The proposal to rechristen Bangalore as Bengalooru and other cities has been cleared by all the related ministries and is pending before the Union Home Ministry for its final okay. However, the clearance has been delayed as some of the organisations in Maharashtra have objected to the change of name of Belgaum as Belagavi saying it “would hurt the sentiments of Marathis living in the district bordering that state.”
The Karnataka proposal was sent to the Centre in October, 2006 and since then all ministries and agencies concerned – such as Railway, Civil Aviation and Surface Transport ministries as well as Department of Posts, Surveyor General of India (headquartered in Dehradun), Intelligence Bureau – have cleared it.
There is also a bureaucratic hitch to the tangle. The home ministry which has kept the issue pending, is willing to clear it but the problem is that the Karnataka government has clubbed the proposal for change of names for all the 13 cities in one file.
“We cannot clear the file leaving out Belgaum. If we have to okay it, it has to include all the 13 names or else the State government has to send in proposals separately for 13 individual cities. It’s a catch-22 situation both for us and Karnataka government. Number 13 has proved to be bad luck for Karnataka,” sources in the home ministry told Deccan Herald on Monday.
As per procedure, after the home ministry puts its seal of approval, the proposal would be sent to the state government which will have to publish the final notification.
Only after this, the anglicised names of the major cities and districts will be Kannadised.
While it is unlikely that Karnataka government will send a new proposal for individual cities again as it will take time for clearance, there has been no demand from the political parties, Kannada litterateurs or the state administration in this regard.
Apart from Bangalore, the state government has proposed to change the names of Mysore, Mangalore, Hospet, Bellary, Shimoga, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Tumkur, Hubli, Chikmagalur, Bijapur and Kaup to Mysooru, Mangalooru, Hosapete, Ballary, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Kalburgi, Tumakooru, Hubballi, Chikkamagalooru, Vijapura and Kapu, respectively.