Durbar Hall, Ashok Hall In Rashtrapati Bhavan Renamed Ganatantra Mandap, Ashok Mandap
New Delhi, July 25: President Droupadi Murmu announced on Thursday that two of the important halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan, namely, Durbar Hall and Ashok Hall, have been renamed as Ganatantra Mandap and Ashok Mandap, respectively, according to a Presidentโs Secretariat release.
According to the release, the renaming was part of making the ambience of the Rashtrapati Bhavan โreflective of Indian cultural values and ethos.โ
โRashtrapati Bhavan, the office and residence of the President of India, is a symbol of the nation, and an invaluable heritage of the people. Continuous efforts are being made to make it more accessible to people. There has been a consistent endeavour to make the ambience of the Rashtrapati Bhavan reflective of the Indian cultural values and ethos,โ the release mentioned.
Durbar Hall is the venue of important ceremonies and celebrations, such as the presentation of the National Awards. The term โDurbarโ refers to courts and assemblies of Indian rulers and the British.
The release stated that it lost relevance after India became a republic, that is, โGanatantraโ. The concept of โGanatantraโ is deeply rooted in Indian society since ancient times, making โGanatantra Mandapโ an apt name for the venue.
โAshok Hall was originally a ballroom. The word โAshokโ connotes someone who is โfree from all sufferingsโ or โbereft of any sorrowโ. Also, โAshokaโ refers to Emperor Ashok, a symbol of unity and peaceful coexistence. The National Emblem of the Republic of India is the lion capital of Ashok from Sarnath. The word also refers to the Ashok tree, which has deep significance in Indian religious traditions as well as arts and culture,โ it said.
Renaming โAshok Hallโ as โAshok Mandapโ brings uniformity in language and removes the traces of anglicisation while upholding the key values associated with the word โAshokโ, it added. (AGENCIES)
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