DECEMBER 23, 2000
Calcutta to become Kolkata
THE national government of India has approved a plan to rename Calcutta and that is expected to be a major boost for the plan to hold a Grand Prix near the city.
Much still depends on elections which will take place in the Spring but the agreement of the government for the change is a big step forward for the ruling party in West Bengal. Opposition parties in the state had campaigned against the name change.
Calcutta was the capital of British-controlled India until 1911 but in recent years has become associated with extreme poverty and overcrowding.