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New Delhi: In October 2025, while addressing a religious gathering dedicated to the mystic poet Sant Kabir in a village in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath expressed surprise upon learning that it was named Mustafabad – despite not having a single Muslim resident. For him, this demographic detail was justification enough to change Mustafabad’s name.

“Think about this, when I came here I asked how many Muslims live here? I was told not even one. But the name is Mustafabad. I said the name should be changed now. It should be Kabir Dham and not Mustafabad,” Adityanath said then. 

He declared that the village would be renamed Kabir Dham, honouring the 15th-century saint and social reformer whose followers had established a local ashram. Kabir is revered by a large section of Dalits, especially Jatavs and Chamars, in North Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh.

Adityanath framed the name change of Mustafabad as part of a larger campaign for the “restoration of cultural pride,” asserting that it was imperative to secure mukti (liberation) from the “pakhand” (hypocrisy) of “secular” names.

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“Those people had changed Ayodhya to Faizabad, Prayagraj to Allahabad, and Kabir Dham to Mustafabad… think, if your identity were to be erased, you would face an existential crisis,” Adityanath argued.

Following Adityanath’s visit, the gram panchayat members unanimously passed a resolution proposing that the name of Mustafabad village be changed. But locals were not too keen on it initially, says Avtar Singh, the pradhan of Tenduva gram panchayat, under which Mustafabad falls.

“The villagers objected to the name change saying that it would create difficulties for their children in future, in getting transfer certificates and for securing jobs. They said they want development and not a change of name. But who listens to villagers,” Singh told The Wire.

Under the influence of the local Kabir Panth ashram, and the imposing public endorsement by Adityanath himself, the proposal was passed on November 7, 2025. “Who can defy the government,” asked Singh. 

According to Singh, the village was known as Mustafabad after a garden called Mustafa Bagh. Its population is predominantly made up of OBC (Other Backward Classes) communities – Kurmis, Kahars, Yadavs and Kumhar – as well as Chamars/Jatavs (Dalit). He confirmed that no Muslims have........

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