Greater Chennai Corporation Identifies 77 Caste-Linked Street Names for Review

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has begun enumerating street names within its limits to identify and remove caste references. The initiative follows a directive from the Tamil Nadu Social Justice Department to remove or rename caste-linked names associated with residential areas, streets, roads, water bodies and revenue villages across all local bodies in the state.

To implement the initiative, the State Government issued GO 313 through the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department on October 6. The order provides guidelines for removing or changing public names that contain caste references or promote social discrimination.

The Social Justice Department has instructed the Greater Chennai Corporation to inspect public infrastructure and take appropriate corrective action. A State-Level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, is also scheduled to review the progress of the initiative.

77 Chennai Street Names Identified

A GCC official said that officials have been instructed to audit street names and submit zone-wise reports. So far, around 77 street names containing caste references have been identified in the Kodambakkam, Valasaravakkam and Adyar zones. Reports from the remaining zones are awaited.

Under the guidelines, the action to be taken will depend on how the caste reference appears in the street name. If a caste title is used only as a suffix, the suffix will be removed while retaining the rest of the name.

However, if the entire street name is based on a caste identity, the name will be completely changed.

Street names currently under review include Gengu Reddy Road, Brahmin Street, Vanniyar Street, Reddy Street and Dr Nair Road in the Kodambakkam zone.

Social Justice Groups Welcome the Move

The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) has welcomed the initiative to identify and review caste-linked street names.

TNUEF State Secretary K Veni said the organisation supports the move and noted Tamil Nadu`s long-standing commitment to social justice. She also pointed out that earlier efforts to provide alternative names for streets containing caste references did not include leaders such as Dr BR Ambedkar and M Singaravelar, who played significant roles in the fight for social justice.

The organisation has submitted a representation to the government seeking the inclusion of their names in the revised list of public names.

Some Chennai Street Names Already Changed

Several street names in Chennai have already been modified under the initiative.

For instance, GN Chetty Road was renamed Gopathy Narayanan Road. Similarly, Srinivasa Iyer Street and Balakrishna Naicken Street in West Mambalam were shortened to Srinivasa (I) Street and Balakrishna (N) Street, respectively.

The Greater Chennai Corporation`s ongoing enumeration is expected t to identify more caste-linked street names across the city.

Chennai Street Name Changes and Social Justice

The Chennai street name renaming initiative is part of a broader Tamil Nadu Government effort to remove caste references from public spaces and promote social equality.

As the GCC completes its zone-wise survey, more streets may be identified for modification or renaming. The final changes are expected to be based on the guidelines issued under GO 313.