Indian state’s caste-based area names to be changed The Guardian, DELHI The names of neighborhoods in the Indian state of Maharashtra based on the caste of people who have traditionally lived there are to be changed to reflect the nation’s evolving attitudes. In the same way Indian surnames reveal the caste to which a person belongs, neighborhoods have acquired names based on the caste of the community that predominates. For centuries, villages have been organized on the basis of caste, with strict segregation that confines the lower castes to the fringes. Some towns, too, have certain areas inhabited by the members of a particular community.