By IANS
Hathras/Mahamaya Nagar (Uttar Pradesh) : Till 1997, this town was always called Hathras. But Mayawati was elected chief minister of Uttar Pradesh that year, and the town’s identity crisis started with the first name change.
Mayawati renamed Hathras as Mahamaya Nagar after the name of the Buddha’s mother. She also declared it a new district. Before that, it used to be a sub-division of Aligarh district.
In 1998, Mayawati lost power. The town’s name was promptly changed back to Hathras.
In 2002, Mayawati regained power. The town was renamed Mahamaya Nagar for the second time.
In 2006 then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav changed the name back to Hathras again.
Now that Mayawati is back in power for the third time, the state cabinet Wednesday again changed the name of the town to Mahamaya Nagar – the fifth swing between the two names in the last decade.