Rather than focussing all its time and energy on changing place names (“Our millennial city, Gurugram, April 14), the government should instead concentrate on bettering roads, sanitation, general cleanliness, electricity, water supply and law and order. This list is common to almost every region in India.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad, Haryana
Chennai is not named after a “Telugu-speaking prince”, as the writer, Manu Pillai, claims. Chenappa Naicker (or Naidu) was of Telugu origin and the father of Damarla Venkatappa Naicker (of Damal village, Kanchipuram), agent of the Raja of Chandragiri, who owned the land on which Fort St. George, that was leased to the British, now stands. Venkatappa managed to insert a clause in the deed saying that the leased land would be named after his father, a promise the British chose to forget. The same lease deed mentions that the land is south of the village of Madrasapattinam, the original name of North Madras. We grew up calling the city either Madras or Pattinam. Madras is older than Chennai. Chenappa never visited the city. The DMK changed the name without consulting anybody. It was a political move and the same media that attacks the BJP for changing Gurgaon to Gurugram praised the DMK then. Maybe the fact that it was the name used by local fishermen — Sembadavas — made it unattractive. But it is still Madras to me and other historians of the city.
Mumba-aayi (mother Mumba) or Mumba devi was the village goddess of one of the islands that made up Bombay. The Portuguese named the city Bom-bay or good bay, and it had nothing to do with the goddess. A Congress government chose to change the name to Mumbai. Once again, the media praised the move and created the myth that Mumbai was the original name. Nobody criticises the Congress. Why the double standards?
Nanditha Krishna,
Chennai
In the past, we have had Madras, Calcutta, Bangalore, Bombay, Mysore and a host of other Indian cities being renamed, ostensibly respecting popular sentiments. However, has changing a city’s or town’s name ever made any useful difference to anything? All that money could have been spent on improving the local infrastructure. Gurgaon for instance, is in quite a shambles once you step outside the swanky, multi-storey office buildings.
Terence D’Souza,
Chennai
It is distressing to read about the Haryana government’s decision. Changing names of places and roads is the greatest perfidy a government can commit as it effectively severs the connection of these towns, places and roads with history. One must respect the decision made to name the place in the first place. Why change things now and what purpose does it serve?
Salahuddin Mirza,
Karachi, Pakistan
