Thread by @PankajSethi00

A thread on changes in street names in SECUNERABAD.

Street names usually change because the earlier names lose relevance, and/or there is a sentimental need to replace them with newer names.

Following are some such changes in SECUNDERABAD

1. James St was named after James Achilles Kirkpatrick, the Resident of East India Company in the Court of the 2nd Nizam. He was the Resident when Secunderabad came into being as a military camp on the NE shores of Hussain Sagar. The street is today called Mahatma Gandhi Road.

2. Alexandra Road was a broad boulevard from Begumpet to Marredpally. It separated the Bazar and civilian areas of Secunderabad from the military camp (which had moved northward from its original location next to Hussain Sagar). Today the road is called Sardar Patel Road

3. Ronald Ross Rd connected Ranigunj to Alexandra Rd. Named after Sir Ronald Ross, who set up a lab in Rasoolpura at the end of 19th century and conducted research that led to discovering the role of the Anopheles mosquito in propagation of malaria, today this is Minister Rd

4. Kingsway was the broad new road constructed in early 1930s (after the advent of the automobile) connecting Boat Club to Alexandra Road, so that James Street could be decongested. Today this road is Rashtrapathi Road, since it ultimately leads to Rashrapathi Nilayam in Bolarum.

5. Oxford Street led from James Street eastward towards Mettuguda. It was renamed Sarojini Devi Road after Saojini Naidu.

6. The road from Trimulgherry eastward (towards today's Ramakrishnapuram) was named All Saints Road, because of the presence of All Saints Church on it.

7. The road north from Marredpally to the military area, was named Entrenchment Rd because it led to the Entrenchment (a ground level fort) set up by the British after 1857 in the area from Trimulgherry to today's Military Hospital so that they could have a safe place to shelter

8. South of the Entrenchment, in the direction of Hyderabad, a troop "picket" (or "piquet" in the original French) was posted as advance guards. The are is still called Picket.

9. In the military area of Secunderabad Cantonment, many roads were named after British military figures and still retain their names.

For example, Gough Rd was named after Field Marshall Hugh Gough, one time Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

10. Mornington Rd from today's RTA Office Secunderabad going eastward, is named after Lord Richard Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, the Governor General of East India Company when Secunderabad was set up.

11. His younger and equally famous brother was Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. He fought Tipu at Serangipatnam along with Nizam in 1799, defeated the Marathas in 1803, and was twice PM of England. The road from Picket eastward was named Wellington Road after him.

12. However some other names in the military area of Secunderabad have been named after contemporary military heroes. Amherst Road connecting Hakimpet with Rashtrapathi Nilayam via the Bolarum Golf Course, is now called Gen Krishna Rao Marg.

13. As the city grows and new areas develop, hitherto unnamed roads are given names. Usually these are just functional names. Such as Sainikpuri Main Road. Or A S Rao Nagar-ECIL Road

14. Occasionally names are changed, but the old names continue to be popular. The rather prosaic name "Basheer Bagh Road" continues to be popular, though the road was renamed "Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Road" some years back.

15. Sometime original names get corrupted by usage, and new names come up.

An example: Monsieur Raymond was an important French military advisor to the 2nd Nizam Ali Khan. He was popular with the public too. When the British came in they insisted that the Nizam get rid of him.

16. Later, when he died, he was buried in a garden or Bagh near Malakpet. Because the locals could not properly pronounce his French name (something like "Mozeeu Raymawn") the name ultimately got corrupted to Moosa Ram. The place even today is called Moosaram Bagh.

17. A fine example of cultural unity-in-diversity to corrupt a Christian name into a composite of Muslim (Moosa) and Hindu (Ram) names!

18. So there are several reasons why street names are changed. And sometimes, despite a changed name, the street continues to be known by its earlier name.

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