The renaming of the 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

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. 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 Travancore–Cochin, officially the United State of Travancore and Cochin and later the State of Travancore–Cochin, was a short-lived States of India, state of India. It was formed through the merger of two former kingdoms, Travancore and Kin ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

(1956). The most notable exceptions are Indian English spelling-changes of ''Orissa'' to

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

(2011) and the

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

of ''Pondicherry'' (which includes the city of

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

) to Puducherry (2006).

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 Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

, Jajmau and

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

in 1947–48. 'United Provinces' was renamed to

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

in 1950. A major development occurred when the

brought the

Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of India The Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 made numerous amendments to the Indian Constitution in order to implement the scheme of reorganisation of States. It came i ...

and the

States Reorganisation Act, 1956 The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...

. 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 (the capital of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

) was rebranded as

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

in 1996. The name of Calcutta, which was amongst the first cities to be settled by the British, was changed to

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

(local Bengali pronunciation) in 2001.

Causes for renaming

Need for standardization 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 versus

Koyilandy Koyilandy (;A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon)is a major town Nagar Palika, municipality and a Tehsil, taluk in Kozhikode district, Kerala on the Malabar Coast. The historical town is located right in the middle of the coast of Koz ...

(Malayalam: കൊയിലാണ്ടി), Cannanore versus

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

(Malayalam: കണ്ണൂർ), and Rangiya versus Rangia (Assamese: ৰঙিয়া). 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.

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 The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's States and union territories of India, states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries ...

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

(Malayalam: കേരളം). Later state name changes include the reorganization of Madhya Bharat into

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

(Hindi: मध्य प्रदेश) in 1959; and the renaming of the

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

() in 1969, of the Mysore State to

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

(Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ) in 1973, and of Uttaranchal to

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

() 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 The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

in 1947 and then Tamil Nadu in 1969 required non-Tamil speakers to change from an approximation of the British name ( ''Madras Presidency'', then ''Madras State'' ) to a native Tamil name ( , '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 () 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 Indian English (IndE, IE) or English (India) is a group of English dialects spoken in the Republic of India and among the Indian diaspora and native to India. English is used by the Government of India for communication, and is enshrined ...

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 Languages of India belong to several list of language families, language families, the major ones being the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 78.05% of Indian people, Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 19.64% of Indians; both fami ...

does not change, but the official spelling in Indian English is amended. An example is the change from English ''Calcutta'' to English ''

'' – the local Bengali name ( ) did not change. Such changes in English spelling may be in order to better reflect a more accurate

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

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

() 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 The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

level, and may or may not then be adopted by the

Indian media Mass media in India consists of several different means of communication: television, radio, internet, cinema, newspapers and magazines. Indian media was active since the late 18th century; the print media started in India as early as 1780. R ...

, 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 The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

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 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(1990, 2001) to rename

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

(Hindi: अहमदाबाद) to Karnavati and

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

(Hindi: इलाहाबाद) to

Prayagraj Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

(Hindi: प्रयागराज), the latter ultimately being officially adopted in 2018. Similarly, the cities of

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

(Marathi: औरंगाबाद) and Osmanabad (Marathi: उस्मानाबाद) had been renamed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Marathi: छत्रपती संभाजी नगर) and Dharashiv (Marathi: धाराशिव), by then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackerey, in 2020. These proposals are changes from the Islamic name to a Hindu name.

Adoption of renamed names

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

* Travancore-Cochin →

(Malayalam: കേരളം) (1 November 1956). * Madhya Bharat →

(Hindi: मध्य प्रदेश) (1 November 1959) *

→

() (14 January 1969) *

North-East Frontier Agency The North–East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union territory, U ...

(NEFA) →

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

(20 January 1972) * Mysore State →

(Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ) (1 November 1973) * Uttaranchal →

() (1 January 2007) * Orissa →

(Odia: ଓଡ଼ିଶା) (4 November 2011)

Cities

Notable city names that were officially changed by legislation after independence include: * ''Jubbulpore'' →

(), respelled in 1947 * ''Jajesmow'' → Jajmau (), respelled in 1948 * ''Cawnpore'' →

(), respelled in 1948 * ''Kaira'' →

Kheda Kheda is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. Kheda was known as Kaira during the British Raj. It was the former administrative capital of Kheda district. The city is known for tobacco farming. The nearest railway statio ...

(), respelled in 1948 * ''Baroda'' →

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

(), respelled in 1974 * ''Trivandrum'' →

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

(), renamed in 1991 * ''Bombay'' →

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

(), renamed in 1995 * ''Cochin'' →

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

(), respelled in 1996 * ''Madras'' →

(), renamed in 1996 * ''Calcutta'' →

(), respelled in 2001 * ''Daltonganj'' →

Medininagar Medininagar, formerly Daltonganj, is a city and municipal corporation in Palamu district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Jharkhand. It is also the administrative headquarter of Palamu district and divisional headquarte ...

(), renamed in 2004 * ''Cuddapah'' →

Kadapa Kadapa is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. It is located south of the Penna River. The city is surrounded on three sides by ...

(), respelled in 2005 * ''Pondicherry'' → Puducherry (), renamed in 2006 * ''Bangalore'' →

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

(), respelled in 2007 * ''Belgaum'' →

Belagavi Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Tumkur'' →

Tumakuru Tumkur, officially Tumakuru, is a city and headquarters of Tumakuru district in the Karnataka state of India. Tumkur is known for Siddaganga Matha. Tumkur hosts India's first mega food park, a project of the ministry of food processing. The Indi ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Hubli'' →

Hubballi Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of Ka ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Shimoga'' →

Shivamogga Shimoga, officially Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the Karnataka state of India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of the Western Ghats, the city ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Hospet'' → Hosapete (), renamed in 2007 * ''Mysore'' →

Mysuru Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Gulbarga'' →

Kalaburagi Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is headquarters of eponymous Kalaburagi district and Kalaburagi division, Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation, It is called a Sufi ci ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Chikmagalur'' →

Chikkamagaluru Chikmagalur (officially Chikkamagaluru, ), previously known as ''Kiriya-Muguli'' is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri, Mullayanagiri peak of the We ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Bijapur'' →

Vijayapura Vijayapur is a town in Devanahalli taluk and Bangalore Rural district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Vijayapura's old name is Vadigenahalli. Local villagers still refer Vijayapura as Vadigenahalli. Climate Vijayapura is ranked among top ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Bellary'' →

Ballari Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Steel, JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Mangalore'' →

Mangaluru Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the stat ...

(), renamed in 2007 * ''Rajahmundry'' → Rajahmahendravaram (), renamed in 2015 * ''Gurgaon'' →

Gurugram Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest o ...

() renamed in 2016 * ''Allahabad'' →

(), renamed in 2018 * ''New Raipur'' →

Atal Nagar Nava Raipur, officially known as Atal Nagar-Nava Raipur, is a planned city and fully Greenfield city in Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is planned to replace Raipur as the capital city of Chhattisgarh. The Government of Chhattisgarh, the sta ...

(), renamed in 2018 * ''Hoshangabad'' → Narmadapuram (), renamed in 2021 *

→ Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (), renamed in 2023 * Osmanabad → Dharashiv (), renamed in 2023 *

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

→ Ahilyanagar (), renamed in 2023 *

Karimganj Karimganj, officially Sribhumi, is a town in the Karimganj district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. Karimganj town is located at . The area of Karimganj Tow ...

→ Sribhumi (), renamed in 2024 For others, by state order, see

list of renamed Indian cities and states Since India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, names of many cities, streets, places, and buildings throughout the Republic of India have been systematically changed or reinstated, often to better approximate their native end ...

. * ''Alleppey'' →

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

() * ''Barahanagore'' →

Baranagar Baranagar (Bengali language, Bengali: বরানগর) is a city and a municipality in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area ...

() * ''Gauhati'' →

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

() * ''Indhur'' →

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

() * ''Kāñci-pura And Conjevaram'' →

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

() * ''Cannanore'' →

() * ''Quilon'' →

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

() * ''Quilandi'' →

() * ''Calicut'' →

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

() * ''Kudanthai'' →

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum), or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the hea ...

() * ''Mayavaram''/''Mayuram'' →

Mayiladuthurai Mayiladuthurai (formerly known as Mayavaram or Mayuram) is a :ta:சிறப்பு நிலை நகராட்சிகள், Special Grade Municipality and district headquarters of Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. The town ...

() * ''Nerbudda'' →

Narmada The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...

() * ''Nowgong'' →

Nagaon Nagaon is a city and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. It is situated east of Guwahati. With a population of 1,16,355 as per 2011 census it is an AMRUT City and 4th biggest city ...

() * ''Palghat'' →

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

() * ''Panjim'' →

Panaji Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

() * ''Poona'' →

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

() * ''Ramnad'' →

Ramanathapuram Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a city Municipal Corporation in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) ...

() * ''Saugor'' → Sagar () * ''Simla'' →

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

() * ''Tellicherry'' →

Thalassery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under ...

() * ''Tanjore'' →

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

() * ''Tannah'' →

Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

() * ''Tuticorin'' →

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...

() * ''Trichur'' →

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

() * ''Tinthirivanam'' →

Tindivanam Tindivanam is a municipality in Viluppuram district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in Villupuram District after the headquarters town Villupuram. Important roads from north to s ...

() * ''Trichinopoly'' →

Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of Ta ...

() * ''Tinnevelly'' →

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

() * ''Triplicane'' → Tiruvallikeni () * ''Ootacamund'' →

Udhagamandalam Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located northwest of Coimbatore, and is the headquarters of N ...

() * Vizhupparaiyar And Vizhimaa Nagaram →

Viluppuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major and largest railway ...

() * ''Banaras'' →

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

() * ''Badagara'' →

Vatakara Vatakara, also known as Vadakara () (formerly Badagara, ), is a municipality, taluk and a major town in the Kozhikode district in Indian state of Kerala. The municipality of Vatakara covers an area of and is bordered by Mahé to the north and ...

() * Vriddhachalam → Virudhachalam () * ''Bejawada'' →

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

(), anciently Vijayavatika in Mahabharata * ''Vizagapatam'' (short form: ''Vizag'') →

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

() Town names that derive from ancient names: * Mandi (), derived from ''Mandav Nagar'' *

Nellore Nellore, also spelt as Nelluru, is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India.Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

to Keralam *

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

to Bangla

Cities

Bihar

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

to Pataliputra

Gujarat

to Karnavati *

Veraval Somnath, also known as Veraval, is a city and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Somnath temple, a place of pilgrimage due to its importance as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga si ...

to Somnath

Himachal Pradesh

to Shyamala

Uttar Pradesh

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

to Harigarh *

Azamgarh Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the ...

to Aryagargh or Ajanmgarh * Akbarpur to Amarnagar or Maharana Pratap Nagar *

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

to Agravan or Agastyanagar *

Bahraich Bahraich is a city and a municipal board in Bahraich district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the Saryu River, a tributary of the Ghaghara river, Bahraich is north-east of Lucknow, the state capital. The districts of B ...

to Dharmveer Shri Maharaja Suheldev Nagar *

Bulandshahr Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Governme ...

to Bajrangbalipur * Badaun to Vedamau *

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. This city is on the banks of river Ganges is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. His ...

to Panchal Nagar *

Firozabad Firozabad () is a city near Agra in Firozabad district in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the centre of India's glassmaking industry and is known for the quality of the bangles and glassware produced here. During the reign of Akba ...

to Chandra Nagar *

Ghaziabad Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in Western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziaba ...

to Harinandipuram *

Ghazipur Ghazipur, is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. It is located on the Ganges (Ganga) ...

to Vishwamitranagar * Hathras to Mahamaya Nagar * Jaunpur to Jeevanpur or Jamadagnipuram *

to Kanhaiyapur *

Kasganj Kasganj is a city, or ''nagar,'' and the district headquarters of Kasganj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The district was formed by grouping three tehsils on 17 April 2008. History Kasganj, which lies in the historical region ...

to Kalyan Singh Nagar *

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

to Lakhanpur or Lakshmanpuri *

Mirzapur Mirzapur () is a city in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is known for its carpets and brassware industries, and the tradition of kajari and birha music. Straddled by the Kaimur extension of Vindhya mountains, it served as the headquarters of t ...

to Vindhyachal Dham *

Mainpuri Mainpuri (; ) is a city in Mainpuri district in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Mainpuri district and is 55 km from Etawah and 294 km from New Delhi. Mainp ...

to Mayapuri *

Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar (, ) is a city under Muzaffarnagar district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated midway on the Delhi - Haridwar/Dehradun National Highway ( NH 58) and is also well connected with the national railway network. It ...

to Laxmi Nagar *

Moradabad Moradabad () is an industrial city, commissionerate, and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Del ...

to Madhav Nagar *

Robertsganj Robertsganj (), formally known as Sonbhadra (), is a city and a municipal board in Sonbhadra district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. Robertsganj is located in the south-eastern corner of the state. Roberts ...

to Sonbhadra or Gramputra * Sultanpur to Kushbhawanpur *

Sambhal Sambhal (pronounced Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, sə̃bʰəl) is a city located in the Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city lies approximately 158 km (98 mi) east of New Delhi and 355 km (220 mi) north-west of the state capit ...

to Prithviraj Nagar or Kalki Nagar *

Shamli Shamli is a city and the headquarters of Shamli district, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an administrative subdivision under Saharanpur division. History According to the mythological story, in Dvapara Yuga Lord Krishna passed throu ...

to Shyam Nagari or Prabuddhnagar

Maharashtra

to Rajmata Jijau Nagar (Amidst the surge of ''Marathification'' in Maharashtra after the renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad, a NCP MLC, Amol Mitkari has demanded this name change, and although it is highly unlikely to materialize, there has been a 'growing' movement to rename Pune's sister city, Pimpri-Chinchwad as Jijau Nagar)

Criticism

2018 developments like the renaming of Allahabad (tracing back to Mughal rule) to

(ancient name in Sanskrit) and Faizabad district to

Ayodhya district Ayodhya district (formerly Faizabad district) is one of the 75 districts in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ayodhya is its administrative headquarters. The district occupies an area of , and had a population of 2,470,9 ...

(a holy city of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

) in

were subject to some controversy. While the BJP-led State Government argued that it was a restoration of its historical name, some critics allege that it was an attempt to enforce a '

Hindutva Hindutva (; ) is a Far-right politics, far-right political ideology encompassing the cultural justification of Hindu nationalism and the belief in establishing Hindu hegemony within India. The political ideology was formulated by Vinayak Da ...

agenda' and contradict India's constitutional status as a

Secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

nation.

References

External links

*
Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India
' by Nundo Lal Dey * {{Usurpe

}—''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

''
12 Cities in Karnataka get a name change
��Karnataka.com
India's Bangalore in name change
��

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Shashi Tharror: Becoming Bengaloorued
��''

Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busi ...

'' Cities and towns in India

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Historical geography of India

History of the Republic of India Linguistic controversies Names of places in India

History

Causes for renaming

Need for standardization of spelling

Renaming in local languages

Renaming in English

Change in official English spelling

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

Adoption of renamed names

Notable examples

States

Cities

Cities

Bihar

Gujarat

Himachal Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Maharashtra

Criticism

See also

References

External links