Renaming of Places in India: Constitutional and Legal Provisions

Explore the history and reasons behind the renaming of places in India since independence. Understand the motivations, from decolonization to cultural assertion, and the ongoing debates and concerns surrounding these changes.

Table of Contents

Context: The Bihar Government approved a proposal to rename Gaya city as ‘Gaya Jee’ due to its historical and religious significance.

Renaming of Places in India: Constitutional & Legal Provisions

Entry 5, State List – Schedule VII: States have the power to alter the names of places (cities, towns, villages).
Article 3 (for states & UTs): Only Parliament can alter the name, boundaries, or area of a State or Union Territory.
- Does not apply to the renaming of cities/towns — that falls under state jurisdiction.

Approval by the Union Government

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines:

Proposals for renaming must be sent by the State Government.
Final approval comes from the MHA, after consultations with:
- Survey of India
- Department of Posts
- Registrar General of India
- Ministry of Railways

Recent Examples of Renaming

Old Name	New Name	State	Year
Allahabad	Prayagraj	Uttar Pradesh	2018
Faizabad	Ayodhya	Uttar Pradesh	2018
Gurgaon	Gurugram	Haryana	2016
Mughalsarai	Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar	Uttar Pradesh	2018

Renaming of Places in India: Historical Context

The process of renaming places in India is a multifaceted and contentious problem with an extended past, which gained momentum after the independence of country in 1947. The reasons for these changes are multiple and intermixed and represent political ideologies, cultural claims, and historical interpretations.

Post-Independence

Shortly after 1947, numerous changes were made to eliminate colonial names, which were considered symbols of British domination. Some examples are the change from Kingsway to Rajpath (now Kartavya Path) and Queensway to Janpath in Delhi.

Linguistic and Cultural Identity

A major push factor has been to bring place names into local languages and cultural traditions. This entailed replacing anglicized spellings (e.g., from Calcutta to Kolkata, Madras to Chennai, Bombay to Mumbai) and accepting names drawing upon local history or mythology (e.g., Bangalore to Bengaluru, Mysore to Mysuru).

Honoring Nations’ Past

Locations have also been renamed to honour venerated national icons, freedom fighters, or notable regional figures (e.g., Victoria Terminus to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Aurangzeb Road to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Road).

Reassertion of Historical Narratives

Some renamings in recent times seek to reclaim pre-colonial pasts and reverse historical narratives related to certain rulers or eras. Examples include the renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad district to Ayodhya, which have been viewed by some as restoring ancient meaning.