KAKINADA: Diverse opinions continue on renaming of Kakinada district due to historical and geographical reasons. The State government is yet to take a decision on renaming the district.
One group is demanding that the district be named after Malladi Satyalingam Naicker, while another suggests naming it after the Pithapuram Maharaja. Both proposals have been forwarded to the State government through district authorities.
Meanwhile, convenor of Kakinada Civic Welfare Association Dusarlapudi Ramana Raju has demanded that no additional name be prefixed or suffixed to the name of the existing Kakinada district.
The Pithapuram Maharaja, Ravu Suryarao Bahadur, had donated hundreds of acres of land for the development of education in the erstwhile East Godavari district.
This included land for RMC College, PR Government College, a junior college, and several high schools. For this reason, his name is considered suitable for the district, suggested Nallamilli Seshareddy, former MLA of Anaparti and chairman of Aditya Educational Institutions.
Similarly, Malladi Satyalingam Naicker also donated land and established educational institutions.
Institutions such as MSN PG College, MSN Junior and Degree College, schools, a Veda Patasala, and various other development activities have continued since his time. Therefore, Kakinada City MLA Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao, along with several BC associations, suggested renaming the district as MSN Kakinada.
However, the Civic Welfare Association has opposed renaming of district arguing that Kakinada has an ancient history dating back to French, Dutch, and British rule. “If the name is changed, this history will be erased,” said Dusarlapudi Ramana Raju.
He also claimed that the original name of Kakinada was Co-Canada, as the town’s appearance resembles that of Canada. Over time, it came to be known as Kakinada. He appealed to the public and the government not to destroy this heritage by changing the district’s historical name.
The city of Cocanada (now Kakinada), located on the East Coast of India, was associated with Dutch rule in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Dutch East India Company established trading posts there and influenced its development through colonial activities.
In 1859, Kakinada became the administrative headquarters of the newly formed Godavari district following the reorganisation of the Rajahmundry, Masulipatam, and Guntur Collectorates.
This reorganisation resulted in the creation of two districts, Godavari and Krishna, with their boundaries marked by the Upputeru and Tamaleru rivers. Kakinada is also an educational hub, hosting institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Rangaraya Medical College, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) campus, and Andhra Polytechnic, which was the first polytechnic college in Andhra Pradesh.
Kakinada is also well known for its factories and major industries, including NFCL (now Green Core), Godavari Fertilisers (now Coromandel), Kakinada Sea Port, several oil refineries, Kakinada Deep Water Port, and Anchorage Port.
Senior citizens suggested that if the city’s name is changed, all existing records would also need to be altered. For example, JNTU Kakinada would have to be renamed either JNTU MSN Kakinada or JNTUK PR Ravu Suryarao Bahadur Kakinada, which could raise significant academic and administrative issues in future.
They also expressed concern that such a change would affect the education system, industries, the economy, and ultimately the district administration. Moreover, senior politicians warned that altering the name might damage the city’s ancient history.
This will have a huge impact on the students, who wish to pursue education abroad. Educational institutions in other countries have already added the name of JNTU Kakinada in their records and will easily verify the JNTUK students records during the admissions.
If the district’s name is changed, educational institutions abroad may be confused, creating many problems for the students, who studied in JNTU, Kakinada and wish to pursue higher studies abroad.