Names in India: History, Colonialism, Renaming, Contemporary Issues

Overview & Synopsis

With a population of just over 1.4 billion, India has just become the most populous country in the world, and the seventh largest by land area (3,287,263 sq. km). India has enjoyed a rapid recent rise to prominence on the world stage, both politically and economically. Yet very little is known by “Western” scholars about naming in India, whether naming of people or of places. India is a very diverse land, with many cultures, religions, languages, climates, and geographies. Added to this are India’s colonial past (British, French, Portuguese), various other rulers and influencers over the years (e.g., Mughals), social factors such as the caste system, all leading to very complicated systems of naming, with much regional and ethnic variation. This paper will give an overview of relevant history and colonial influences, before moving on to several phases of post-colonial renaming/respelling of toponyms (e.g., Bombay/Mumbai, Madras/Chennai). I will then turn to personal naming systems, looking at different systems as determined by social class and caste, religion, gender discrimination, and other features such as northern (Indo-European) vs. southern (Dravidian). Throughout, there will be attention to the sociological and sociopolitical contexts of contemporary India, as well as the influence of English and “Western” culture.