Maharashtra to push for renaming IIT Bombay to IIT Mumbai, says CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) said his government will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Education Ministry, seeking to rename the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) as IIT Mumbai.

The announcement follows a political storm triggered by Union Minister Jitendra Singh’s recent comments on the institute’s nomenclature. 

On Monday (November 24), during an event at IIT Bombay, the Minister of State for Science and Technology said, “As far as IIT Bombay is concerned, thank God it still has this name. You have not changed it to Mumbai. So that’s another compliment to you. And also true for Madras. It remains IIT Madras.” 

The comment drew sharp criticism from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, who accused the Centre of harbouring a mindset that undermines Marathi identity. 

Taking to X, Mr. Thackeray wrote, “Jitendra Singh’s statement is clearly a symbol of the government’s mindset. What is this mentality?” 

Mr. Thackeray went on to allege a deeper conspiracy and said that decades ago, there was a plan to separate Mumbai, which belonged to the Marathi people, from Maharashtra. “That plan was foiled by Marathi leaders and the people. Our Marathi Mumbai remained in Maharashtra. The nausea that has been accumulating in their stomachs for the past many decades has started to come out once again!” 

Centre’s overreach

Mr. Thackeray drew parallels with the Centre’s recent plans to bring Chandigarh under Article 240 of the Constitution which would enable the President to directly frame regulations for the Union Territory which is currently administered by the Punjab Governor.

“The Central government tried to take away the city of Chandigarh from Punjab. They withdrew because there was opposition from all parties, but it is a temporary withdrawal. Something similar must be 100% cooking in the case of Mumbai. They don’t want ‘Mumbai’, they want ‘Bombay’, and so the attempt to slowly take over this city is definitely under way, ” he said. 

Responding to the controversy, Mr. Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur, “First of all, everyone knows that BJP leader Ram Naik had made the biggest contribution in changing the name of Bombay to Mumbai. We always say Mumbai, and not Bombay. We have been consistently trying to ensure that ‘Bombay’ be replaced with Mumbai. I will write a letter to the Prime Minister and the HRD [Education] Minister to change the name of IIT Bombay to IIT Mumbai.”