More than 100 of them, including the most prominent, have been renamed since Independence - Bombay to Mumbai, Calcutta to Kolkata, Madras to Chennai.
Now BJP leaders want to give more Hindu-friendly names to the city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, home to the iconic Taj Mahal, and to Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat. Earlier this year, BJP-ruled Rajasthan changed the "Islamic-sounding names" of three villages.
The new names heap glory on what the BJP calls India's "glorious" Hindu past, and pour scorn on its Islamic heritage. With general elections barely a year ago, the renaming is seen by critics of Mr Modi as a blow to India's fabled syncretism - the merging of different faiths and cultures.
Gaganpreet Singh, who teaches at Delhi University, says the politics of renaming in India is often "rooted in the nationalisation of heritage".
For details: https://bbc.in/2B5mzNK