RSS Rebrands Hyderabad As Bhagyanagar

The RSS has lent its weight to the BJP’s push for renaming Telangana’s capital, Hyderabad, as Bhagyanagar. It has been a tradition for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to call Indian cities by their ancient names, and for decades, it has addressed Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar Mahanagar in its internal communication and organisation structure. However, this time in an assertive move, the RSS’s cultural wing, Prajna Pravah, is set to host its biennial seminar, Lokmanthan, in Telangana’s capital, and all official communications—from posters to invitations—refer to the venue as Bhagyanagar.

The programme will be inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu on November 22, in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Explaining the choice of the name, Prajna Pravah chief and its national convener, J Nandakumar, stated, “For us, the city has always been Bhagyanagar Mahanagar and will remain so. We want it to be officially recognised as such in the future as well. This name goes beyond the city that is called Hyderabad. The name Bhagyanagar came from the ancient temple of Bhagya Laxmi. This is the Bharatiya name of the place."

Lokmanthan—the four-day seminar on India’s “unadulterated culture"—reflects the Sangh’s narrative of reasserting historical roots, with Bhagyanagar becoming a symbolic representation of that ethos. This development follows similar statements by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, further intensifying the debate over the city’s identity and its ancient roots.