Tamil Nadu govt to rename more than 3000 places

In a couple weeks, several places in Tamil Nadu will be renamed. The Tamil Nadu government is all set to rename more than 3,000 locations in the state. These include renaming Triplicane to Thiruvallikeni, Trichy to Tiruchirappalli, Tuticorin to Thoothukudi and Poonamalle to Poovirundhavalli.

Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture Ma Foi K Pandiarajan said that a government order renaming around 3,000 locations will be issued soon. "There will be an order that will be issued soon and after that Triplciane will become Thiruvallikane and Tuticorin will become Thuthukodi. There will be over 3000 names that will be changed... the order will be issued in two weeks."

The decision to rename 3,000 locations in Tamil Nadu was taken after the 32 districts set up a joint high level committee to finalise the new names. The committee examined suggestions from historians and Tamil scholars.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has renamed a few placed in Uttar Pradesh, has welcomed the Tamil Nadu government's decision but called it a late move.

Narayanan Thirupathy, a BJP spokesperson said, "This is a very good initiative should have happened long back. The names of the villages or the streets should have some meaning. Each and every street or villages should [exemplify] the history of the place. For example there is this place called Thiruvallikeni but in English it has been changed to Triplicane. Similarly, Poonamallee was originally called Pooirundavalli and the new name has no meaning at all. The new generation should understand these names. Though delayed this is a very good initiative."

On the other hand, some believe there are some names that must be preserved for the sake of history. K Ramakrishnan, the general secretary of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, said, "There are many places in the state which have been given names as a tribute to a British person... and we urge that those historic names not be removed."

However, Ramakrishnan said there are some other names that must be changed. "There are many places with caste associated in their names like Gounderpallayam, Nayakarpallayam and Pallapallayam, these names should be taken note of by the government and as per the order brought in by MGR [MG Ramachandran] be changed as well."

MG Ramachandran during his first term as chief Minister in 1979 had ordered the removal of caste surnames from street monikers in Tamil Nadu.