The times they are a changing. And with changing times, comes a change in thought and outlook. Even though Shakespeare questioned the institution of nomenclature, we have seen that names often mean a lot. Names carry sentiments, emotions. Names embody an era, and generations are known solely by names.
So when Gurgaon changed their official name to Gurugram recently, it sparked yet another debate on how names should be left untouched. While on the other side, people argue that it’s inevitable because a city has to keep up with the times.
We step back into our country’s colourful past and dig out other cities and states which went through name changes.
1. Alleppey to Allapuzha (1990)
2. Bangalore to Bengaluru (2014)
3. Baroda to Vadodara (1974)
4. Benaras to Varanasi (1956)
5. Bombay to Mumbai (1995)
6. Calcutta to Kolkata (2001)
7. Calicut to Kozhikode
8. Madras to Chennai (1996)
9. Cochin to Kochi (1996)
10. Gurgaon to Gurugram (2016)
11. Pragjyotishpura (ancient times) to Gauhati to Guwahati (1983)
12. Mysore to Mysuru (2014)
13. Orissa to Odisha (2011)
14. Panjim to Panaji (1960’s)
15. Pondicherry to Puducherry (2006)
16. Poona to Pune (1977)
17. Simla to Shimla
18. Trichinopoly to Tiruchirapalli (1971)
19. Trivandrum to Thiruvananthapuram (1991)
20. Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand (2007)
So there you have it. Pick these and start your own debate. Apparently, a lot is in a name.