The Maharashtra government has issued a directive to rename villages, municipalities, roads, and housing colonies that carry caste-based or community-specific names. The goal is to replace such names with those of personalities associated with democratic values.
On Thursday, October 9, the state rural development department released a government resolution (GR) regarding the renaming of locations with potentially offensive or disparaging implications.
The resolution referred to Maharashtra as a "progressive state" and noted that similar instructions had earlier been issued by the social justice department. For urban areas, the state urban development department will lay out the process for renaming and assigning new names.
In rural areas, the state rural development department will define the procedure for municipal corporations and municipal councils. District collectors will have the final authority to approve any renaming or designation.
The state legislature has debated it at least three times over the years. The government’s resolution will systematically address names that are linked to castes or communities and replace them with names that reflect democratic values.
In 2020, Maharashtra's government initiated steps to rename localities with caste-based names, such as "Maharwada", "Brahmanwada", and "Mali Gulli". The goal was to replace these with names reflecting democratic values, like "Samata Nagar", "Bhim Nagar", and "Kranti Nagar".
The new directive covers all villages, municipalities, roads, and housing colonies. The decision-making process involves both state departments and local district collectors.