authenticity of the fact can be ascertained from the Mahabharata and the Padam Purana. Jind forms part of the Kurukshetra Bhumi i.e. divine land of 48 Kosa. That is why, unlike in other cities, the mortal remains of those who die in Jind are not taken to Haridwar for immersion in the Holy Ganges but are immersed in Jind itself in some holy pond or canal”.
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