Resolutions were passed in 33 panchayats during their grama sabha meetings on Monday where they demanded the change of names in 80 streets in the state that bore caste identifiers. With the aim to make society free of divisions based on caste and creed, District Collector Dr K Senthil Raj has suggested the idea of renaming the streets after the names of inspirational leaders from history.
According to a report by The New Indian Express, the district collector has appealed to the village panchayats and urban local bodies that the caste names given to certain streets be replaced by names of inspirational leaders, freedom fighters, scientists, or Tamil scholars.
He also mentioned to the media, that these resolutions, adopted during Grama Sabha meetings, are set to be submitted to the state government for formalization through government gazette notifications. Once this administrative process is complete, the modified street names will replace the caste identifiers across all official communications, including essential documents such as PDS cards, driving licenses, Aadhaar cards, and voter IDs.
Raj reportedly said, "I strongly believe that the use of caste identifiers creates hatred among communities, which further paves the way for compartmentalisation even in schools. The police are also taking up several initiatives to erase caste markers from the region and ensure communal harmony in the society."
