When did Bombay change its name to Mumbai

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A. The Indian Government in the state of Maharashtra changed the name of Bombay to Mumbai in 1995.

Q. Why the name change

A. Officially the name change was made on anti-colonialist grounds - as many traditional Indian names had been changed or anglicised during British occupation and rule in India. Since independence in 1947, successive governments have attempted to change the names of the major cities back to their original ones - but because it was an administrative nightmare to do it, it has taken a long time.

Q. So was Mumbai Bombay's original name before British rule

A. There is some controversy surrounding the source of the name Mumbai - and it may not in fact have been its original name. The word Bombay is not actually an anglicised version of Mumbai - it is an anglicised version of Bom Bahia which means "good harbour" and refers to the name of the Portuguese colony that was located in the area that became known as Bombay. This colony was given as a present to Charles II as part of his dowry when he married the Portuguese princess Catherine de Braganza in 1661.

It is believed that Mumbai was the original name of a settlement near the area. Mumbai is also a derivation of Mumbadevi (also known as Mumabai) the Indian goddess, worshipped in particular by the Kolis, traditionally from this area in India.

Q. Have any other Indian city names been changed

A. Yes, the major cities of Madras and Calcutta have changed their names to Chennai and Kolkata respectively.

Q. How were their new names chosen

A. Madras changed its name to Chennai in August 1996 - but it was known as Chennai by the local Tamils for as long as it was known as Madras. It is believed that the name Madras dates back to the 1640s when it became the first British settlement in India (before that it was occupied by the Portuguese as much of India was). In 1639 the Raja of Chandragiri gave the British East India Company permission to build a fort near the town of Madraspatnam a town and later a city grew out of this site and it became part of a neighbouring town Chennapatnam. Madraspatnam was soon shortened by the British to Madras and Chennapatnam to Chennai - the British kept the name Madras as its official name, but the Tamils always called it Chennai.

Calcutta changed its name to Kolkata on 23 December, 2000 - the new name reflects the Bengali pronunciation of the city, rather than the anglicised Calcutta.

Q. How large are the populations in each of these cities

A. In the last census (1991) population figures stood at: Mumbai (known as Bombay at the time): 12.6 million; Chennai (known as Madras at the time) 5.4 million; and Kolkata (known as Calcutta at the time) 11 million.

Q. Have any other city name changes taken place

A. None have been officially changed but the examples of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata have caused a stir in the country with many petitioning for further name changes. It is believed that New Delhi may be the next to change - although it has not been agreed whether it will change to Dilli to match its Hindi pronunciation or Indraprastha the name of an ancient town on the site of New Delhi.

Q. Have the name changes caused any confusion with the national community

A. It has some confusion, and as result the Indian Government declared in February 1997 that both old and new names (for Mumbai and Chennai as their names were the only ones changed at the time) would be acceptable officially.

If you would like to know more about city name changes in India - or about the Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, check out these websites: http://forumhub.com/tnhistory/11957.04.32.49.html, http://www.mumbainet.com/renaming.htm, www.chennaionline.com, and http://www.mumbai123.com

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By Karen Anderson