Kerala To Be Renamed Keralam: Will Bengal Become Bangla, Delhi Indraprastha?

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet.”
William Shakespeare is known to have written this in Romeo and Juliet. 

What’s in a name, he wonders—apparently, quite a lot. While a rose may smell just as sweet regardless of what it is called, today’s discourse is strong on preserving legacy, culture, and history in every possible way, with names being one of the most visible expressions of that effort. 

Renaming something with an ancient or traditional term serves as a constant reminder that what has passed has not been forgotten. A name is often the first marker of identity for a person or a place; so while literature may question the significance of a name, in the political sphere it is clear that much depends on it.

India has witnessed numerous name changes over the years— encompassing cities, localities and even government schemes introduced by previous ruling parties. These changes are often justified as efforts to reconnect with cultural roots or to better reflect contemporary identity and relevance.

It was announced on February 24 that Kerala will be officially renamed “Keralam,” the Malayalam name by which the state has traditionally been known among its people. 

The state government has maintained that while “Kerala” is the anglicised form used in official records, “Keralam” more authentically reflects the linguistic and cultural identity of the Malayalee community. The move comes after the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a resolution urging the Union government to amend the Constitution to formalize the change.

It has been 15 years since any Indian state last underwent a name change. In 2011, Orissa was renamed Odisha to more closely represent the local phonetics. Before that, in 2007, Uttaranchal was renamed to Uttarakhand, meaning “northern region,” which was the traditional name for the area.

After Independence, the Mysore kingdom joined the Union of India, and most Kannada-speaking regions came together to form a greater Mysore state on November 1, 1956. However, the Kannadigas from outside the Mysore region were not comfortable with the name Mysore State and wanted it to be renamed Karnataka as it was known as Carnatic or Karnata during ancient times to the medieval age. It was eventually renamed  Karnataka in 1973.

In 1969, Tamil Nadu too was renamed from the colonial Madras States to one that encompassed the state's identity as the "Land of Tamils", to promote the culture and the linguistic practices of Tamil-speaking people.

In January 1950 United Provinces was renamed as Uttar Pradesh. The British combined Agra and Oudh into one province and called it the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. The name was shortened to the United Provinces in 1935. After independence, the state’s name was changed to shed the colonial hangover.

In terms of states, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed two resolutions proposing that the state be renamed “Bangla,” but the proposal is still awaiting approval from the Union government.

Following the Centre’s recent approval to rename Kerala as “Keralam,” BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, urging that the national capital, Delhi, be renamed “Indraprastha.” In his letter, Khandelwal contended that the name “Delhi” represents a later phase of history, whereas “Indraprastha” links the city to its ancient civilizational heritage.

Name changes in the last decade

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, numerous cities, towns, and even railway stations have been renamed, moves described as efforts to realign places with their historical identities or to shed more recent names that allegedly reflect sentiments seen as inconsistent with prevailing political beliefs.

One of the most pivotal name changes occurred in 2019, just days before that year’s Kumbh Mela, when the BJP approved the Uttar Pradesh government’s request to rename the 435-year-old city of Allahabad as Prayagraj. The Yogi Adityanath-led state government stated that the name came from the 'Vedas and Hindu epics,' which also called the city 'Prayagraj' in ancient times.

Allahabad is the place of the holy confluence of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna, revered by the Hindus. The city also hosts the Kumbh Mela every 12 years. The city also served as an administrative centre during the Mughal era; even during the colonial era, the city became a prominent centre, with Jawaharlal Nehru maintaining his residence there.

However, the BJP, said that the decision to rename Allahabad was not politically motivated, asserting that Prayagraj is the city’s original name. 

Days before this change, in 2018, the iconic Mughalsarai Junction was renamed Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction by the UP government. The renaming was proposed by CM Yogi to honour Upadhyaya, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

At the inauguration, Home Minister Amit Shah remarked, “Today is a very big day for the Bharatiya Janata Party as Mughalsarai station, where Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay was killed, has today been named after him.”

Faizabad district too was renamed to Ayodhya in 2018, reflecting its association with Lord Rama and aligning with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. “Ayodhya is a symbol of our ‘aan, baan aur shaan’,” Yogi had said, adding that “nobody can do injustice to Ayodhya.” The district wass headquartered at Faizabad city, nearly 7 km from Ayodhya city. 

Yogi was responsible for changing names even before his chief ministership began. As reported by  Indian Express, in Gorakhpur, where he was elected to the Lok Sabha five times, he spearheaded efforts that resulted in renaming Mian Bazar to Maya Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar to Hindi Bazaar, and Humayunpur to Hanuman Nagar.

In June 2025, the Agra Zila Panchayat proposed renaming Fatehabad as Sindoorpuram and the town’s Badshahi Bagh area as Brahma Bagh. Zila Panchayat chairperson Manju Bhadoria stated that the new names were chosen to commemorate the success of Operation Sindoor. She also noted that before 1658, Fatehabad was known as Samugarh. “Aurangzeb changed the name to Fatehabad after he won in the battle. In Samugarh, Aurangzeb also built Badshahi Bagh,” she said, as reported by  Indian Express.

Renaming in other states

Beyond Uttar Pradesh, the Madhya Pradesh government in February 2021 renamed Hoshangabad to Narmadapuram, after the Narmada River, in a move that was seen as removing the Mughal-era reference to Hoshang Shah, the former Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate.

In 2018, the Centre approved renaming Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to Chhatrapati Shivaji ‘Maharaj’ International Airport. The demand to include the honorific was initially made in 2016 by Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, a descendant of the Maratha warrior king, who was part of the BJP then.

In the same year, the Union Cabinet approved the renaming of the Agartala Airport in Tripura as ‘Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore Airport, Agartala, to honour the last ruling king of the princely state of Tripura.

In September 2022, the Central government renamed Rajpath in Delhi as Kartavya Path, symbolising a shift from colonial legacy to the emphasis on citizens’ duties (kartavya). In January 2023, Mughal Gardens was renamed Amrit Udyan as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

Later in 2023, ahead of the assembly elections, the Maharashtra government renamed Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in honour of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the eldest son of the Maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji. The change fulfilled long-standing demands by the Shiv Sena and BJP to remove the reference to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Reportedly, Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray was the first to propose renaming in 1988.

In the same year, the Fadnavis government also renamed Osmanabad to Dharashiv, highlighting the region’s ancient caves from the 5th-7th century. Osmanabad was named after Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last ruler of Hyderabad

In 2025, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the renaming of 18 places across Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. According to the state government, five places in Haridwar district were renamed: Aurangzebpur in Bhagwanpur block is now Shivaji Nagar; Ghaziwali in Bahadrabad block is Arya Nagar; Chandpur in the same block is Jyotiba Phule Nagar; Mohammedpur Jaat and Khanpur Kursali in Narsan block have been renamed Mohanpur Jaat and Ambedkar Nagar respectively. In Khanpur block, Idirispur and Khanpur are now Nandpur and Shree Krishnapur, while Akbarpur Fazalpur in Roorkee has been renamed Vijay Nagar.

In the state capital, Dehradun, Miyanwala is now Ramjiwala, Peerwala has become Kesri Nagar, Chandpur Khurd is Prithviraj Nagar, and Abdulpur will be called Daksh Nagar.

In Nainital, Nawabi Road has been renamed Atal Marg, and the Panchakki–IIT Road stretch is now Guru Golwalkar Marg. In Udham Singh Nagar, Sultanpur Patti Nagar Panchayat has been renamed Kaushalyapuri.