I agree (generally) about the de-Anglicization (hence my reference to Trivandrum, and also mention of "original names"). I was told by my family from Pune that Bombay->Mumbai has an additional component of Shiv Sena driven Marathi identity politics. Also, note that the official renaming can be independent of what the people have always called it. My example of Madras->Chennai is such a case. People have always (in recent history) called it both.
Here is some info from Wikipedia and other sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_renaming_controversy
> In the case of Bombay and Madras the derivation of the name was from
> Portuguese, not English. Furthermore the politics of some of these
> name changes are questionable, those in Bombay being in response to
> the demands of the Hindu Nationalist Shiv Sena party. 'Mumbai' is
> probably derived from the temple of Mumba-Devi in Bombay, and
> although there is no evidence that it was the name of a settlement
> before the arrival of the Portuguese, who called it Boa Baia (good
> bay), it has long been the name of the city in Marathi and Gujarati,
> whilst Hindi-speakers called it Bambai.[1] However, some argue that
> as the renaming was part of the Shiv Sena's Bhumiputra (son of the
> soil) policy, it is an attempt to erase evidence of the city's
> cosmopolitanism and multi-lingual character.[2]
>
> Arguably the 'original' name for Bombay would be 'Colaba' or
> 'Kolaba', the southernmost island of the group now making up the
> Bombay peninsula, derived from the name of the Kola fishermen who
> originally lived here.
Also:
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~easwaran/papers/india.html
A Google search provides links to other pages that make arguments in favour of Mumbai being an original name.
http://www.mumbainet.com/renaming.htm
It seems to me that there is some credibility to the idea that the rename involves an element of mischief by the Shiv Sena, yes?
--ravi
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