CM Vijay urged to rename Udhagamandalam
Image used for representational purposes. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu While the State celebrates ‘Tamil Nadu Day’, the people of Nilgiris have appealed to the Chief Minister to consider the long-pending demand of the hill people to restore the name of one of India’s most popular hill stations. The popular name of Ootacamund, or Ooty in short, was inexplicably Sanskritised as Udhagamandalam in 1972. The people of the Nilgiris have been pleading to restore the world-famous name for years. The name of Ooty has been a source of pride for generations of local indigenous people, appealed D. Venugopal of the Nilgiri Documentation Centre (NDC). When the issue of changing the name of Madras State to Tamil Nadu was debated in the Rajya Sabha in 1962, Anna explained what the Tamils would gain from the change of name. He said, “We gain satisfaction sentimentally; we gain the satisfaction that an ancient name is inculcated in the hearts of millions and scores of millions of people. Is that not enough compensation for the small trouble of changing the name?” The same …






