Lucknow:
The bard had famously asked 'what's in a name?' and it seems Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has found the most incongruous answer to this question.
After dotting the state capital Lucknow with multi-billion memorials, Mayawati's footprints now meet the pugmarks at Dudhwa, Uttar Pradesh's largest tiger habitat. She has decided that the national park be renamed after her favourite Dalit icon, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.
This has triggered off huge protests among wildlife activists who ask what the connection is. They say if the park has to be renamed at all, then why not after noted conservationist Billy Arjan Singh, who dedicated his life to Dudhwa.
''Like Corbett National Park is named after Jim Corbett, we suggest Dudhwa be named after Billy Arjan Singh because that man spent his entire life creating it,'' Dr VP Singh, a member of the Uttar Pradesh Wildlife Board said.
The opposition Congress has upped the ante, but the pitch is tame, clearly not wanting to hurt the Dalit vote bank, it is trying to win back from Mayawati.
''Babasaheb Ambedkar, though a great man, has no links with wildlife conservation. Mayawati has made a huge gaffe,'' says Uttar Pradesh Congress Chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
So the next time you visit Dudhwa, just remember to ask for Balasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar National Park.