What's in a name, the Bard had asked, but it's also true that some names, say of luminaries of the land, are more equal than others.

Wards of the 11-year-old Ghaghidih Central Jail, 4km from Jamshedpur, which had been named after freedom fighters to 'inspire prisoners and set an example before them' have been renamed after alphabets, prison authorities have informed.

Reason, wards named after greats like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Birsa Munda, among others, far from setting any example, had inspired prisoners to some filthy name-calling.

The most tame ones were 'Gandhi buddha' or 'Rajenderwa', referring to the Father of the Nation and the first President, respectively.

Others are unprintable.

The seven wards of the jail, which were named after Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Vinoba Bhave, Rajendra Prasad, Birsa Munda and Tilka Majhi, are now simply referred to as A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

Subodh Kumar, Ghaghidih jail superintendent (additional charge) and additional district magistrate (law and order), confirmed the name change. 'We decided to name the wards afresh alphabetically in view of name calling.'

Prisoners devising four-letter words related to national leaders and bandying them about created an 'impossible situation', said Ghaghidih jailer Baleshwar Prasad Singh.

'Names of national leaders were being used as abuses. This had to stop. So, we decided to rename in alphabetical order the seven cells named after freedom fighters,' the jailer said.

The jailer said they got complaints not only from jail staff but also from some prisoners that national leaders were being insulted.

'Not just staff but some prisoners and undertrials also objected to the abuse of national leaders. Hence our decision,' said Singh who was appointed as jailer in July. 'We could prosecute those insulting the leaders but changing names of the wards was a wiser thing to do.'

Set up in 2006, Ghaghidih Central Jail has a capacity of 1,447 prisoners and undertrial prisoners.

Last week, an undertrial prisoner produced before Jamshedpur civil court for alleged assault confirmed many prisoners had insulted national leaders while referring to the wards. 'I have been to school. When someone insults leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose about whom we have read in textbooks, it hurts. Not all of us have the same mentality,' the 30-year-old undertrial had said.