A rhino at the flooded Orang National Park. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, Aug. 28: What?s in a name? More than a mere identity tag, going by the volcano of sentiments aroused by Assam?s decision to rename the Orang National Park after Rajiv Gandhi.

In 1992, people living in the vicinity of the Orang National Park fiercely resisted the then Hiteswar Saikia government?s attempt to rename the wildlife sanctuary. Today, almost 13 years later, thousands of residents gathered at Dhansirighat, in Udalguri district, to protest another Congress government?s decision to name the sanctuary as Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park.

Haricharan Das, secretary-general of the Aranya Suraksha Samiti, described Dispur?s decision as a political gimmick. ?The names of various national parks and forest reserves in Assam are inextricably linked to local cultures and there is no need to have names of political personalities attached to them. This only takes away the local identity.?

The only rhino sanctuary on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra was, until 1900, a large village inhabited by a tribe called Orang. Residents abandoned the area when water-borne diseases, mainly black fever, started taking a toll on the population. The remaining vestiges of the tribe?s stay there are 26 ponds and a dilapidated Shiva temple.

The Aranya Suraksha Samiti said the least that the government could have done was to consult residents of the new villages near the national park before deciding to change its name. The same organisation had led the previous agitation against Dispur?s attempt to rename the sanctuary ? upgraded to the status of a national park in 1999 ? after Rajiv Gandhi.

Members of the All Bodo Students? Union and the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad attended the rally in Udalguri this morning. Enthused by the support, Das said: ?It became clear today that the people will never agree to the government?s decision to rename the park.?

A meeting was held in Guwahati yesterday to mobilise public opinion against the move.

?It does not matter whether the name Rajiv Gandhi is prefixed or suffixed to Orang National Park. It should be Orang and nothing else,? Das said at the meeting.

The chief minister announced the decision to rename the park after Rajiv Gandhi on August 20, the 61st birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister.

Das said residents of areas near wildlife parks must always be consulted before taking such decisions. ?If this trend continues, all protected areas in Assam will be named after politicians and local identities will get crushed. If at all a name has to be given, it should be after a prominent personality of Assam.?

He accused the Gogoi government of focusing on unnecessary aspects instead of those that required its attention urgently. ?The road leading to Orang is in a bad condition, while forest guards deployed in the park are having to do a difficult job with antiquated rifles.?

Conservationist Dinesh Baishya described the Congress government?s obsession with renaming the park after Rajiv Gandhi as ?bad politics?.