Vice Chancellor Anis Ansari has already suggested nine names after whom the university could be renamed though he has pointed out that the original name of UP Urdu Arbi Farsi University was the best option and most acceptable as it has an identity of its own, official sources said.
They said that ever since the previous Mayawati government had named the university after the BSP icon, there had been demands for renaming it after a luminary who had made contribution to these languages.
The names suggested by Ansari include that of Amir Khusro who has contributed in all the three languages, Hazrat Shah Waliullah, Khwaja Garib Nawaz Moinudin Chisti, Sant Kabir, Shibli Nomani, Maulana Habibur Rehman Nomani, Mirza Ghalib, Sir Mohd Iqbal and Maulana Abdul Majid Dariyabadi, they said.
When contacted, Ansari admitted that the move was under the consideration of the government.
Meanwhile, the government has made a provision of Rs 25 crore for construction of the university's building in over 30 acres on Sitapur-Hardoi by-pass and another Rs 5 crore for maintenance of the building.