Bangalore due for name change

India’s technology hub, Bangalore, is the latest city to undergo a name change after Bombay and Calcutta.

The top elected official of southern Karnataka state is expected to formally begin the process to re-christen Bangalore Bengaluru, a name considered by nationalists in the southern Indian state to be closer to the city’s pre-colonial name, Benda Kaluru.

Bangalore has emerged in recent years as the centre of India’s booming software industry, with most top US technology companies having offices there.

But reaction to the state government’s move was hardly flattering.

“It’s murky politics. There was no public pressure on the state government to change Bangalore’s name,” said Sharath Babu, a Bangalore-based environmentalist.

The decision to change the name was taken last December by state authorities in response to a demand from regional nationalists, including Kannada writers who want to promote the southern Indian region’s native tongue, Kannada.

However, Dharam Singh, the then top state elected official, did not pursue it as his Congress party lost power in the state legislature elections.