SHILLONG, India: Politicians named after Adolf Hitler and Frankenstein are among 345 candidates competing in elections this week in a north-east Indian state with a history of bizarre naming conventions. Keeping them company when the hilly state of Meghalaya goes to the polls on Saturday are others called Bombersingh, Boldness Billykid, Predecessor and Process. Hopingstone Lyngdoh, Hilarious Pochen and Hopeful Bamon will also try their luck at nabbing one of the 60 seats up for grabs in the state legislative assembly.
The unusual names chosen in Meghalaya are among the most striking legacies of colonial rule, when many Britons frequented state capital Shillong, preferring its temperate climate to the searing heat of the rest of India. Historians say the once-close ties with England have seen many people name their children using random English words or famous names from the past, often with no knowledge of what they might mean. “Often they don’t know the background of the names.
They get attracted to these names for their quest of modernity,” Sanjeeb Kakoty, a history professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Shillong told AFP.
