So, the British newspaper The Independent decided to switch back to using Bombay rather than Mumbai while referring to India’s financial capital, its editor announced on Wednesday.
Amol Rajan, the editor, even labelled the move as a stand against what he said was the closed-minded view of Hindu nationalists.
“If you call it what Hindu nationalists want you to call it, you essentially do their work for them,” the 32-year-old told BBC radio.
Twitter exploded with outrage. Here are some of the best gems:
“We shall henceforth refer to Mumbai as Bombay” – says The Independent, a newspaper printed in Londonium in Britannia.
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) February 11, 2016
After renaming Mumbai back to Bombay, Independent newspaper also renames India as British India.
— Faking News (@fakingnews) February 11, 2016
So will the Independent pronounce upon Chennai, Kolkata, Odisha, etc? A bit of a strange thing to harp on now https://t.co/o8ra47oMuR
— Ishaan Tharoor (@ishaantharoor) February 10, 2016
Can’t wait for The Independent to start publishing Shivaji Rao Gaekwad jokes
— Lavanya (@lavsmohan) February 11, 2016
The editor of “The Independent” is going back to calling themselves “The Dominion status”
— Ashok (@krishashok) February 11, 2016
But was it necessary?
What The Independent did with ‘Bombay’ is like a Hero putting his jacket on the Heroine. Without asking her if she’s even feeling cold.
— वरुण (@varungrover) February 11, 2016
This guy makes a valid point:
It’s okay for many Mumbaikars to call their city Bombay but when the @Independent does it, people suddenly become “patriotic”.
— Rishikesh (@RishiKulk) February 11, 2016
Some gyaan:
#Bombay is an Anglicization of the Portuguese name “Bombaim,” which is believed to derive from the phrase “Bom Bahia,” or “Good Bay.”
— Manish Singh, CFA (@Manish_05Singh) February 11, 2016
This gentleman has the perfect response to the debate:
@bainjal @theindependent That’s exactly what many Bombayites said Bombay was changed to Mumbai
— Sachin Tandon (@cugwmui) February 11, 2016
