A Civilisation Gate

In the post-Colonial era, renaming of cities became fairly common all over the world. In many cases it was correcting the spelling in conformity with the correct pronunciation of the name, like Calcutta to Kolkata, Bombay to Mumbai or Peking to Beijing. In quite a few cases the name was changed completely, like Madras to Chennai or Batavia to Jakarta.

In the mid-Eighties we started a movement the like of which had not taken place for any other city for Patna to be given back its old name of Pataliputra. The local people’s attachment to the city’s ancient name can be seen in this name being used in the city as a prefix for various institutions, buildings, shops, hotels, schools, stores and so on. Visitors to this city often address meetings, starting their talk with references to ancient Pataliputra. In the mid-Eighties, Bihar was the most backward state in the country on the basis of all indices. We felt that by restoring the city’s ancient name we would arouse a sense of self-pride among the people and motivate them. Pataliputra had been the capital of India for nearly a thousand years and was a leading city of the world. Megasthenes, Seleucus Nicator’s Greek ambassador to the Mauryan court in the time of Chandragupta Maurya, wrote that no city of the world could compare with Pataliputra. Seven hundred years later Fa-Hien, the Chinese pilgrim, marvelled at the city’s beautyand said it could not have been built by human hands. The first Indian empire unifying the whole subcontinent was established from Pataliputra. This empire was bigger in size than the erstwhile British Empire in India. The city was also a great centre of learning in the humanities and sciences. Civilisation spread to different parts of the world from this city, which used to be a flourishing river port. Along with renaming the city we proposed a river-front road in Patna like Mumbai’s Marine Drive, floating restaurants, parks in the city and a massive civilisation gate to depict how civilisation travelled from Pataliputra to different parts of the world. Signatures, 100,000 of them, were obtained on the memorandum in support of the proposal. This was submitted to the then chief minister. The Bihar Cabinet unanimously approved our proposal and sent it to the government of India. Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, appeared responsive. At this stage some people raised the bogey of Hindu fundamentalism. The name Pataliputra has no Hindu connection as such. It was derived from the Patali trees that were found in abundance there. In its heyday, Pataliputra was a Buddhist city. The name Patna, derived from Patan Devi, has a Hindu connection. Yet decision-makers in
Delhi and Patna, guided by vote-bank considerations, shelved the issue.
Winds of change are now blowing in Bihar. Under Nitish Kumar’s leadership the state has achieved over 11 per cent economic growth, the second highest in India. Development has been given a high priority and the results are visible in terms of improved roads and better infrastructure. The 2011 Assembly elections established that the people of Bihar have pulled themselves out of the quagmire of communal and caste politics. The rest of the country, instead of looking down on Bihar, has come to look up to the state. Mr Kumar has also been taking steps to revive Bihari self-pride. Large and beautiful parks have come up in Patna and more are on the anvil. A river-front road is being constructed along the banks of the Ganga. Floating restaurants have been provided. Harking back to the city’s glorious history, several acres of prime land near the main railway station was not allowed to be used for a mall; instead, a massive Buddhist stupa has been constructed there. Buddha’s relics from different Buddhist countries in the world have been brought and consecrated in this stupa, which is the largest in India. It was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama and named Pataliputra Karuna Stupa. In view of these developments, we revived our proposal for a Civilisation Gate. or Sabhyata Dwar, north of Gandhi Maidan, near the Ganga. The proposal is that it should be 100 feet high, on the lines of Mumbai’s Gateway of India, India Gate in New Delhi or the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. These gates commemorate a single event of history. Patna’s proposed gate should convey a message of universal brotherhood and religious tolerance, covering the panorama of a thousand years of history. There should also be suitable landscaping at the site. In content and beauty this gate should surpass the gates of Mumbai, Delhi and Paris. It is a matter of great satisfaction that Mr Kumar has approved this proposal. Hopefully, work on it should commence soon. All the major religions of the world have sacred sites located in Patna. The Hindu temple of Patan Devi, from which the city’s name is derived, dates back to the prehistoric period. The Jain shrine of Kamaldeh, built by the great Jain saint Sthulbhadra, was constructed in the 5th century BC. Lord Buddha had seen Pataliputra being constructed in 487 BC and had predicted that it would grow into a leading city of the world. Today, the new Buddhist stupa underscores the Enlightened One’s association with the city. The Rasul-e-Qadam mosque is unique. It has the footprints in stone of the Holy Prophet, brought from Mecca. Guru Govind Singh was born at Har Mandir Sahib and spent his early childhood there. Capuchin friars came here from Rome and established a staging post and a hospice for their mission to find the missing tribe. It has now become Padri Ki Haveli where Mother Teresa did her nursing training for a few years. Apart from religious co-existence, two rulers of India from Bihar gave a unique message of universal brotherhood and religious tolerance. Ashoka the Great in his Rock Edict No. 13 declared that all his subjects, irrespective of religion, were his children and would be treated as such. Sher Shah Suri moved the state capital from Bihar Sharief to Patna and allowed the city to use a name derived from a Hindu deity. He was the first ruler medieval India to introduce secularism in governance. Akbar the Great followed in his footsteps. The Civilisation Gate will not only convey the message of universal brotherhood and religious tolerance but will also have inscribed in golden letters the names of people from Bihar who influenced the course of history during the ancient, medieval and modern periods.
To respect minority sentiments, Patna City railway station was named Patna Sahib and Gulzarbag railway station Azimabad. Similarly, Patna Junction, barely 100 yards from the massive Pataliputra Karuna Stupa, should be renamed Pataliputra. That
will give a fillip to Buddhist tourism.

The author, a retired lieutenant-general, was Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.