When newspapers last week reported that the name of the capital city of Karnataka was going to be changed officially from Bangalore to Bengaluru, the announcement took many residents by surprise. Hadn't the name already been changed half a decade ago? Station and highway signs already read "Bengaluru". The football club is Bengaluru FC, Lonely Planet tells travelers how to spend their time in Bengaluru, and every year more than 10,000 people run the Bengaluru Marathon.
“I was a little bit surprised because everywhere we have started using Bengaluru instead of Bangalore,” said Revathy Ashok, managing trustee and chief executive of B.PAC, the Bangalore political action committee.
Added Vaasanthi Sundaram, journalist and long-time resident of Bangalore, “It came as a surprise because people have taken it as a given that it is Bengaluru. Even in Tamil journals and papers they write only ‘Bengaluru’ now for the last eight years.”
On the shelf
As it turns out, the proposal to rename Bangalore and 11 other cities in Karnataka has been catching dust for the last eight years. Writer UR Ananthmurthy mooted the Bengaluru idea in 2005 and the Dharam Singh government took up the issue. But all name changes must be approved by the centre. After the Maharashtra government said that changing the name of Belgaum would hurt the interested of Marathi people living there, the United Progressive Alliance government asked that the disputed city be dropped from the list. As a result, the process of renaming all 11 cities was stalled.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has now taken it upon himself to see the job done by November 1, which is celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava, the day of the state’s formation and the Home Ministry seems to be playing ball.
Along with changing Bangalore to Bengaluru, Mysore will be changed to Mysuru, Mangalore to Mangaluru, Bellary to Ballari, Belgaum to Belagavi, Hubli to Hubballi, Tumkur to Tumakuru, Bijapur to Vijapura, Chikmaglur to Chikkamagaluru, Gulnarga to Kalaburagi, Hospet to Hosapete and Shimoga to Shivamogga.
By adding an "u" here and an "aa" there, Karnataka will be going back to the traditional Kannada names of a dozen cities, what some political historians see as a process of decolonization and reclaiming history. In Promise of the Metropolis, a book on the history of Bangalore, author Janaki Nair says that "Bengaluru" is the old city that was built up by Kempegowda in the 16th century. "Bangalore", on the other hand, is the cantonment that came into being under the British Raj. Today, a person speaking in English will call the city "Bangalore" and easily switch to calling it "Bengaluru" when he speaks in Kannada.
There isn’t much difference between the two versions of the name, which is why some Bangaloreans worry that a huge amount of money may be spent on a cosmetic nema change exercise. “I don’t have an issue whether they change the name or do not change the name," said Ashok of B.PAC. "If culture is so important to us then we couldn’t we spend the money preserving Hampi or doing something better for Freedom Park?”
Biocon head Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who is also a B.PAC member questioned the move on Twitter.
Shaw’s comments got come angry reactions on Twitter and she was accused of caring more about business than the feelings of Kannadigas.
“This should not be viewed as a Kannada versus non-Kannada issue,” Ashok said, who feels a more urgent need is to conserve the city's creaking heritage structures. “Let us spend on real art and culture.” B.PAC is currently campaigning against the proposed demolition of the iconic Balabrooie government guesthouse.
Sundaram, who grew up in Bangalore and lives in the city, doesn’t expect the name change to create much fuss this time around. After all, people accepted the change between two words that sound as different as "Madras" and "Chennai", she points out.
“There isn’t much difference between the two words ‘Bangalore’ and ‘Bengaluru’ and as always, I suppose, English-educated people will call it Bangalore and the others will call it Bengaluru,” she said.
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“I was a little bit surprised because everywhere we have started using Bengaluru instead of Bangalore,” said Revathy Ashok, managing trustee and chief executive of B.PAC, the Bangalore political action committee.
Added Vaasanthi Sundaram, journalist and long-time resident of Bangalore, “It came as a surprise because people have taken it as a given that it is Bengaluru. Even in Tamil journals and papers they write only ‘Bengaluru’ now for the last eight years.”
On the shelf
As it turns out, the proposal to rename Bangalore and 11 other cities in Karnataka has been catching dust for the last eight years. Writer UR Ananthmurthy mooted the Bengaluru idea in 2005 and the Dharam Singh government took up the issue. But all name changes must be approved by the centre. After the Maharashtra government said that changing the name of Belgaum would hurt the interested of Marathi people living there, the United Progressive Alliance government asked that the disputed city be dropped from the list. As a result, the process of renaming all 11 cities was stalled.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has now taken it upon himself to see the job done by November 1, which is celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava, the day of the state’s formation and the Home Ministry seems to be playing ball.
Along with changing Bangalore to Bengaluru, Mysore will be changed to Mysuru, Mangalore to Mangaluru, Bellary to Ballari, Belgaum to Belagavi, Hubli to Hubballi, Tumkur to Tumakuru, Bijapur to Vijapura, Chikmaglur to Chikkamagaluru, Gulnarga to Kalaburagi, Hospet to Hosapete and Shimoga to Shivamogga.
By adding an "u" here and an "aa" there, Karnataka will be going back to the traditional Kannada names of a dozen cities, what some political historians see as a process of decolonization and reclaiming history. In Promise of the Metropolis, a book on the history of Bangalore, author Janaki Nair says that "Bengaluru" is the old city that was built up by Kempegowda in the 16th century. "Bangalore", on the other hand, is the cantonment that came into being under the British Raj. Today, a person speaking in English will call the city "Bangalore" and easily switch to calling it "Bengaluru" when he speaks in Kannada.
There isn’t much difference between the two versions of the name, which is why some Bangaloreans worry that a huge amount of money may be spent on a cosmetic nema change exercise. “I don’t have an issue whether they change the name or do not change the name," said Ashok of B.PAC. "If culture is so important to us then we couldn’t we spend the money preserving Hampi or doing something better for Freedom Park?”
Biocon head Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who is also a B.PAC member questioned the move on Twitter.
Bengaluru needs investment in infrastructure not name change. Can Govt please share total cost in name change of Belgaum n Bangalore?
— Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (@kiranshaw) October 18, 2014Politicians should understand that name change won't add votes only development will do that. Old ways don't work any more
— Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (@kiranshaw) October 18, 2014Shaw’s comments got come angry reactions on Twitter and she was accused of caring more about business than the feelings of Kannadigas.
“This should not be viewed as a Kannada versus non-Kannada issue,” Ashok said, who feels a more urgent need is to conserve the city's creaking heritage structures. “Let us spend on real art and culture.” B.PAC is currently campaigning against the proposed demolition of the iconic Balabrooie government guesthouse.
Sundaram, who grew up in Bangalore and lives in the city, doesn’t expect the name change to create much fuss this time around. After all, people accepted the change between two words that sound as different as "Madras" and "Chennai", she points out.
“There isn’t much difference between the two words ‘Bangalore’ and ‘Bengaluru’ and as always, I suppose, English-educated people will call it Bangalore and the others will call it Bengaluru,” she said.