Given the recent request to duplicate Asia/Singapore for an Antarctic research station, and now this request to duplicate Asia/Kolkata, I wonder at what point it becomes worthwhile to update the theory page to state (or state more clearly) that:
(1) duplicate zones or “aliases” are not created simply to honor additional locations that are historically or culturally prominent, populous, or unique in some way, and (2) tzids do not necessarily represent the only geographic area where the corresponding timekeeping rules are in effect. I note that the word “duplicate” does not currently appear on the theory page, and “alias” appears only in a section related to abbreviations, which means folks who scan quickly for the appropriate guidance might not find it. -- Doug Ewell, CC, ALB | Lakewood, CO, US | ewellic.org
