Uttar Pradesh school reinstates 1965 war veteran Abdul Hamid’s name in title after row

The Uttar Pradesh education department on Tuesday reinstated the name of 1965 war veteran Abdul Hamid in the title of a school in Ghazipur following an uproar regarding the dropping of the tribute, reported PTI.

The school, located in Dhamupur, was originally named Shaheed Veer Abdul Hamid Vidyalaya after the war veteran who had studied there.

Hamid died in the 1965 India-Pakistan war while fighting the Pakistan Army’s Patton tanks in the Battle of Asal Uttar, one of the war’s largest tank confrontations. He was posthumously awarded India’s highest military honour, the Param Vir Chakra, for his bravery.

Recently, the school was renamed Prime Minister Schools for Rising India Composite School Dhamupur. The name was also changed at the main gate five days ago after the structure was repainted, PTI reported.

The move, ordered by the state education department, had elicited outrage from Hamid’s family and the residents of his native Dhamupur village, who lodged a complaint with the basic education officer.

His grandson, Jameel Alam, claimed that the local community was not consulted about the renaming. He said the move was an insult to Hamid’s legacy.

However, Basic Education Officer Hemant Rao said that the principal of the school had informed him that the name Shaheed Veer Abdul Hamid Vidyalaya found no mention in its official...

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