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Rajasthan's 'Better Names' Campaign Distributed a List of Better Names. They Included 'Beggar,' 'Terrifying,' and 'Ego.'

14 April 2026 - Jaipur, Rajasthan

Record date
14 Apr 2026
Location
Jaipur, Rajasthan
The odd part

The state's cure for name-based bullying was a department-curated list of names that were prime bullying material.

What happened

In April 2026, the Rajasthan Education Department launched the 'Sarthak Naam Abhiyan' — a campaign to help government school students in Classes 1 through 9 replace their embarrassing, awkward, or meaningless names with dignified, culturally resonant alternatives. Officials compiled a list of 2,950 candidate names and distributed it to schools across the state. Among the approved dignified alternatives: Bhiksha (alms, begging), Bhayankar (terrifying, fearsome), Ahankar (ego, arrogance), Ahit (harm, injury), and Becharadas (helpless servant). The department had to withdraw the entire list six days after launch, on April 20, after parents and educators pointed out that the prescribed better names were, in fact, worse. The Sarthak Naam Abhiyan thus ran for six days, improved no one's self-confidence, and set what is believed to be a state record for fastest scheme withdrawal.

Source material