Renaming of Kolkata’s Suhrawardy Avenue Sparks Historical and Political Debate

A decision by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to rename Suhrawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road has triggered widespread debate, further intensified by comments from West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who described the move as a “correction of history.”

The controversy has been fueled by confusion over the identity of the Suhrawardy after whom the road was originally named. While many social media users and some media outlets associated the road with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the last Premier of undivided Bengal and later Prime Minister of Pakistan, historians note that the avenue was actually named after Sir Hassan Suhrawardy, a distinguished educator, diplomat, art critic, and the first Muslim Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta.

According to researchers and historical records, Hassan Suhrawardy had no connection to the communal violence known as the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946. The road is located in Kolkata’s Park Circus area, where Hassan Suhrawardy once lived. The building now houses the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission’s Library and Information Centre.

In a social media post welcoming the renaming decision, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stated that the change was not merely a new name but “an important correction of history,” referring to what he described as the legacy of a figure associated with partition-era violence. His remarks were widely interpreted as referring to Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy rather than Hassan Suhrawardy.

The avenue has been renamed after Gopal Mukherjee, popularly known as Gopal Patha, a controversial figure associated with the 1946 communal riots in Kolkata. Supporters portray him as a defender of Hindus during the violence, while critics have accused him of promoting anti-Muslim sentiment.

In past interviews with the BBC, Gopal Mukherjee claimed that although he took up arms to protect Hindus during the riots, he also helped save the lives of many Muslims. He maintained that he was not affiliated with any political party and described himself as someone who simply helped people in times of crisis.

The debate has also revived discussion about representations of historical figures in contemporary politics. Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, whose film The Bengal Files highlighted the events surrounding Partition-era Bengal, had previously argued that Kolkata should honor Gopal Mukherjee with a road named after him.

Researchers, however, stress the importance of distinguishing between Hassan Suhrawardy and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Historian Alimuzzaman, who has written extensively on the Suhrawardy family, emphasized that Hassan Suhrawardy was an academic and public intellectual with no involvement in communal violence. He noted that Hassan served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta in 1930, later became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and was recognized for his contributions to education and public service.

The renaming has therefore evolved beyond a municipal decision, becoming part of a broader debate over historical memory, public commemoration, and the interpretation of Bengal’s complex past.