So it's that easy? A city of 6.5 million people can be renamed just because one litterateur felt like it would be the right thing to do and a myopic chief minister was only too happy to give his blessings? Firstly, the whole exercise seems pointless. Bengalooru is simply Kannada for Bangalore just as Dilli is Hindi for Delhi. In Chennai's case, Tamilians had always been referring to the city as Chennai even as the rest of the country called it Madras. But in Bangalore's case, it is just the same name pronounced differently. So if the state government's policies are to be consistent, they will have to rename Mangalore as Mangalooru, Mysore as Mysooru and Chickmaglur as Chickmaglooru. This will most certainly involve various costs in terms of both time and money.....costs that the indebted state government can do without! Moreover, there is an implicit message that is being sent out to all the talented people from all across India and the world moving into Bangalore when the local appelation becomes the city's official name. A message that says that the Garden City is not as welcoming as it once was.
If names of places can be changed simply according to certain politicians' whims sans any referendum, I shudder to think of all the possibilities open to Sonia, Laloo or Advani followers to impress their 'leaders'....all MPs and MLAs have to do to ensure themselves a lucrative portfolio the next time is to name their constituency after their party president or the latter's kin (eg. Rabrinagar, Rahulpura !!!!).
One attenuating factor is that, looking around us, we know that the change in name is not going to matter significantly; Bangalore will remain the liberal pluricultural city that it has always been. We only have to ensure that the wrong signals that are attempted to be conveyed from the name change do not really reach the intended targets.
