The Karnataka government has invited public suggestions and objections on its proposal to rename Dakshina Kannada district as Mangaluru district, beginning a 30-day consultation process that could change the name used across official administration, public records and government communications.
The Revenue Department notification, dated October 1, said submissions would be accepted for 30 days from the notification’s publication in the State Gazette. The government will examine the representations received before deciding whether to proceed with the renaming proposal.
According to the notification, the proposed name is Mangaluru district in English, ಮಂಗಳೂರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ in Kannada and मंगलुरु ज़िला in Devanagari. Suggestions and objections can be submitted in writing or by email to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department or the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada within the stipulated period.
The proposal follows representations from politicians, social thinkers, senior citizens from different religious communities and organisations in the district. The notification said the government had considered public demand and administrative convenience while initiating the proposal.
The move was initiated under Section 4(4A) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, and in accordance with guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry on September 11, 1953. The legal route places the proposal within the state’s formal land-revenue and district-administration framework rather than treating it as a change limited to branding or public usage.
The Karnataka cabinet had taken up the issue at its meeting in Mangaluru on September 18 and decided to seek public opinion on changing the district’s name from Dakshina Kannada to Mangaluru. The consultation now gives residents, organisations and other stakeholders a formal channel to record support, objections or other suggestions.
A district name is used across administrative notifications, revenue records, government correspondence and public-facing services. Any final change would therefore require the state government to consider how the proposed name is applied across these systems after the consultation is completed. The current notification, however, only opens the process and does not confirm that the renaming has been approved.
The next step is the submission of suggestions and objections within the 30-day period. The Revenue Department and other designated authorities will then examine the representations before the government decides how to proceed.
