When, why and how did the names of countries change? You will be shocked to know the reason

The world is changing and with this change many countries have put forward their identity in the form of new names. In different periods of history, some countries changed their names after independence, some to promote their language and culture, and some for political reasons. Old names remained in memories and new identities were formed with new names.

Starting with South Asia, the country which earlier the world used to call Burma, is today known as Myanmar. The government made this change in the year 1989. It was said that the new name takes along all the castes and communities of the country. Although even today in many countries people call it Burma, but the official name is Myanmar.

Similarly, the island country situated in the Indian Ocean was once called Ceylon. Today that country is Sri Lanka. The name was changed in the year 1972 so that the identity of the colonial era could be left behind and our language and culture could be brought forward. Today the name Sri Lanka has become the new identity of the country.

Names of these countries also changed

The story of name change in the Middle East is no less interesting. What the world once knew as Persia is today Iran. This decision was taken in the year 1935. Iran means land of the Aryans, which is linked to the country’s ancient identity.

In recent years, the country situated on the border of Europe and Asia also took a big decision regarding its name. Turkey requested the world to now call it Turkiye. The government said that this name reflects the true identity and language of the country. The United Nations also recognized this name.

In Europe also, the story of dispute and resolution regarding the name came to light. The country which was called Macedonia for a long time is now North Macedonia. After the dispute with Greece regarding the name, this new name was decided in the year 2019 and got international recognition.

If we move towards Africa, history changed many names there too. The country which was called Rhodesia during British rule is today Zimbabwe. After independence in 1980, a new name was adopted, which is associated with local history and pride. The country earlier called Swaziland is now Eswatini. In the year 2018, Raja announced the change of name, so that the local identity could be strengthened by moving away from foreign influence.

Another major change was seen in South-East Asia, when the country called Siam became Thailand. The spirit of independence was behind this change in the year 1939. The word ‘Thai’ means free and this is the message the country wanted to give to the world.

Also read – Shahrukh, Salman or Aamir… who is the most educated among the three Khans, who has studied from where?

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