The Rajasthan government has launched an unusual drive for an unusual cause. The drive targets children with unusual or “derogatory” names in the state. Its goal is to replace derogatory nicknames with more meaningful and respectful alternatives to spare these children embarrassment when they grow up.
According to news agency PTI, names like “Sheru”, “Shaitan”, “Kalu”, “Tinku” and other unusual or derogatory nicknames in school registers will now be a thing of the past in Rajasthan, with the state government launching the “Sarthak Naam Abhiyan”.
Names like these will be changed in consultation with parents as part of a new initiative by the Rajasthan government.
What is Sarthak Naam Abhiyan?
As part of the campaign, the Ministry of Education has reportedly identified around 2,000 to 3,000 such names in government and private schools and prepared a list of nearly 3,000 meaningful alternatives.
The list includes 1,541 names for girls and 1,409 for boys along with their meanings to be shared with parents.
According to PTI, schools have been directed to sensitively identify students with such names and engage with parents through parent-teacher meetings and school management committees to encourage the choice of positive names.
According to officials, parents of newly admitted students will be given the option to choose names from the proposed list at the time of admission, while existing students can apply for name change as per the prescribed rules.
Senior officials will monitor the implementation of the campaign and regularly evaluate its progress, they added.
Why Rajasthan government wants to change children’s names?
Sarthak Naam Abhiyan seeks to address concerns that students with embarrassing or inappropriate names often face ridicule and loss of self-esteem, especially as they age.
Education Minister Madan Dilawar said names play an important role in shaping a child’s identity and personality. He said that in many cases names are assigned without regard to their long-term impact.
“As children grow, such names sometimes lead to embarrassment and may even affect their self-esteem,” Dilawar was quoted as saying by PTI on Tuesday.
“Sometimes parents choose names without realizing their significance or for social reasons, but later the children may develop a sense of inferiority because of them,” the minister said.
The minister also emphasized the need to remove caste-based or derogatory terms from official records.
“Words that have historically been used in a derogatory manner should not be recorded. Respectful alternatives must be adopted,” he said.
Meanwhile, officials told PTI that the ministry believes that a person’s name reflects their social identity and values and negative or wrong names can adversely affect a child’s mental development and self-esteem.
