(By Aryavart International University, India)
Suraj Bhan Bhardwaj
Vol. 3, Jan-Jun 2017
Abstract:
Historically, names of human settlements have often been derived from one or the other of their ‘defining’ characteristics. Such names can be considered ‘organic’ insofar as they are integral to the historical establishment and/or growth of these settlements. But there are other names that are not ‘organic’ but ‘transplants’ insofar as they are given to places that have had no linguistic, cultural or historical links with them. Instances of both kinds of names can often be seen in the cases of renaming places. Such acts of renaming are often driven by various cultural or political agendas. This essay attempts to piece together the fragmentary history of Gurgaon, a premier IT and BPO hub of the country, which was renamed Gurugram as recently as 2016. The essay argues that the long-standing name Gurgaon, though of uncertain provenance, has been ‘organically’ linked to the place in its somewhat short recorded history, while Gurugram draws on no such credible, ‘organic’ association with the place. Using the history of Gurgaon, the essay makes a larger argument that the names of places should be appropriately reflective of their cultural, linguistic or historical associations