What’s in a name? (III)

BROOKLYN, NY, US: The writer’s suggestion to change Abbottabad’s name does not make any sense. Most name changes in Pakistan have been senseless. If you go on a name-changing spree then why stop at Abbottabad? Why not also change the names of Mansehra and Haripur, which were named after Maan Singh and Hari Singh, respectively. And what about Jacobabad? Also, James Abbott, after whom Abbottabad is named, was remembered kindly by the locals who fondly called him Abbott ‘Kaka’, meaning Abbott ‘uncle’.

AA

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th,  2011.