Cuttack is now Kataka, Balasore is Baleshwar, Berhampur becomes Brahmapur, and Rourkela will henceforth be officially written as Raurkela in English records.
Bhubaneswar: In a significant move aimed at preserving Odisha’s linguistic heritage and cultural identity, the State Government has officially notified the corrected English spellings of 64 administrative units across 26 districts. The notification, issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department on June 22, directs that the revised spellings will come into effect from the date of publication in the Odisha Gazette.
The changes cover districts, sub-divisions, tehsils, blocks, municipalities, NACs and municipal corporations. The government clarified that the exercise relates only to the English spellings of place names and does not alter the original names of the administrative units.
Among the major changes are Angul becoming Anugola, Bargarh becoming Baragada, Deogarh becoming Debagada, Khurda becoming Khordha, Nayagarh becoming Nayagada, Kendrapara becoming Kendrapada, Kandhamal becoming Kandhamala, Keonjhar becoming Kendujhar and Sundargarh becoming Sundaragada.
Several prominent towns and urban centres have also received revised spellings. Berhampur has been corrected to Brahmapur, Jeypore to Jayapur, Aska to Asika, Surada to Soroda, Talcher to Talacher, Athagarh to Athagada, Rairakhol to Redhakhol, Sonepur to Sonpur and Rourkela to Raurkela.
The notification follows a decision approved by the Odisha Cabinet, which sought to restore English spellings in conformity with Odia phonetics. According to the state government, many existing spellings were inherited from colonial-era transliterations that often failed to accurately reflect the pronunciation of place names in Odia.
The exercise gained momentum after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi raised concerns over inconsistencies between official English spellings and their original Odia forms. District administrations were subsequently asked to identify anomalies, while suggestions were also invited from elected representatives, scholars, cultural organisations and citizens.
A high-level committee headed by noted litterateur Pratibha Ray examined the proposals and historical records before finalising the recommendations. The proposed changes were placed in the public domain for a month to invite public feedback before being submitted to the government for approval.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg had earlier said the initiative was aimed at strengthening Odisha’s linguistic heritage and cultural identity. Following the notification, the state government has also requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to communicate the revised spellings to central agencies, including the Survey of India, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Indian Railways and the Department of Posts, so that official records can be updated accordingly.
The move is being viewed as part of Odisha’s broader effort to align official nomenclature with local language traditions, similar to earlier changes such as Bombay to Mumbai, Calcutta to Kolkata, Bangalore to Bengaluru and Orissa to Odisha.
With the notification now in force, the corrected spellings are expected to gradually find their way into government records, maps, signboards, railway documents, postal records and official communications across the country.
