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Assam Government on Thursday issued an official notification renaming Karimganj district and Karimganj town as Sribhumi district and Sribhumi town, respectively.
This development comes after the decision to rename the Karimganj district was taken in the Assam cabinet meeting held on November 19. Announcing the decision social media X, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote, "Over 100 years ago, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had described modern-day Karimganj District in Assam as 'Sribhumi'--the land of Maa Lakshmi. Today the #AssamCabinet has fulfilled this long-standing demand of our people." Earlier on Wednesday, CM Sarma responded to the criticism from opposition he received over the name change. "I think they can criticise me, but why are they criticising Rabindranath Tagore? In Assam, why a district should be named after an unknown person? It should have been changed long back." Sarma said. AIUDF MLA and Party General Secretary Rafiqul Islam on Wednesday criticised Sarma over the state cabinet decision of renaming Karimganj as Sribhumi District, saying that they only see 'Muslim' in Karim. Speaking to ANI, he said that it is difficult to say that he is the Chief Minister of Assam, referring to his role as the BJP election in charge of Jharkhand. "The CM has nothing to do right now. He stayed in Jharkhand for a month. It is difficult to say that he is the Chief Minister of Assam," he stated. He further said that Karimganj is a historical name. "Karimganj is a historical name. So if those who are saying that the names that are not in the dictionary, which are not meaningful, will change it, then thousands of names in Assam will have to be changed," he added. Describing the meaning of Karim, he said, "Karim has a good meaning; why there is no meaning, it has a good meaning. Karim means love and affection." "They only see Muslims in Karim," Rafiqul Islam added.He underscored the role of his ancestors in keeping Karimganj with India, adding that he takes pride in the matter. "When India-Pakistan was divided, at the time of the referendum, some people came together to split this district into two pieces and took the piece of Sylhet with Pakistan. But it remained in Assam. We speak in pride that our ancestors made efforts to keep Karimganj with India during partition," he noted (ANI).
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