Why was Bombay renamed to Mumbai?
by 
wickedwillie
ANSWERS: 2
-
It wasn't really renamed: the two have been used alongside each other for much of the past four hundred years. "Bombay" is said to come from the Portuguese phrase "bom bahia" meaning "good bay". The name Mumbai is ascribed to the local deity, Mumba, the patron goddess of the Koli fisherfolk, the oldest inhabitants of the area, and has been the preferred term in most of the local languages. In the mid-1990's, an act of parliament was passed decreeing "Mumbai" to be the official name, though the "colonial" term still appears to be in wide use [7.5 million Google hits for Mumbai, 5.9 million for Bombay]
-
It wasn't really renamed: the two have been used alongside each other for much of the past four hundred years. "Bombay" is said to come from the Portuguese phrase "bom bahia" meaning "good bay". The name Mumbai is ascribed to the local deity, Mumba, the patron goddess of the Koli fisherfolk, the oldest inhabitants of the area, and has been the preferred term in most of the local languages. In the mid-1990's, an act of parliament was passed decreeing "Mumbai" to be the official name, though the "colonial" term still appears to be in wide use [7.5 million Google hits for Mumbai, 5.9 million for Bombay
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC