By – Leichombam Kullajit
Yes, I agree our roots form a big part of our identity. But does changing name bring in more fortunes, a glorious history, culture and identity? Opinion will be varied for sure. However, one thing is certain that changing name or city has become a fashion in India lately, whether you like it or not. Most recently was the change of the famous Allahabad city to Prayagraj by Uttar Pradesh government. In Haryana Gurgaon to Gurugram, in Karnataka Bangalore to Bengaluru, in Maharashtra Bombay to Mumbai, in West Bengal Calcutta to Kolkata, in Tamil Nadu Madras to Chennai, in Kerala Cochin to Kochi, Pondicherry to Puducherry, in Andhra Pradesh Waltair to Vishakhapatnam, in Assam Gauhati to Guwahati, in Uttar Pradesh Benaras to Varanasi, in Maharashtra Poona to Pune, in Gujarat Baroda to Vadodara, in Karanataka Mysore to Mysuru and many more. And now there are calls for renaming cities like Shimla to Shyamala in Himachal Pradesh, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune in Maharashtra. Jumping one step ahead, West Bengal government took a decision three times to change the name of the state into three names (yes you read it right – three names): Bangla in Bengali, Bangal in Hindi and Bengal in English. Unfortunately, the central government has rejected all the decisions of the state cabinet so far.
Now, coming into our own homestead, Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh announced last week in a social media [Facebook] platform that it would rename the Imphal International Airport to Bir Tikendrajit International airport. (I think the post has been pulled down as I couldn’t get while scanning his page). I truly had a mixed feeling immediately while reading the post and tried to reason myself – why suddenly or was there any historical compulsion or demand or just random judgment by himself after two to three pegs in the dead of night or by the Cabinet. Or maybe not.
There are many compelling and undeniable grounds for changing names for sure. One simple instance: Chief minister of Karnataka, Yediyurappa had changed his name from Yeddyurappa, hours before he took oath as the CM of the state last month. Reason: it brings fortunes for him ?. Truly, he became chief minister of Karnataka for a third time, although the constitution of the party didn’t allow him to become as he was above 75 years of age. Few cities were renamed as they were coined by colonial master and a small number was changed as they had Islamic names.
From economic point of view, globally or in some countries, people change or retain the city’s name to bring in more investment and to highlight their rich culture. Example: we call it Rome in Italy although locals call it Roma, Germany for outsider, they call it Deutschland. Or shall we call Bir Tikendrajit for outsider and Imphal for us? The choice is yours. But there is one pretty sure that Imphal International airport is one of the dirtiest airports I have ever come across so far.
