Hitler on Indian ballot? Frankenstein, Hitler among those running for election in Indian state

Hitler on Indian ballot:?This 54-year-old father of three has won three elections to the state assembly with little controversy over being named after the Nazi dictator.

By Wasbir Hussain,?Associated Press / February 22, 2013

Adolf?Hitler?is running for election in?India. So is Frankenstein.

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The tiny northeast Indian state of Meghalaya has a special fascination for interesting and sometimes controversial names, and the ballot for state elections Saturday is proof.

Among the 345 contestants running for the state assembly are Frankenstein Momin, Billykid Sangma, Field Marshal Mawphniang and Romeo Rani. Some, like Kenedy Marak, Kennedy Cornelius Khyriem and Jhim Carter Sangma, are clearly hoping for the electoral success of their namesake American presidents.

Then there is?Hitler.

This 54-year-old father of three has won three elections to the state assembly with little controversy over being named after the Nazi dictator.

His father had worked with the British army, but apparently developed enough of a fascination with Great Britain's archenemy to name his son Adolf?Hitler?? though he also gave him the middle name Lu,?Hitler?said.

"I am aware at one point of time Adolf?Hitler?was the most hated person on Earth for the genocide of the Jews. But my father added 'Lu' in between, naming me Adolf Lu?Hitler, and that's why I am different,"?Hitler?told The Associated Press from the small village of Mansingre, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Gauhati, the capital of the nearby state of Assam.

Hitler?said his name has not stopped him from traveling the world, including to the United States and Germany.

"I never had problems obtaining a visa but I was asked many times during immigration as to why I should have such a name. I told the immigration staff I possibly didn't have a role in my naming," he said.

India?played little role in World War II, and many Indians view?Hitler?not as the personification of evil but as a figure of fascination.?Hitler's?book "Mein Kampf" is prominently displayed at many Indian bookstores. The owner of a menswear shop named his store "Hitler," then expressed puzzlement last year after Israel complained.

Musfika Haq, a teacher in Meghalaya's capital, Shillong, said such names are common in the state.

"Parents obviously get fascinated by names of well-known or great leaders, but must be unaware that some of them, like?Hitler, had been highly controversial," he said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/PIN077nV7ac/Hitler-on-Indian-ballot-Frankenstein-Hitler-among-those-running-for-election-in-Indian-state

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