Know why this UK daily prefers to use 'Bombay' instead of 'Mumbai'

London, Feb 11: A well-known newspaper in UK has decided to use Bombay instead of its new name Mumbai, the financial capital of India.

The Independent newspaper will now be using "Bombay" and not "Mumbai", said its editor Amol Rajan.

"The newspaper will now be using "Bombay" and not "Mumbai" to describe the Indian city. The name Mumbai has been controversial in India ever since Bombay was renamed in 1995.

Calcutta, now Kolkata, born Amol Rajan, who served as columnist and adviser to Evgeny Lebedev, became the first non-white editorial head of a UK national paper when he was appointed editor of the Independent in June 2013.

"The whole point of Bombay is of an open, cosmopolitan port city, the gateway of India that's open to the world," said Rajan, who was born in Kolkata -- formerly known as Calcutta -- and raised in London.

"If you call it what Hindu nationalists want you to call it, you essentially do their work for them," the 32-year-old told BBC radio.

"As journalists, as someone who edits The Independent, it's incredibly important to be specific about our terminology.

"I'd rather side with the tradition of India that's been open to the world, rather than the one that's been closed, which is in ascendance right now," he said, referring to the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Shiv Sena renamed the Mumbai after the goddess Mumbadevi considered as the protector of fisherman the original inhabitants of the area.

OneIndia News (With agency inputs)