‘Bengaluru’ may have to wait

DEBATE CONTINUES
‘Bengaluru’ may have to wait
Deccan Herald

A rose is a rose by any other name. That has been so since the bard’s days, or so we thought. But, in the days of global brands, can Bangalore be Bangalore by any other name -- even if it is as Kannada-flavoured as Bengaluru?

For the issue to be debated by the public and the new name to be decreed officially so, needs a while.

But November 1, 2006, is almost here. For all purposes then, the City will usher in Suvarna Karnataka by being what it has all along been -- good Bangalore, that is.


The high-power committee on Suvarna Karnataka celebrations headed by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has held only “informal discussions” on the change of name, reliable sources said.

It was noted that the rechristening -- if it does happen -- can happen anytime during the year-long celebrations and it need not necessarily be on this November 1 itself.

More in for it

Not just Bangalore, the names of other Cities and towns like Shimoga, Hubli and Mangalore too may be changed, it was noted.

Sources in both the Urban Development Department and the Suvarna Karnataka cell of the Department of Kannada and Culture maintained that they had received no communication on ‘Bengaluru’ from higher-ups in the government. Sources in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike said the BMP council’s resolution (passed early this week) favouring the change to Bengaluru is yet to be sent to the Government.

State-level officials say the matter needs to be ‘assessed’ by the chief minister and the State Cabinet before a gazette notification is issued. Further, such a notification becomes official depending on the responses received during the 30-day notice period calling for objections, if any.

The suggestion for renaming Bangalore on the occasion of Suvarna Karnataka had been made by Jnanapeeth awardee U R Ananthamurthy when the Congress-JD(S) government headed by Dharam Singh was in power.