Kolkata: The Raj Bhavan in Kolkata – the oldest Raj Bhavan in the country – has been officially renamed “Lok Bhavan”.
In an official notification, West Bengal governor C V Ananda Bose said that on March 27, 2023, President Droupadi Murmu had handed over a symbolic key of the then Raj Bhavan to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. This was on the request of the governor and heralded a new era of a people’s Raj Bhavan — The Jana Raj Bhavan.
“In pursuance of the communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs dated 25.11.2025, it is hereby notified that the name of the holdings of ‘Raj Bhavan’ in Kolkata, Flagstaff House and Darjeeling, has hereby been modified and renamed as ‘Lok Bhavan’,” the notification said.
This change of name comes into force with immediate effect, it said.
“The ‘Jana Raj Bhavan’ conceptualisation by the then Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, was prompted by the urge to make the establishment alive to the needs of the people, their aspirations and hopes, their problems and challenges. Simultaneously, the imposing edifice was to shed its aura of ‘awe and fear’ and be open to people from all walks of life..,” Bose said in an X post.
The Raj Bhavan, now renamed Lok Bhavan, serves as the governor’s official residence and also houses his office.
“During the last three years, several constructive people-centric programmes have been initiated. A key element of the Jana Raj Bhavan initiative was its proactive role in the service of people — to be with them whenever such a need arose. Across the length and breadth of West Bengal, whenever there was a situation of exigency — be it violence, natural calamity, or even complaints of atrocities, Jana Raj Bhavan reached out to those in need,” the governor said.
“In tune with the transformational and inspirational leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has ensured participation of people across all segments of society in the onward spectacular march towards Viksit Bharat, Raj Bhavan and Raj Niwas across the country have been uniformly decided to be renamed as Lok Bhavan and Lok Niwas respectively, as per a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 25 November, 2025,” he added.
The Lok Bhavan in Kolkata was built in 1803 as “Government House”. It served as the official residence of the Governor General and later the Viceroy of India. It later became the residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal.
It remains to be seen if other Raj Bhavans across the country follow suit. The Centre had earlier renamed Rajpath in Delhi as Kartavya Path.
