Indian towns with twins outside

 As a child, I used to pore over maps to see if i can find towns outside India having same name as Indian towns. Remember seeing places like Hyderabad ( In Telangana/India as well as in Pakistan), Kochi ( Kerala as well as Japan). With the help of Geonames  site and Microsoft Excel, i checked for all towns with poplulation more than 500. As expected, there are common town names in Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, owing to cultural similarity. Given below are the ones i found interesting

Agra

There are three Agra's i could find. First one is the Agra in India famous for Taj Mahal. But was surprised to see Agras in Greece and Italy as well

Agra in India

Agra in Greece

Agra in Italy

I almost missed an Agra in Switzerland because it had a population less than 500. But just adding it here. Could not find any details linking these Agras to the Indian Agra. 

Delhi

There are multiple Delhi's in USA

Delhi, India

Delhi, New York

Quoting wiki:

The town is named after the city of Delhi, the capital territory of India. The name was in honor of founder Ebenezer Foote, who was known as "The Great Mogul". Another founder, Erastus Root, a rival of Foote, is responsible for the pronunciation. Root preferred the name "Mapleton". When he learned the town was to be named Delhi, he exclaimed, "Delhi, Hell-high! Might as well call it Foote-high."

Delhi Village, New York

Delhi, California

New Delhi, Illinois

Delhi, Illinois

An article about Delhi in Delaware

Dhaka

There is a Dhaka in India apart from the famous Bangladeshi capital Dhaka

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka, India

The Indian Dhaka is also an old town and hence does not seem like it was named after Bangladeshi Dhaka.  

Hyderabad

This one i knew beforehand.

Hyderabad, India 

Hyderabad, Pakistan

Both these cities have the same toponym, quoting Wiki again:

The city was named in honour of Ali, the fourth caliph and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Hyderabad's name translates literally as "Lion City" - from haydar, meaning "lion," and ābād, which is a suffix indicating a settlement.

Kochi

This one is also know to many. There is a Kochi in Kerala, India and another Kochi in Japan

Lucknow

There are Lucknows in India and Australia

Lucknow, India

Lucknow, Australia

This article tries to analyze why the town in Australia was named Lucknow and seems to suggest a connection between naming of the city and the events of  Siege of Lucknow

Patna

There is a Patna in Scotland apart from the original Indian Patna. Patna in Scotland was established by William Fullarton and seemingly named after the city of his birth.

Patna, India

Patna, Scotland

Interesting BBC video on the the same

Salem

There are multiple Salems, apart from the Salem in Tamil Nadu, India which is what Indians are usually familiar with

Salem, India

There are many Salems in USA, most famous being Salem, Massachussets

But i was surpised to find a Salem in Germany Salem in Indonesia, Salem in Motserratt

All these Salems outside India seem to have root in Arabic/Jewish name Salim/Salem meaning safe or un-damaged.

The full list of towns are given below, click on it to view the data

History of places near Thalassery

Dharmadam

Dharmadam is a small town and panchayat near Thalassery in Kannur district of Kerala State, India
It is an island surrounded on three sides by Anjarakandy river and on west side by the Arabian Sea. It was a Buddhist stronghold in the past and was known as Dharmapattanam, which basically means Town of Dharma. Dharma sort of means right or righteousness etc .

It was also known to Jews and Arabs as Dahfattan while Portuguese called it Darmapatao. 

Historically it was part of Mushika dynasty of Ezhimala, followed by Kolathiri. It was also under Arakkkal dynasty and for a while under Tipu Sultan, before falling under British rule. The main settlement of British was Thalassery, which is about 5 kms from Dharmadam. But seems like they did think of moving their main settlement from Thalassery to Dharmadam as per this article

It was known for its pepper trade. Possibly pepper from areas near it were brought and traded with Arabs.

This Arab link also leads to an interesting history/myth that the last Chera King of Kerala, Cheraman Perumal is supposed to have bit farewell to his sister , who used to reside here, and travelled to Mecca to become a Muslim. There are remains of a wall inside the premises of Brennen College that is linked to this story.

Dharmadam is famous for Andaloor Kavu, which is known for its unique festival and traditions like Chakka-kothu etc. Some of these traditions have links to its Buddhist past

Interestingly pirates from Dharmadam were behind the place named Malabar Hill/Point in Mumbai

References

1. Reference1
2. Cheraman Perumal
3. History - Jews, Arab Trade
4. Piracy
5. Piracy
6. Malabar Hills
7. History

Koiluoto - Just large enough for a border!

The 0.03 sq km ( Around 7.5 acres of land  - Area of about 6 football fields) is split between Finland and Russia. The whole island is part of the border zone and offlimits to the public

References:

Wiki