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Famous Indian city names that were changed after the British Administration, and some others that are still awaiting a change. These name changes are based on reclaming from the original historical name.

City (Current Name)Previous (British) NameYear of ChangeReason for Change
MumbaiBombay1995Reclaiming original Marathi name and removing colonial association
ChennaiMadras1996Restoring Tamil name used historically
KolkataCalcutta2001Reclaiming Bengali name and moving away from colonial pronunciation
ThiruvananthapuramTrivandrum1991Correcting anglicized spelling to reflect Malayalam pronunciation
PunePoona1978Resuming original Marathi name
AhmedabadAhmadabad1960Correcting spelling to reflect pronunciation in Gujarati
AllahabadPrayagraj2017Reclaiming historical name associated with Hindu pilgrimage site
VisakhapatnamWaltair1972Restoring Telugu name after original British settlement name
KanpurCawnpore1948Correcting anglicized spelling to reflect Hindi pronunciation
BangaloreBengaluru2020Restoring Kannada name used historically and reflecting local pronunciation
JabalpurJubbulpore1947Correcting anglicized spelling to reflect Hindi pronunciation
Historical City Name Vs. British Adminstration Names

Cities Pending Name Change:

  • Mangalore: Proposed change to Mangaluru to reflect Kannada pronunciation.
  • Coimbatore: Proposed change to Koyamuthur to reflect Tamil name used historically.
  • Ujjain: Proposed change to Avanti to reclaim older name associated with historical kingdom.
  • Darjeeling: Proposed change to Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council after demand from Gorkha community.
  • Lucknow: Proposed change to Lakhnau to reflect Awadhi pronunciation.

 These are the information about both confirmed and proposed changes to Indian historical city names. If you have anything to add, feel free to comment.