Reasons Why Calcutta Was Renamed As Kolkata
This capital of West Bengal was not always known as Kolkata. Before 2001 the city was officially called Calcutta. This was the English version of its name. The process of changing its name did not happen overnight. Let us look at the political and cultural context behind the renaming of the city which is one of the largest metropolitan cities in India.
Calcutta, once the capital of British India, has been one of the important commercial centers of India since India's independence. If we talk about its renaming, then there are many reasons for changing its name from Calcutta to Kolkata. Firstly, the city has always been declared as Kolkata by Bengalis. It was also felt that the English version was simply outdated and irrelevant, as the country has been free from the British colonial rule for more than seven decades.
There are many popular theories regarding the origin of this city. This renaming is also an allusion to the origin of the city. According to one of the theories, Kolkata is said to bear a resemblance to the word 'Kalikata', which was basically the name of one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata. The name of that village and present day Kolkata is derived from the Bengali word 'Kilkila' which means flat area. The second theory holds that the name has its roots in 'Koli Chun', which is Bengali for 'quicklime' and 'kata', meaning coir, two products produced in the area.
But apart from all these, it is also important to know that the renaming of Calcutta is not an isolated incident in India. There are many other cities which have gone through the phenomenon of name change. Many cities have been renamed over the years in an attempt to move away from their colonial identity and reclaim the importance of the their original names. For example, Madras became Chennai, Bangalore became Bengaluru, Bombay became Mumbai, Pondicherry became Puducherry and Cochin became Kochi.
However, it is not that the renaming of cities has gone uncontested. It has also faced opposition from many eminent personalities. But comparatively, the name change of Kolkata did not face much resistance. However, on the other hand there are also some institutions that retain their British colonial era names, for example Calcutta University, Calcutta High Court, etc.