Assam government drops Rajiv Gandhi’s name from Orang National Park

On Wednesday, the Assam cabinet passed a resolution to rename Rajiv Gandhi National Park at Orang to Orang National Park. The park has one of highest density of Royal Bengal Tigers in the country. The state government claims the decision has been taken after several organisation had approached the state government urging for a name change.

“Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park to be renamed as Orang National Park, taking cognisance of the demands of Adivasi and tea tribe communities,” a government statement said. The national park located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra in Darrang, Udalguri and Sonitpur districts is known for wild animals like Indian Rhinos, Royal Bengal Tiger, Pygmy Hog, wild elephant and wild water buffalo. It is Assam’s oldest forest reserve, it was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1985, and was upgraded to a national park in 1999. Located on the North Bank of Brahmaputra, Orang National Park spread over 78.80 sq km is the oldest forest reserve in the state. Orang Wildlife Sanctuary was originally named after Rajiv Gandhi in 1992. But it was finally national as Rajiv Gandhi National Park in 2001 by the Tarun Gogoi government of the Congress. In August 2005, the Congress government headed by Tarun Gogoi had decided to rename Orang National Park after the late Prime Minister despite resistance from local groups.