This article is written by Yash Sharma, a law student at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Indraprastha University, New Delhi. This article attempts to present the procedure of changing the name of a state or a city in India.

Introduction

In the Republic of India, all the State mechanisms work in a constitutional manner. The renaming of cities in India started after independence in 1947. After the end of the British Governance Period in 1947, changes in the names of cities started taking place. Some changes that were proposed were of controversial nature. All such changes were required to be approved by the Central Government in New Delhi as per the standard procedure.

The Constitution of India has laid a legal framework and procedure which should be followed by all the institutions while performing their roles. The procedure followed for changing the name of a state is also mentioned in the Constitution. In India, we have a union of multiple states and union territories. From time to time there have been demands from states for changing the name of the state or some city of the state. In a country like India where we have a lot of diversity, it is essential to protect the cultural identity that is divided into states into linguistic lines. Like erstwhile United Province was changed to Uttar Pradesh, the name of a city or state gives a glimpse of the ethnic and cultural identity of the community living in that state.

In this article, the procedure followed for changing the name of a state or a city in a state will be discussed. Like any other state function renaming of a state or city is also mentioned in the Constitution. Although, the procedure followed to change the name of a city is slightly different from that of a state. All the agencies that play a role in that procedure are also stated in this article.

Procedure to change the name of a state

The Parliament has the power to change the name of a state. The Constitution of India gives the parliament power to alter the name of a state under Article 3. Article 3 of the Constitution explicitly lays down a procedure to alter the area, boundaries, or name of a state. The procedure to be followed for changing the name of a state is:

1. The Parliament or State Legislative Assembly may present a bill for such alterations. In Parliament, the bill can not be presented without a recommendation from the President.
2. States which are going to get affected by such changes, the legislation of that state must be presented with the bill. The State Legislature may present its views on the bill within the prescribed time period. The views or suggestions of the State Legislature are not enforceable against the President or The Parliament.
3. Although it may seem the step of no value, it is essential to maintain the spirit of federalism. It is necessary to consult the state as it will be affecting it.
4. After receiving the suggestions of the State Legislative Assembly or after the expiration of the limited time period the bill goes back to the Parliament. Then the bill gets further deliberated upon in the Parliament.
5. The bill like any ordinary bill must be passed with a simple majority of 50%+1 vote.
6. The bill is next sent for ratification to the President.
7. After the approval is given by the President. He shall sign the bill and the bill will become an Act. The Act will be enforced and the name of the state will be changed for good.

[Note- In this procedure, the term ‘state’ is inclusive of states and union territories.]

Procedure to change the name of a city or place in a state

The procedure of renaming a city is similar to that of a state. There is no constitutional provision which talks about changing the name of a city or any area in a state. The power to change the name is given to the State Legislation. The procedure is as follows:

1. A resolution is proposed by any Member of Legislative Assembly as a request to change the name of a particular city or place in the state.
2. A discussion takes place on the resolution. In the discussion, the reasons for and possible consequences of altering the name is discussed.
3. Formal voting on the enforcement of the resolution. For the passing of the resolution, a simple majority is required. Once the majority is achieved in the favour, the resolution is considered passed.
4. The resolution as a proposal is submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry considered the proposal and consulted with other state agencies. The agencies from whom the approval is required are the Ministry of Railways, Intelligence Bureau, Department of Posts, Survey of India, and Registrar General of India. A ‘No Objection’ certificate is issued by the Ministry if the proposal is approved by the ministry and all the agencies.
5. After getting approval from the ministry, the State Government can issue an official notification in the Gazette. The notification must include the details of the changes made in the name of the state or city or any other place.

1953 Guidelines regarding name alteration

The guidelines are basically a reframed draft of a letter sent by Sardar Fateh Singh, the then Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The letter was sent by him to all the State Governments. In response to that letter, all the State Governments were expected to send a proposal for changes in the names of the places in their states. The letter was inclusive of a detailed process for changing the name of the place in a state. The letter also included broad criteria under which only the proposal for changing the name of a state can be raised in a State Legislative Assembly. It was made clear in the letter that all such changes shall be approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

It was mentioned in the beginning that it is not desirable to change the name of the place that is a city, town, railway station, road, etc unless there are irresistible reasons for it. The guidelines were modified in 2005 to add an exception to it.

Principles following which changes in the names is allowed

In the letter, 5 broad principles are mentioned which the State Government should remember while making any changes. Those 5 principles are:

1. No change is desirable unless there is a compelling reason for it, people get used to earlier names and do not appreciate any changes. The names of a place may also be of importance for the people of that place or area and changing it might not be welcomed by the people.
2. Any name of a place that is historically important or shares a connection with the history of that place should be avoided from changing.
3. Change in the name of a place just to show patriotism or for linguistic reasons should be avoided. An exception to that could be made if the name of a martyr could be added to the existing name of that place and the role of the martyr has a general recognition in national life.
4. To avoid confusion it should be kept in mind that any neighbouring place must not share the same name.
5. A detailed reason should be given by the State Government for changing the name of a place.

In the same letter, the need for restoring the names of ancient places of significant value in history has been desired. The letter says ‘When an ancient place has fallen into decay and with that, the old place name has also disappeared, the ancient name should be restored. To cite an instance, the village now called Gandhawal in the old Dowas state near Ujjain has been built on the ruins of an ancient town populous and flourishing in the times of Vikramaditya, and mentioned in the ancient scriptures and other books as Gandharvapuri. The present name is a corruption of Gandharvapuri. The government of Madhya Pradesh many consider restoring the ancient name.’

Lastly, the procedure laid in the letter has to be followed for change in name of any place including, villages, district, railway station, post office, etc. For the purpose of changing the name, in case of a road, the local municipal body is authorized to do it. If the change in name is of a state, it would require state legislation and approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Latest changes in names of cities

Recently, there have been many cases of changes in the names of cities of significant importance. One of these cases was when the name of Allahabad was changed to Prayagraj and the name of Gurgaon became Gurugram. Other important changes include the change of name of Bangalore to Bengaluru, Bombay to Mumbai, Calcutta to Kolkata, and Madras to Chennai. The reasoning provided for changes in some of these cities are as follows:

Gurgaon to Gurugram

In 2016, the name of the corporate hub of Haryana, Gurgaon was changed to Gurugram. There was a legend that the name ‘Gurgaon’ was derived from the Guru Dronacharya. He was the teacher of Pandavas and Kauravas in Mahabharat and this village was given to him as ‘Gurudakshina’.

Allahabad to Prayagraj

In 2018, the name of the city in the State of Uttar Pradesh named ‘Allahabad’ was changed to ‘Prayagraj’ by the State government of Yogi Adityanath. The name Prayagraj means the place of ‘Sangam’ meaning where the rivers meet. It has historically also been called ‘Triveni Sangam’ or ‘Sangam Nagar’ because at this place three Hindu holy rivers meet namely Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati. At the same time, a political reason behind this step also could not be ignored.

Bangalore to Bengaluru

There is a historical significance for this name of this city of Karnataka too. Before the invasion of technology in this city, in 890 CE a war was fought here. A part of Ganga Kingdom when the war was fought, it was named ‘Bengavaluru’ meaning ‘City of Guards’ in old Kannada language. In recognition of the historical significance of the name, it was changed in 2006.

Bombay to Mumbai

Before the Britishers ruled over Mumbai, it was called ‘Bombaim’ under Portuguese control in 1666. During the British rule, the city was made the Capital of the Country and was named ‘Bombay’. The name of the finance capital of India after independence was changed to ‘Mumbai’ in 1966. The name was derived from a mythological legend. The name is derived from a mythological entity named ‘Mumba’ or ‘Maha Amba’, she was the patron goddess.

Conclusion

In India, we have a union of states integrated to make the machinery complete and fully functioning. All the states are divided based on linguistic lines to preserve the identity of those living in that state. So, when the land and people are so deeply connected, small details like the name of the state or any place in it also affects that person. That is why a constitutionally valid procedure was laid down. The process of changing the name of a state or a place in a state is an exhaustive process. It includes a lot of steps and regulations that are needed to be followed.

The power to alter the names of the State is with the Parliament but State Legislations can initiate the process. But in the case of cities, it can be only initiated by state legislative assemblies following some principles laid in 1953. As per the shared by the Government in 2017, more than 50 proposals have been made by states to change the name of someplace in their territory among which around 40 have been passed by the Government. The reason for changing the names of the places is important for people to accept the change. Not doing so can cause panic among people as they may no longer relate to the new name and may feel lost.

References

• https://www.iasparliament.com/current-affairs/renaming-of-allahabad
• https://factly.in/is-there-a-process-or-policy-in-place-for-renaming-cities-or-places/
• https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/explained-renaming-of-states/#:~:text= A%20 bill%20for%20renaming%20a,views%20within%20a%20stipulated%20time.
• https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/gurgaon-new-name-gurugram-indian-cities-renamed/

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