On February 27, the Supreme Court harshly criticised BJP politician and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay for submitting a petition to rename historical sites that she claimed were named after "foreign savage invaders." 

Upadhyay was asked by the panel of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna if he wanted to file such petitions in order to "keep the country on the boil."

"You want to keep this as a live issue and keep the country on a boil? Fingers are pointed at a particular community. You run down a particular section of society. India is a secular state, this is a secular forum", Justice Joseph told Upadhyay.

"Hinduism is a way of life, because of that India has assimilated everybody. Because of that we are able to live together. Divide and rule policy of British brought about schism in our society. Let us not being that back", Justice Nagarathna disagreed with the petition as well. 

Many historical locations referenced in the Vedas and Puranas are now named after "foreign looters," according to Upadhyay. 

Judge Joseph questioned whether had anything to do with roads and religious rituals. He added that Mughal Emperor Akbar had sought to foster harmony among the various communities.

Justice BV Nagarathna then asked “It's a historical fact. Can you wish away invasions from history? We have been invaded several times. Have we not got other problems in our country rather than wishing away for things which happened before?”

Upadhyay requested permission to drop the plea with the freedom to file a representation before the Ministry of Home Affairs after sensing that the bench was not inclined to hear the case. The bench, however, stated that it would not permit the adoption of such a course of action.

"Let us not break society with such kinds of petitions, please have the country in mind, not any religion", Justice Nagarathna told the petitioner while adding that "there is no bigotry in Hinduism".

"Hinduism is the greatest religion in terms of metaphysics. The heights which Hinduism have in Upanishads, Vedas, Bhagavid Gita is unequal in any system. We should be proud of that. Please don't belittle it. We have to understand our own greatness. Our greatness should lead us to be magnanimous. I am a Christian. But I am equally fond of Hinduism. I am trying to study it. You read the works of Dr S Radhakrishan on Hindu philosophy", Justice Joseph said.

"Hinduism is a way of life. There is no bigotry in Hinduism", Justice Nagarathna reiterated.

According to Justice Joseph, there are instances of Hindu rajas granting land to Christianity in Kerala. "It is India's history. Please be aware of that "said Justice Joseph. Hindus have been "wiped off from numerous historical places due to this kind of nature," Upadhyay retorted. Hindus, according to him, are underrepresented in numerous states and localities. 

The bench then dismissed the petition with remarks that emphasised the nation's secular nature and the Preambular principle of fraternity.

"India that is Bharat is a secular country. A country cannot remain a prisoner of the past. India is wedded to rule of law, secularism, constitutionalism of which Article 14 stands out as the grand guarantee of both equality and fairness in State action. The founding fathers contemplated India to be a Republic which is not merely confined to having an elected President which is the conventional understanding but also involves all sections of people; it is a democracy. It is important that the country must move forward. Its indispensable for achieving the triple goals enshrined in the chapter of in DPSP bearing in mind the Fundamental Rights also…..Actions must be taken which infuses all sections of the society together.”

The bench continued by saying that the nation must advance. It is necessary for fulfilling the objectives outlined in the Directive Principles chapter. 

The petitioner requested that a "Renaming Commission of India" be established and that the Archaeological Survey of India be instructed to carry out study and publish the original names of old historical cultural religious locations that had been renamed by "barbaric foreign invaders."