Independent India has a long tradition and recent history of renaming places, primarily due to the fact that India’s nearly thousand-year period of subjugation left the mark of foreign rule. Even if we exclude the period of Muslim invaders, the British, during their two-hundred-year rule, changed the names of key cultural and historical sites to suit their convenience. Upon independence, we paid attention to this, but left out some places that were integral to India’s fundamental cultural diversity, making it a melting pot of diverse cultures.
The first voice in this regard arose from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, leading to the formation of Andhra Pradesh. After that, Orissa was formed from Utkal, and until 1967, the name change was halted after the implementation of the recommendations of the States Reorganisation Commission in 1956. However, in independent India, today’s Tamil Nadu state was known as “Madras” until 1967. However, in the general elections held that year, the regional party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam achieved tremendous success in the state assembly for the first time, forming a government led by the late C. Annadurai.
He passed a resolution in the assembly to change the name of his state from Madras to Tamil Nadu, which was approved by the then central government. Following Tamil Nadu, in the 1970s, another southern state, now Karnataka, was renamed from “Mysore” to “Karnataka.” This initiative was undertaken by the late Devaraj Urs, a Congress Party leader, who changed the name of his state on the issue of regional cultural identity.
The then central governments, keeping in mind the expectations of the people of the state, showed no hesitation in granting their approval. Subsequently, when the Vajpayee government at the Centre divided the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar in 2000, three new states – Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand—emerged. However, in 2007, in keeping with the wishes of the people of Uttaranchal, the state was renamed Uttarakhand. Subsequently, the state of Orissa was officially renamed Odisha about eight years ago. However, along with the renaming of these major states, the names of major metropolitan cities in the country have also been changed.
Bombay was renamed Mumbai in 1995, and Calcutta was renamed Kolkata in 2001. Furthermore, Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu, was renamed Chennai in recognition of the influence of Tamil culture. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, several cities have been renamed, the most prominent being Allahabad and Faizabad. Allahabad was renamed Prayagraj, and Faizabad was renamed Ayodhya. In a similar vein, the name of West Bengal has been changed eight years ago. The Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal has submitted a proposal to the central government to change the name of its state to “Bangla.” In this context, first in 2023 and then in 2024, the Left government in Kerala passed a resolution in the state assembly and sent it to the central government to change the name of their state to “Keralaam.”
This proposal had been under consideration at the central government since then, and now the Modi government has given its consent and sent it back to the state assembly for approval. Once approved, Parliament will ratify it and send it for the President’s assent, and from then on, Kerala will officially be called “Keralaam.” After India’s independence, the reorganization of states was undertaken in 1956. For this purpose, the then Prime Minister Nehru’s government constituted a commission, which found that language alone could be the basis for the formation of states in this country. Consequently, 15 states were formed on November 1, 1956, by merging regions with a common language.
The state of Kerala was previously divided into the regions of Travancore, Kochi, and Malabar. Although Kochi and Travancore were merged in 1949, the States Reorganization Commission found that Malayalam was spoken in all three regions, so it merged them to form the state of Kerala. In fact, the word “alam” in Malayalam means land. Coconut trees abound throughout the state, so in Malayalam, it means “land of coconut trees.” However, names should never be changed without reason; scientific thinking is essential.
This science reflects the region’s own culture and identity. In this case, if we consider Allahabad and Faizabad, we discover the deep cultural identity of Indianness in the identities of these places, whose essence is reflected in Hindu culture. Similarly, if the leftist government of Kerala prefers to call the state of Keralam, it certainly acknowledges the importance of the cultural essence of India, with which the people of this region naturally have a deep connection. Similarly, when Calcutta was renamed Kolkata in 2001, there was a leftist government there as well.
This proves that even the leaders of leftist thinking are ultimately having to bow before India’s fundamental cultural consciousness. But if there is any one example of this, it is the division of Indian territory into two parts in 1947, one part being called Pakistan and the other India, whereas before that the term Hindustan was prevalent. India reflected the historical cultural identity of this country, which is mentioned in various ancient scriptures and literature.
