Welcome to India, where the streets have four names
Constantly renaming cities, roads and stations is pointless and counterproductive
AN UNDERAPPRECIATED PART of any government’s job is to name things. Schools, bridges, cities, laws, programmes—anything a state creates requires a name. And old names can sometimes become outmoded or offensive, requiring renaming.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Where the streets have four names”
From the September 7th 2024 edition
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The Adani scandal takes the shine off Modi’s electoral success
The tycoon’s indictment clouds the prime minister’s prospects
Priyanka Gandhi: dynastic scion, and hope of India’s opposition
Poised to enter parliament, she may have bigger ambitions than that
The Caspian Sea is shrinking rapidly
This has big implications for Russia, which has come to rely on Central Asian ports
Racial tensions boil over in New Zealand
A controversial bill regarding Maori people punctures its relative harmony
Once a free-market pioneer, Sri Lanka takes a leap to the left
A new president with Marxist roots now dominates parliament too
The mystery of India’s female labour-force participation rate
A good news story? Maybe