Renaming of cities in

India

The renaming of cities in India started in 1947 following the end of the British imperial period.
Several changes were controversial, and not all proposed changes were implemented. Each had
to be approved by the Central Government in New Delhi.

The renaming of states and territories in India has also taken place, but until the 2010s with
actual substantial name changes in both local language and in English such as the old British
state name of Travancore-Cochin to Kerala (1956). The most notable exceptions are Indian
English spelling-changes of Orissa to Odisha (March 2011)[1] and the union territory of
Pondicherry (which includes the city of Pondicherry) to Puducherry.

Causes for renaming

Need for standardisation of spelling

India has various local languages. Even (Romanised) 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 vs. Koyilandy, Canannore vs. Kannur, and Rangiya vs. 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 (theoretically designating the same place) 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.[2]

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 organised them along linguistic lines. At this time, for example,
Travancore-Cochin was renamed Kerala. Later state name changes include the reorganisation of
Madhya Bharat into Madhya Pradesh in 1959;[3] and the renamings 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 (Hindi: उत्तराञ्चल) to a new local Hindi
name (Hindi: उत्तराखण्ड Uttarakhand). 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 (Tamil: மதராஸ் மாகாணம் Madras Presidency, then
Madras State Tamil: மதராஸ் மாநிலம்) to a native Tamil name (Tamil: தமிழ்நாடு Tamil
Nadu, "Tamil country").

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 (Tamil:
மதராஸ் Madras) to Chennai (Tamil: சென்னை 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 (or endonym) 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 (কলকাতা Kôlkata) 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 romanised inconsistently by the British
administration – such as the British spelling "Jubbulpore," renamed "Jabalpur" (जबलपुर) 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.[4] 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 (or exonym) 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 romanisation 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. Ethnically sensitive examples include the proposals by the Bharatiya Janata Party (1990,
2001) to rename Ahmedabad to Karnavati[5] and Allahabad to Prayagraj, the latter ultimately
being officially adopted in 2018. These two proposals are changes from the historically Mughal
name to a Hindu native name. These can be represented as a change from Urdu language to
Hindi language, but since the two languages are variants of Hindustani the proposal is
effectively a cultural and ethno-religious proposal rather than a linguistic one.[6]

Adoption of renamed names

Official name changes take place quickly if not immediately in official government sources.[7]
Adoption may be slower among the media in India and abroad, and among Indian authors.[8][9][10]
Important examples

States
Travancore-Cochin → Kerala (1 November 1956).

Madhya Bharat → Madhya Pradesh (1 November 1959)

Madras State → Tamil Nadu (14 January 1969)

Mysore State → Karnataka (1 November 1973)

Uttaranchal → Uttarakhand (1 January 2007)

Orissa → Odisha (4 November 2011)

Cities

Notable city names that were officially changed by legislation after independence include:

Jabalpur (Hindi: जबलपुर), from Jubbulpore, respelled in 1947

Jajmau (Hindi: जाजमऊ), from Jajesmow, respelled in 1948[11]

Kanpur (Hindi: कानपुर), from Cawnpore, respelled in 1948

Vadodara (Gujarati: વડોદરા), from Baroda, respelled in 1974

Thiruvananthapuram (Malayalam: തിരുവനന്തപുരം), from Trivandrum, respelled in 1991

Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई), from Bombay, renamed in 1995[12]

Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി), from Cochin, respelled in 1996

Chennai (Tamil: சென்னை), from Madras, renamed in 1996

Kolkata (Bengali: কলকাতা), from Calcutta, respelled in 2001

Kadapa (Telugu: కడప), from Cuddapah, respelled in 2005

Puducherry (Tamil: புதுச்சேரி), from Pondicherry, renamed in 2006

Bengaluru (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು), from Bangalore, respelled in 2014[13]

Belagavi (Kannada: ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ), from Belgaum in 2014[14][15]

Tumakuru (Kannada: ತುಮಕುರು), from Tumkur in 2014

Hubballi (Kannada: ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿ), from Hubli in 2014

 Shivamogga (Kannada: ಶಿವಮೊಗ್ಗಾ), from Shimoga in 2014

Hosapete (Kannada: ಹೊಸಪೇಟೆ), from Hospet in 2014

Mysuru (Kannada: ಮೈಸೂರು), from Mysore in 2014

Kalaburagi (Kannada: ಕಲಬುರಗಿ), from Gulbarga in 2014

Chikkamagaluru (Kannada: ಚಿಕ್ಕಮಗಳೂರು), from Chikmagalur in 2014

Vijayapura (Kannada: ವಿಜಯಪುರ), from Bijapur in 2014

Ballari (Kannada: ಬಳ್ಳಾರಿ), from Bellary in 2014

Mangaluru (Kannada: ಮಂಗಳೂರು), from Mangalore in 2014

Rajahmahendravaram (Telugu: రాజమహేంద్రవరం), from Rajahmundry in 2015

Gurugram (Hindi: गुरुग्राम) from Gurgaon in 2016

Prayagraj (Hindi: प्रयागराज), from Allahabad, renamed in 2018

Atal Nagar (Hindi: अटल नगर), from New Raipur in 2018

Narmadapuram (Hindi: नर्मदापुरम), from Hoshangabad in 2021.

For others, by state order, see list of renamed Indian cities and states.

Alappuzha (Malayalam: ആലപ്പുഴ), from Alleppey

Baranagar (Bengali: বরানগর), from Barahanagore

Guwahati (Assamese: গুৱাহাটী), from Gauhati

Indore (Hindi: इंदौर), from Indhur

Kanchipuram (Tamil: காஞ்சிபுரம்), from Kāñci-pura And Conjevaram

Kannur (Malayalam: കണ്ണൂർ), from Cannanore

Kollam (Malayalam: കൊല്ലം), from Quilon

Koyilandy (Malayalam: കൊയിലാണ്ടി), from Quilandi

Kozhikode (Malayalam: കോഴിക്കോട്), from Calicut

Kumbakonam (Tamil: கும்பகோணம்), from ancient name Kudanthai

Mayiladuthurai (Tamil: மயிலாடுதுறை), from Mayavaram ancient name Mayuram

Narmada (Gujarati: નર્મદા), from Nerbudda

Nagaon (Assamese: নগাওঁ ), from Nowgong

Nashik (Marathi: नाशिक), from Gulshanabad (Mughal Era)

Palakkad (Malayalam: പാലക്കാട്) from Palghat

Panaji (Konkani: पणजी) from Panjim

Pune (Marathi: पुणे), from Poona

Ramanathapuram (Tamil: ராமநாதபுரம்), from Ramnad

Sagar (Hindi: सागर), from Saugor

Shimla (Hindi: शिमला), from Simla

Thalassery (Malayalam: തലശ്ശേരി), from Tellicherry

Thanjavur (Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர்), from British name Tanjore

Thane (Marathi: ठाणे), from British name Tannah

Thoothukudi (Tamil: தூத்துக்குடி), from Tuticorin and its short form Tuty

Thrissur (Malayalam: തൃശൂർ), from Trichur

Tindivanam (Tamil: திண்டிவனம்), from Tinthirivanam

Tiruchirapalli (Tamil: திருச்சிராப்பள்ளி), from Trichinopoly and its short form Trichy

Tirunelveli (Tamil: திருநெல்வேலி), from Tinnevelly

Tiruvallikeni (Tamil: திருவல்லிக்கேணி), from Triplicane

Udhagamandalam (Tamil: உதகமண்டலம்), from Ootacamund and its short form Ooty

Viluppuram (Tamil: விழுப்புரம்), from Vizhupparaiyar And Vizhimaa Nagaram

Varanasi (Hindi: वाराणसी), from Benares

Vatakara (Malayalam: വടകര), from Badagara

Virudhachalam (Tamil: விருத்தாச்சலம்), from Vriddhachalam ancient name

Thirumudhukundram

Vijayawada (Telugu: విజయవాడ), from Bejawada, anciently Vijayavatika in Mahabharata and

Rajendrachola pura during Chola dynasty

Visakhapatnam (Telugu: విశాఖపట్నం), from Waltair, and before that Vizagapatnam and its short
form Vizag
Town names that derive from ancient names:

Mandi (Hindi: मंडी), derived from Mandav Nagar[16]

Nellore (Telugu: నెల్లూ రు), in ancient times Simhapuri[17]

Proposed changes

Several other changes have been proposed for states and towns.

States and union territories

Kerala to Keralam[18]

Nagaland to Naganchi[19]

West Bengal to Bangla[20]

Cities

Bihar
Patna to Pataliputra[19]
Gujarat

Ahmedabad to Karnavati[21]
Himachal Pradesh
Shimla to Shyamala[22]

Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram to Ananthapuri[23]
Madhya Pradesh
Bhopal to Bhojpal[24]
Maharashtra
Aurangabad to Sambhaji Nagar[21]

Osmanabad to Dharashiv[21]

Islampur to Ishwarpur[21]
Telangana

Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar[25]
 Karimnagar to Yelagandula[25]

Nizamabad to Indur[26]

Mahbubnagar to Palamuru[27]

Adilabad to Eddulapuram

Mahabubabad to Manukota
Uttar Pradesh

Muzaffarnagar to Laxmi Nagar[28]

See also

List of renamed places in India

List of renamed places in Pakistan

List of renamed places in South Africa

Sanskritisation

References

1. India and the World Bank: The Politics of Aid and Influence - Page 126 Jason A. Kirk - 2011 "Orissa
(Note: This state was officially renamed Odisha in March 2011)"

2. Aggarwal, Rajesh (25 October 2014). "Merging NPR and UID ???" (http://www.igovernment.in/opinion/
41631/merging-npr-uid?source=igov) . igovernment.in. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20141
025021141/http://www.igovernment.in/opinion/41631/merging-npr-uid?source=igov) from the
original on 25 October 2014.

3. The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics, 1925 to the 1990s. - Page 134 Christophe
Jaffrelot 1999 - "The new state included Madhya Bharat, the Bhopal region, the former Vindhya
Pradesh, Mahakoshal and Chhattisgarh (the last two regions forming the Hindi-speaking parts in the
former Madhya Pradesh; see map, pp. xxii-xxiii)."

4. Mira Kamdar Planet India: How the Fastest Growing Democracy Is Transforming ... 2007 Author's
introduction Page xi "India's information-technology capital's new name, should it be adopted, will
mean “town of boiled beans.” The name changes are not without controversy among Indians. In
several instances, the name change represents a struggle between a cosmopolitan elite and a local,
regional-language populace over defining the city in ways that go far beyond a simple change of
name."