Sangli: Right-wing organisation Shivpratishthan Hindusthan workers tore down the “Islampur” signboard in Maharashtra, citing a lack of cooperation in renaming street signs following an official change of the city’s name to Ishwarpur.

The organisation that believes in building a “Hindustan that goes beyond the borders of the country,” in a symbolic fashion, cut out the signboard erected at the Tarun Bharat Vyayam Mandal’s main square in Sangli district on April 29.

A video shared on their official Instagram page shows three to four men climbing the structure with one of them cutting through the green plastic with a knife to tear out the “Islampur” text.

They threw it down and repeatedly stomped on it to symbolically reject the Muslim-sounding name.

“In deliberate defiance of the decision taken and the ordinance issued by the Maharashtra State Government on November 3, 2025, an individual from Kolhapur today installed directional signboards at various locations in Sangli—renaming ‘Ishwarpur’ to ‘Islampur,'” the organisation alleged.

The Hindutva workers claimed that maintaining the “Islampur” signboards was a “calculated ploy” intended to undermine the district’s newly appointed Collector, Superintendent of Police and Commissioner.

Taking matters into their hands, and to “avoid any potential breakdown of law and order, the volunteers informed the police and the Commissioner, then personally tore down the controversial signboard,” the organisation wrote on Instagram.

The workers also removed similar boards installed in other locations and handed them over to the officials. The organisation later warned the administration that they would remove other such signboards, urging the officials to do the same.

The Maharashtra government in November 2025 renamed the city of Islampur to Ishwarpur, with the State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stating the decision was taken in view of the “demands of the people.”

Led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Mahayuti government has renamed several cities and districts, replacing names established during the Mughal era, a move strongly supported by Hindutva ideology. Beginning with Aurangabad and Osmanabad, renamed to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv respectively, in September 2023, Ahmednagar was changed to Ahilyanagar in 2024, followed most recently by Ishwarpur.