Renaming of cities in India


Renaming of cities in India has taken place since 1947 following the end of the British imperial period. Several changes have been controversial, and not all proposed changes have been implemented. Each has required approval by the Government of India in Delhi.
Some renaming of states and territories in India has also taken place, with substantial name changes in both local language and in English such as the old British state name of Travancore–Cochin to Kerala. The most notable exceptions are Indian English spelling-changes of Orissa to Odisha and the union territory of Pondicherry to Puducherry.

History

A key aspect of Post-independence India's political integration was the harmonization of names and territories of both states and cities. Some changes to nomenclature were introduced in the early years itself. For example, 'Jubbulpore', 'Jajesmow', 'Cawnpore' were renamed to Jabalpur, Jajmau and Kanpur in 1947–48. 'United Provinces' was renamed to Uttar Pradesh in 1950.
A major development occurred when the Government of India brought the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of India and the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Together, these Acts dispensed with the erstwhile four-fold classification of States and also made major changes to the various state boundaries. The reorganization enhanced administrative convenience and also quelled movements demanding establishment of 'linguistic states'.
Later, Madras was officially renamed Chennai in 1996. The name of Calcutta, which was amongst the first cities to be settled by the British, was changed to Kolkata in 2001.

Causes for renaming

Need for standardisation of spelling

India has various local languages. Even English spellings in long and wide use often vary depending upon which government department or agency uses them. To the point, a few examples are Quilandy versus Koyilandy, Cannanore versus Kannur, and Rangiya versus Rangia. Different departments of the government may have used official spellings in use at the time, while locations associated with Indian railways mostly maintained British-era spellings. The confusion inherent in such variations has often resulted in serious consequences like people having two "different" addresses in their official records leading to legal disputes, or one house having residents of different house addresses due to differing place names. Many people argue that such confusion can lead to indeterminate and/or unintended consequences.

Renaming in local languages

In the post-colonial era, several Indian states' names were changed. Some of these changes coincided with the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories that organized them along linguistic lines. At this time, for example, Travancore-Cochin was renamed Kerala. Later state name changes include the reorganization of Madhya Bharat into Madhya Pradesh in 1959; and the renaming of the Madras State to Tamil Nadu in 1969, of the Mysore State to Karnataka in 1973, and of Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand in 2007.
Name changes have varied with respect to the levels of language at which they have been applied, and also accepted. Some of these local name changes were changes made in all languages: the immediate local name, and also all India's other languages. An example of this is the renaming of predominantly Hindi-speaking Uttaranchal to a new local Hindi name. Other changes were only changes in some of the indigenous languages. For example, the renaming of the Madras Presidency to Madras State in 1947 and then Tamil Nadu in 1969 required non-Tamil speakers to change from an approximation of the British name to a native Tamil name.
In general, changes to the local names of cities in the indigenous languages are less common. However, a change in English may sometimes also be a reflection of changes in other Indian languages other than the specific local one. For example, the change of Madras to Chennai was reflected in many of India's languages, and incidentally in English, while the Tamil endonym had always been Chennai and remained unaffected by the change.

Renaming in English

Change in official English spelling

The renaming of cities is often specifically from English to Indian English in connection with that dialect's internal reforms. In other words, the city itself is not actually renamed in the local language, and the local name in the indigenous languages of India does not change, but the official spelling in Indian English is amended. An example is the change from English Calcutta to English Kolkata – the local Bengali name did not change. Such changes in English spelling may be in order to better reflect a more accurate phonetic transliteration of the local name, or may be for other reasons. In the early years after Indian independence, many name changes were affected in northern India for English spellings of Hindi place names that had simply been Romanized inconsistently by the British administration – such as the British spelling Jubbulpore, renamed Jabalpur among the first changes in 1947. These changes did not generate significant controversy. More recent and high-profile changes – including renaming such major cities as Calcutta to Kolkata – have generated greater controversy. Since independence, such changes have typically been enacted officially by legislation at local or national Indian government level, and may or may not then be adopted by the Indian media, particularly the influential Indian press. In the case of smaller towns and districts which were less notable outside and inside India, and where a well known English name could not be said to exist, older spellings used under British India may not have had any specific legislation other than changes in practice on the romanization of indigenous Indian language names.

Realignment of the official Indian English name to an alternative local name

Aside from changes to the official English spellings of local names there have also been renaming proposals to realign the official name, hence the English name with an alternative local name, typically changing a Muslim name to a Hindu one. Recent examples include the proposals by the Bharatiya Janata Party to rename Ahmedabad to Karnavati and Allahabad to Prayagraj, the latter ultimately being officially adopted in 2018. Similarly, the cities of Aurangabad and Osmanabad had been renamed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv, by then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, in 2022. These proposals are changes from the Islamic name to a Hindu name.

Adoption

Official name changes take place quickly if not immediately in official government sources. Adoption may be slower among the media in India and abroad, and among Indian authors.

Notable examples

States

Cities

Notable city names that were officially changed by legislation after independence include:Jubbulpore → Jabalpur, respelled in 1947Jajesmow → Jajmau, respelled in 1948Cawnpore → Kanpur, respelled in 1948Kaira → Kheda, respelled in 1948Baroda → Vadodara, respelled in 1974Trivandrum → Thiruvananthapuram, renamed in 1991Bombay → Mumbai, renamed in 1995Cochin → Kochi, respelled in 1996Madras → Chennai, renamed in 1996Calcutta → Kolkata, respelled in 2001Daltonganj → Medininagar, renamed in 2004Cuddapah → Kadapa, respelled in 2005Pondicherry → Puducherry, renamed in 2006Bangalore → Bengaluru, respelled in 2007Belgaum → Belagavi, renamed in 2007Tumkur → Tumakuru, renamed in 2007Hubli → Hubballi, renamed in 2007Shimoga → Shivamogga, renamed in 2007Hospet → Hosapete, renamed in 2007Mysore → Mysuru, renamed in 2007Gulbarga → Kalaburagi, renamed in 2007Chikmagalur → Chikkamagaluru, renamed in 2007Bijapur → Vijayapura, renamed in 2007Bellary → Ballari, renamed in 2007Mangalore → Mangaluru, renamed in 2007Rajahmundry → Rajahmahendravaram, renamed in 2015Gurgaon → Gurugram renamed in 2016Allahabad → Prayagraj, renamed in 2018New Raipur → Atal Nagar, renamed in 2018Hoshangabad → Narmadapuram, renamed in 2021
For others, by state order, see list of renamed Indian cities and states.Alleppey → Alappuzha Barahanagore → Baranagar Gauhati → Guwahati Indhur → Indore Kāñci-pura And Conjevaram → Kanchipuram Cannanore → Kannur Quilon → Kollam Quilandi → Koyilandy Calicut → Kozhikode Kudanthai → Kumbakonam Mayavaram/''Mayuram → Mayiladuthurai Nerbudda → Narmada Nowgong → Nagaon Palghat → Palakkad Panjim → Panaji Poona → Pune Ramnad → Ramanathapuram Saugor → Sagar Simla → Shimla Tellicherry → Thalassery Tanjore → Thanjavur Tannah → Thane Tuticorin → Thoothukudi Trichur → Thrissur Tinthirivanam → Tindivanam Trichinopoly → Tiruchirapalli Tinnevelly → Tirunelveli Triplicane → Tiruvallikeni Ootacamund → Udhagamandalam
Town names that derive from ancient names:

Proposed changes

Several other changes have been proposed for states and towns.

States and union territories

Cities

Bihar

Gujarat

Himachal Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Maharashtra

  • Pune to Rajmata Jijau Nagar

Criticism

2018 developments like the renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad district to Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh were subject to some controversy. While the BJP-led State Government argued that it was a restoration of its historical name, it has been seen as an attempt to enforce a 'Hindutva agenda' and contradict India's constitutional status as a secular nation.