Everything is in the name....

There is an auto driver in Ahmedabad, who goes by the name of Rajveer Upadhyay. For the past three years he has been trying to change his name and every single year, it has been rejected.

He wants to change the name to RV155677820. The first two words are abbreviation of his first name, RV for Rajveer, and the numbers represent his roll number in school leaving certificate.

Why does he want this robotic kind of name for himself. He says that a name and surname has religious connotations; he has written ‘atheist’  in the religion column. When a name is represented with just words and numbers, it removes all questions of caste and religion and he wants to live a life free of these biases which are so in built in our DNA. He feels that he is much more than his caste or religion but a name shrinks it to just that.

Wow! Isn’t that simply a wonderful way of looking at life, beginning with the name? It’s a pity that we are not open minded enough to accept his request. RV’s courage is laudable and which the Govt also shows the courage to accept his point of view. A name is a personal choice; wonder how the Govt can encroach on this choice?