What’s in a name? The Rajasthan government’s Education Department has learnt a tough lesson after its ‘Sarthak Naam Abhiyan’ (meaningful names campaign) for giving the students “more dignified” names ran into a controversy. Ironically, the move created more problems than it could solve.
The campaign was rolled out earlier this week with the objective of suggesting meaningful names for the school going children, as the names given in the rural areas were perceived to be embarrassing, often with derogatory connotations. The Education Department stated that these names could lead to low self-esteem among the students.
While releasing a list of about 3,000 alternative names for both boys and girls, to be shared with parents, the department officials claimed that the names like ‘Shaitan’, ‘Lallu’, ‘Kajod’ and ‘Gobari Bai’, were creating embarrassment for children once they grew up and understood their names and their meaning and implications.
However, the names suggested in the list left the parents, teachers, social activists and academicians baffled. Even as the move was perceived as the government’s interference in the personal choice, several of the entries were repetitive, incorrect, offensive, or simply absurd, defeating the very purpose of the exercise.
