West Bengal to be renamed 'Bangla'? MHA receives proposal from Mamata Banerjee govt

New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday said that it has received a proposal from the Government of West Bengal for renaming the State "Bangla", the Minister of State in MHA Nityanand Rai informed the Parliament.

"A proposal has been received from the Government of West Bengal for renaming the State as Bangla in all three languages ie. Bengali, English and Hindi," the minister informed the Parliament. Rai in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that MHA has given a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the proposals received during the last five years for changing the name of cities across the country.

All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MP Saida Ahmad had asked about the details and the number of proposals received by the Ministry of Home Affairs for getting approval for the change of names of cities across the country, and whether the Government has revamped the guidelines for changing the names of heritage places.

Rai replied that the MHA has no such guidelines for the change of names of heritage places. In 2017, Andhra Pradesh`s Rajahmundry`s name was changed to Rajamahendravaram. In 2018, Jharkhand`s Nagar Untari`s name was changed to Shri Banshidhar Nagar. 

During the same year, the Madhya Pradesh Nagar Panchayat town Birshingpur Pali became Maa Birasini Dham. In the same year, Uttar Pradesh`s Allahabad`s was renamed Prayagraj.

In 2021, Madhya Pradesh`s Hoshangabad Nagar`s name was changed to Narmadapuram and Babai city`s name was changed to Makhan Nagar.

In 2022, Punjab`s city Shri Hargobindpur was renamed Shri Hargobindpur Sahib. Rai further informed that a proposal for changing the name of Nasrullaganj Nagar to Bhairoonda has been received by the MHA on April 25, 2022, from the Government of Madhya Pradesh.