India, Feb. 20 -- Tension mounted across the Mira-Bhayandar region on Wednesday and Thursday after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) passed a resolution to rename the 10-year-old Tipu Sultan Chowk in Mira Road as Ashfaqulla Khan Chowk. The proposal was approved in the General Assembly on Wednesday evening amid heated debate.

The square, located in Naya Nagar, was developed by the civic body in 2016 and named after Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore who is remembered for resisting British expansion in south India. However, sections of the BJP have long objected to his legacy, alleging that he persecuted certain communities during his rule, a claim contested by many h...