India's well-heeled city of Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi on Tuesday was formally renamed 'Gurugram' by the local Hindu nationalist government, an official said. Also dubbed Millennium City, the satellite town near the capital is home to scores of top multinational companies, expensive condominiums, a world-class golf course, top hospitals and gleaming shopping malls.
"Yes, that is correct. Gurgaon will now be called Gurugram," Shiv Bhatia, a spokesman for the government of northern Haryana state told AFP when asked about reports, without giving further details. The state government, controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party switched to "Gurugram" - an ancient name for the area meaning "village of the guru" - following a longstanding local campaign, reports said.