The executive council of Bhopal’s Barkatullah University has passed a resolution to change the name of the government-run institution to ‘Vagdevi Bhopal University’, prompting sharp reactions from the Opposition parties in Madhya Pradesh.
On Wednesday (June 3, 2026), the executive council passed a resolution to rename the university honouring goddess Saraswati, who is also known as Vagdevi and the city’s ancient name Bhojpal, which was kept after the Parma dynasty ruler King Bhoj, Vice-Chancellor Suresh Kumar Jain told The Hindu.
Mr. Jain said that the resolution was passed unanimously by the council and has been sent to the officer of Governor Mangubhai Patel, who is also the Chancellor, for its nod.
“After this, the proposal will be sent to the government for its decision. The name was suggested by the council member Dhirendra Chaturvedi. Bhojpal is also the city’s old name so the council agreed on merging it with goddess Vagdevi,” he said, adding that there have been demands to change the university’s name for a few years.
The institution, established in 1970 and originally called Bhopal University, was named after Mohamed Barkatullah Bhopali, a freedom fighter and scholar, in 1988 during the Congress government of former chief minister Arjun Singh. Bhopali had also served as the prime minister of the Provisional Government of India, the first Indian government-in-exile, which was established in Kabul.
Mr. Jain, however, said that there were “disputed claims” about Barkatullah Bhopali’s contributions to the freedom movement.
“Some people say that he fought freedom fighter but there is no record of him living or fighting in India. He lived most of his life outside the country and the claims of him working for independence from there are also not strong,” the VC said.
A biography on the BU’s website, however, notes him to be the “Prime Minister of India’s ‘government-in-exile’, a fiery journalist, a brilliant orator, an erudite islamic scholar, a nationalist to the core, and an author”. He was born in Bhopal on July 7, 1854 and moved to London for higher education, and lived and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States before passing away in San Francisco on September 20, 1927.
“Barkatullah fought from outside India, with fiery speeches and revolutionary writings in leading newspaper for the independence of India. In response to the British Prime Minister [William Ewart] Gladstone’s racist comments about India, he launched a flurry of articles and speeches criticizing the policies,” the biography article reads.
A council member, Professor Tahira Abbasi, objected to the resolution while saying that the current name was honouring a freedom fighter. Her arguments were, however, did not find much support from other members.
When asked, Mr. Jain said, “She did mention about him being a freedom fighter but when questioned about Bhopali’s contribution, she also could not tell much.”
Congress MLA from Bhopal (Central) Arif Masood slammed the proposal while saying that there was a need for the government and universities to hold discussions on the future of NEET-UG candidates due to the paper leak.
“Why don’t you establish a new university named after Vagdevi ji? We welcome it. But removing a name that has been there for 38 years and saying who that person was is wrong, he said, adding that he has sought time from the Governor on the matter.
Mr. Masood also urged Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to prevent defaming the name of a freedom fighter.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also took on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while terming the bid an “insult to the anti-imperialist struggle” of the freedom movement.
“The attempt to rename a university established in honor of such a distinguished freedom fighter makes it abundantly clear that the BJP and the RSS are conspiring to dismantle the legacy of the freedom struggle,” CPI-M state secretary Jaswinder Singh said.
The National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party, protested the move by organising a ‘havan’ procession outside the university.
A senior official at the university denied that there had been any serious demands to change the name and highlighted various issues facing the institution such as delay in salaries for staff and poor infrastructural arrangements for students.
“The management barely pays any attention to the genuine demands of the students and staff but it seems a few people of the top brass decided to call a sudden meeting and push the resolution. There has not been any demands from the ABVP or any right-wing bodies to change the name,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
If the government accepts the proposal, it will need to issue a notification to this regard and also bring an amendment to the Madhya Pradesh University Act, 1973, which governs the BU.
Published – June 05, 2026 04:20 am IST
