New Delhi, In the latest step to remove vestiges of colonial terminology from official institutions, the Union government on Tuesday announced that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) will henceforth be known as “Seva Teerth”. The Central Secretariat complex will be redesignated “Kartavya Bhawan”, while all state governors’ residences across the country are to be renamed “Lok Bhawan” (and, in the case of Union Territories, “Lok Niwas”).
The decisions follow a directive issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs last year, which cited discussions at the 2024 Conference of Governors that the term “Raj Bhavan” carried connotations of colonial rule. The ministry urged states to adopt the new nomenclature in all official correspondence and signage.
Eight states – West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Gujarat and Tripura – along with the Union Territory of Ladakh have already implemented the change. Rajasthan became the ninth state to announce the renaming on Tuesday.
The move aligns with a broader campaign under the Modi administration to replace British-era names with terms rooted in Indian languages and ethos. Previous changes include the renaming of New Delhi’s ceremonial Rajpath to Kartavya Path in 2022 and the official residence of the Prime Minister from Race Course Road to Lok Kalyan Marg.
Other symbolic shifts include the prioritisation of Hindi content on government websites (with English retained as an option) and the removal of the colonial-era hymn “Abide With Me” from the Beating Retreat ceremony.
Government sources described the renaming exercise as part of an ongoing effort to “decolonise” institutional identity rather than a legislative or budgetary measure. No additional financial implications have been disclosed.
The changes take immediate effect for official purposes.
