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The recent announcement by the Indian government to rename Port Blair to Shri Vijayapuram, citing the removal of symbols of slavery, highlights a recurring theme in post-independence India: the changing of place names. This act of renaming is not merely a symbolic gesture; it reflects a deeper struggle between India's colonial past and its desire to forge a distinct national identity. While the renaming of Port Blair has sparked debate, it is essential to understand the broader context of name changes in India and their significance.
Since gaining independence from British rule, India has witnessed numerous name changes, each driven by various motivations. Some changes were driven by the desire to revert to pre-colonial spellings, such as Calcutta becoming Kolkata and Orissa becoming Odisha. These changes aimed to reclaim the original pronunciation and spelling of these places in their respective languages. Other changes were motivated by a desire to remove colonial vestiges or replace names with those of Hindu origin, such as Allahabad becoming Praygraj and Osmanabad becoming Dharashiv. This trend reflects a conscious effort to erase the remnants of colonial rule and emphasize Hindu cultural heritage.
Further, some name changes sought to anglicize names that were considered overly Anglicized, such as Trivandrum becoming Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin becoming Kochi. These changes sought to restore a sense of cultural authenticity and reclaim the original form of the place names. The process of name change is a complex one, requiring approval from the Government of India and often facing legal challenges. It reflects the ongoing struggle to redefine India's identity and its relationship with its colonial past. The renaming of places, therefore, becomes a powerful symbol of this struggle, a battle between the past and the present, the colonial and the indigenous, the English and the Indian.
Source: Port Blair to Calcutta: Indian cities renamed after independence