Jaipur, April 17 -- Rajasthan Education Department's recent Sarthak Naam Abhiyaan campaign has sparked a controversy, even as parents' associations protested over "inappropriate" and "embarrassing" names in the suggestion list. The campaign was launched on Tuesday aiming to suggest "meaningful" names to the students from class 1 to class 9 who were given "embarrassing" names in childhood such as 'Sheru', 'Kalua', 'Bablu', 'Kachar' etc., officials said. Following the launch of the campaign, the government has also released a list of 2,950 names for boys and girls. In this list, the government proposed "Amod" (pleasure), "Bhola" (naive), "Makkhan" (butter), "Thanasingh" (police station), "Bikaner", "Becharadas" (helpless and poor person), "Mathura", "Ugrasen" (violent person) etc. for boys. On the other hand, 'Bhayankar' (dangerous or terrifying), 'Kaliyuga' (age of darkness), 'Kaamkoti' (throne of desire), 'Lalata' (forehead), 'Modaki' (laddoo) were the names which were suggested for girls. The list also included names such as Asim, Arnav, Arun, Atish, Ojasvi etc. which were appearing multiple times with just spelling variations. Jaipur based sociologist Rajeev Gupta said that this is a hidden agenda for Sanskritisation. "Every name has its own identity and cultural association. It's a dangerous move.This is a unique way of Sanskritisation as most of the names have reference of some Sanskrit texts. It is disappointing how the government is focused on such bizarre policies rather than development." Another sociologist Rashmi Jain said, "The ones they are referring to as embarrassing names are mostly some tribal or Dalit names. They keep these names after their local deities, idols, or cultures. It is their choice. This campaign looks more like oppression by the mainstream society." Amid the growing backlash, the Sanyukt Abhibhavak Sangh has strongly objected to the campaign, calling it a direct infringement on the fundamental and natural rights of parents. The association asserted that naming a child is solely the prerogative of parents, and any attempt to promote or institutionalise name changes through an official campaign is both inappropriate and unacceptable. In an official statement, the president of the association, Abhishek Jain Bittu, said, "The state is grappling with increasing dropouts, shortage of teachers, arbitrary behaviour of private schools. But the department is focusing on suggesting names."...