Indian Cities That Dumped Their English Names

Bangalore: After India got independence from the British rule in 1947, some of the major Indian cities have undergone place name changes as their states underwent a new reformation. These city names were changed in order to make those names replicate the linguistic systems in the various areas. According to Amanda Briny of About.com listed below are the brief histories of some of India's most famous city name changes.

1. Bombay / Mumbai: Located in the Indian State of Maharashtra, Mumbai initially known as Bombay is one of the world’s ten largest cities. This world class city’s name originated in 1600s during the Portuguese rule.  The Portuguese started calling the place ‘Bombaim’ meaning ‘good bay’. From Bombaim its name became Bombay (an anglicized version of Bombaim) when the British took control of the colony in 1661, as this Portuguese colony was given to King Charles II of England after he got married to the Portuguese princess Catherine de Braganza. Until 1996 the city was known as Bombay when the Indian government changed it to Mumbai. In 1996 the change to the name of Mumbai was an attempt to use the previous Hindi names for a city that was once prohibited by the British rule.