Renaming of cities in India

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, Jajmau and Kanpur in 1947–48. 'United Provinces' was renamed to Uttar Pradesh in 1950.

A major development occurred when the Government of India brought the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of India and the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. 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) was officially renamed Chennai in 1996. The name of Calcutta, which was amongst the first cities to be settled by the British, was changed to Kolkata (reflecting the local Bengali pronunciation) in 2001.

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 (Malayalam: കൊയിലാണ്ടി), Cannanore versus Kannur (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.

In the post-colonial era, several Indian states' names were changed. Some of these changes coincided with the States Reorganisation Act 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 Kerala (Malayalam: കേരളം). Later state name changes include the reorganization of Madhya Bharat into Madhya Pradesh (Hindi: मध्य प्रदेश) in 1959; and the renaming of the Madras State to Tamil Nadu (Tamil: தமிழ்நாடு) in 1969, of the Mysore State to Karnataka (Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ) in 1973, and of Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand (Hindi: उत्तराखण्ड) 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 (Hindi: उत्तराञ्चल) to a new local Hindi name (Hindi: उत्तराखण्ड Uttarakhand). Other changes were only changes in some of the indigenous languages. For example, the renaming of the Madras Presidency to Madras State in 1947 and then Tamil Nadu in 1969 required non-Tamil speakers to change from an approximation of the British name (Tamil: மதராஸ் மாகாணம் Madras Presidency, then Madras State Tamil: மதராஸ் மாநிலம்) to a native Tamil name (Tamil: தமிழ்நாடு Tamil Nadu, '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 (Tamil: மதராஸ்) to Chennai (Tamil: சென்னை) 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.

The renaming of cities is often specifically from English to Indian English 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 does not change, but the official spelling in Indian English is amended. An example is the change from English Calcutta to English Kolkata – the local Bengali name (কলকাতা Kôlkata) did not change. Such changes in English spelling may be in order to better reflect a more accurate phonetic transliteration 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 Jabalpur (जबलपुर) 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 level, and may or may not then be adopted by the Indian media, 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 may not have had any specific legislation other than changes in practice on the romanization of indigenous Indian language names.

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 (1990, 2001) to rename Ahmedabad (Hindi: अहमदाबाद) to Karnavati and Allahabad (Hindi: इलाहाबाद) to Prayagraj (Hindi: प्रयागराज), the latter ultimately being officially adopted in 2018. Similarly, the cities of Aurangabad (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, Eknath Shinde, in 2022. These proposals are changes from the Islamic name to a Hindu name.

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.

• Travancore-Cochin → Kerala (Malayalam: കേരളം) (1 November 1956).
• Madhya Bharat → Madhya Pradesh (Hindi: मध्य प्रदेश) (1 November 1959)
• Madras State → Tamil Nadu (Tamil: தமிழ்நாடு) (14 January 1969)
• North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) → Arunachal Pradesh (20 January 1972)
• Mysore State → Karnataka (Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ) (1 November 1973)
• Uttaranchal → Uttarakhand (Hindi: उत्तराखण्ड) (1 January 2007)
• Orissa → Odisha (Odia: ଓଡ଼ିଶା) (4 November 2011)

Notable city names that were officially changed by legislation after independence include:

For others, by state order, see list of renamed Indian cities and states.

Town names that derive from ancient names:

• Mandi (Hindi: मंडी), derived from Mandav Nagar
• Nellore (Telugu: నెల్లూరు), in ancient times Simhapuri

Several other changes have been proposed for states and towns.

• Kerala to Keralam
• West Bengal to Bangla

• Patna to Pataliputra

• Ahmedabad to Karnavati
• Veraval to Somnath

• Shimla to Shyamala

• Aligarh to Harigarh
• Azamgarh to Aryagargh or Ajanmgarh
• Akbarpur to Amarnagar or Maharana Pratap Nagar
• Agra to Agravan or Agastyanagar
• Bahraich to Dharmveer Shri Maharaja Suheldev Nagar
• Bulandshahr to Bajrangbalipur
• Budaun to Vedamau
• Farrukhabad to Panchal Nagar
• Firozabad to Chandra Nagar
• Ghaziabad to Harinandipuram
• Ghazipur to Vishwamitranagar
• Hathras to Mahamaya Nagar
• Jaunpur to Jeevanpur or Jamadagnipuram
• Kanpur to Kanhaiyapur
• Kasganj to Kalyan Singh Nagar
• Lucknow to Lakhanpur or Lakshmanpuri
• Mirzapur to Vindhyachal Dham
• Mainpuri to Mayapuri
• Muzaffarnagar to Laxmi Nagar
• Moradabad to Madhav Nagar
• Robertsganj to Sonbhadra or Gramputra
• Sultanpur to Kushbhawanpur
• Sambhal to Prithviraj Nagar or Kalki Nagar
• Shamli to Shyam Nagari or Prabuddhnagar

• Pune 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.)

2018 developments like the renaming of Allahabad (tracing back to Mughal rule) to Prayagraj (ancient name in Sanskrit) and Faizabad district to Ayodhya district (a holy city of Hinduism) in Uttar Pradesh were subject to some controversy. While the BJP-led State Government argued that it was a restoration of its historical name, it has been seen as an attempt to enforce a 'Hindutva agenda' and contradict India's constitutional status as a secular nation.

• List of renamed places in India
• List of renamed places in Pakistan
• List of renamed places in Bangladesh
• List of renamed places in South Africa
• Sanskritisation