ABSTRACT
The feeling of separation from both England and Pakistan, alongside that of nationalism, influenced the process of change and the reconsideration of place names. During the period from 1941 to 1961, under the umbrella of staunch nationalism, a country-wide effort was made to change the names of the districts to their original ones. Recapitulating the journey of place names in India reveals that the first set of names in Sanskrit were rooted in the physical environment and religion. The stamp of Persianization of place names persists mainly in North India, East India and some erstwhile Muslim-ruled areas in the Deccan. In 1941, India comprised 202 princely states, 180 British districts, 42 princely districts, 5 French territories and 3 Portuguese territories. The process of district name change continued unabated during the decades from 1961 to 2011. The trend of replacing English place names is evident across many a city and town of India.
