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Bharat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government replaced the name India with the Sanskrit word Bharat in dinner invitations sent to guests attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit, triggering speculation that the name of the country will be officially changed. Droupadi Murmu is referred to as “President of Bharat” instead of “President of India” in the invitation sent to G20 attendees 05 September 2023. India was hosting the annual G20 summit in New Delhi. Many world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, attended.

"It is a proud moment for every Indian to have 'The President of Bharat' written on the invitation card for the dinner to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan during the G20 Summit," tweeted Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Disputes over “India” vs “Bharat” had gained ground since opposition parties in July 2023 announced a new alliance – called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA – to unseat Modi and defeat his party in of national elections in 2024. Since then, some officials in Modi’s party have demanded that the country be called Bharat instead of India. Many Indian media outlets, citing sources, reported that the government might bring a resolution to that effect during a special parliament session to be held 18-22 September 2023.

This would not be the first instance of a country officially changing its name. This is something that countries have done before, often influenced by politics, nationalism or branding factors.

  1. Turkiye - Formerly Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the official name change from Turkey to Turkiye. This alteration aims to better represent the country's rich culture, values and civilization on the global stage.
  2. Czechia - Formerly Czech Republic - In April 2016, the Czech Republic streamlined its name to Czechia. This change was motivated by a desire for simplicity, making it easier for the nation to be recognised in sporting events and international marketing efforts.
  3. Eswatini - Formerly Swaziland - The African nation of Swaziland embraced its local heritage by renaming itself Eswatini, meaning ‘The Land of Swazis.’ This change eliminates confusion with Switzerland and aligns with the country's indigenous language.
  4. The Netherlands - Formerly Holland - The Netherlands opted for a name change in January 2020, shifting the focus away from Holland for promotional purposes. This move reflects the nation's aspiration to project itself as an open, inventive and inclusive country.
  5. Republic of North Macedonia - Formerly Macedonia - To join NATO and distinguish itself from Greece, which also has a region named Macedonia, the Republic of Macedonia became the Republic of North Macedonia in February 2019.
  6. Republic of Cabo Verde - Formerly Cape Verde - In 2013, Cape Verde adopted the full Portuguese spelling, Republic of Cabo Verde, to honour its official language and eliminate linguistic discrepancies.
  7. Sri Lanka - Formerly Ceylon - Sri Lanka discarded the colonial name Ceylon in 2011 to assert its independence and remove historical remnants of Portuguese and British rule.
  8. Democratic Republic of Congo - The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen multiple name changes, evolving from Congo Free State to Belgian Congo, Congo-Leopoldville, Republic of Congo, Republic of Zaire, and finally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997.
  9. Cambodia - Cambodia underwent various name changes over the years, reflecting its complex history. Between 1953 and 1970, the country was renamed the Kingdom of Cambodia and then Khmer Republic till 1975. Under the communist rule from 1975 to 1979, it was referred to as Democratic Kampuchea. Under the UN transition authority from 1989 to 1993, it became the State of Cambodia. After the restoration of the monarchy in 1993, it was renamed the Kingdom of Cambodia.
  10. Myanmar - Formerly Burma - In 1989, Myanmar replaced Burma as the country's official name, reflecting linguistic accuracy despite some ongoing global usage of the older name. The change was recognised by the United Nations, and by countries such as France and Japan, but not by the United States and the UK.
  11. Thailand - Formerly Siam - Siam, rooted in Sanskrit, was replaced by Thailand in 1939, reverted to Siam briefly between 1946 and 1948, and then officially became the Kingdom of Thailand, a name it retains today.
  12. Ireland - Formerly Irish Free State - In 1937, Ireland adopted a new constitution, renaming itself Ireland and officially becoming a republic.
  13. Iran – Formerly Persia - Iran transitioned from Persia to Iran in 1935, altering how the country and its citizens were identified. The interchangeability of Persia and Iran continues to be a topic of debate among Iranians.

Hindustan is another word for the nation and is often used in literature and other forms of popular culture. The name Hindustan is thought to have derived from ‘Hindu’, the Persian cognate form of the Sanskrit ‘Sindhu’ (Indus), which came into currency with the Achaemenid Persian conquest of the Indus valley (northwestern parts of the subcontinent) that begin in the 6th century BC (which was the time of The Buddha in the Gangetic basin). By the time of the early Mughals (16th century), the name ‘Hindustan’ was used to describe the entire Indo-Gangetic plain. Historian Ian J Barrow in his article, ‘From Hindustan to India: Naming Change in Changing Names’ (Journal of South Asian Studies, 2003) wrote that “in the mid-to-late eighteenth century, Hindustan often referred to the territories of the Mughal emperor, which comprised much of South Asia”. Hindoostan is another spelling of the Persian word Hindustan, which is the name for India and the Indian subcontinent. The name is also sometimes spelled as Hindostan. From the late 18th century onwards, British maps increasingly began to use the name ‘India’, and ‘Hindustan’ started to lose its association with all of South Asia. “Part of the appeal of the term India may have been its Graeco-Roman associations, its long history of use in Europe, and its adoption by scientific and bureaucratic organisations such as the Survey of India,” Barrow wrote. “The adoption of India suggests how colonial nomenclature signalled changes in perspectives and helped to usher in an understanding of the subcontinent as a single, bounded and British political territory,” he added.

The country of more than 1.4 billion people is officially known by two names, India and Bharat, but the former is most commonly used, both domestically and internationally. The Greeks, who had acquired knowledge of ‘Hind’ from the Achaemenids, transliterated the name as ‘Indus’. By the time the Macedonian king Alexander invaded India in the 3rd century BC, ‘India’ had come to be identified with the region beyond the Indus.

Bharat is an ancient Sanskrit word that many historians believe dates back to early Hindu texts. The word is also used as a Hindi option for India. The roots of “Bharat”, “Bharata”, or “Bharatvarsha” are traced back to Puranic literature, and to the epic Mahabharata. The Puranas describe Bharata as the land between the “sea in the south and the abode of snow in the north”. Bharata is also the name of the ancient king of legend who was the ancestor of the Rig Vedic tribe of the Bharatas, and by extension, the progenitor of all peoples of the subcontinent.

Social scientist Catherine Clémentin-Ojha explained Bharata in the sense of a religious and socio-cultural entity, rather than a political or geographical one. ‘Bharata’ refers to the “supraregional and subcontinental territory where the Brahmanical system of society prevails”, Clémentin-Ojha wrote in her 2014 article, ‘India, that is Bharat…’: One Country, Two Names (South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal).

During the Constituent Assembly debates the “Name and territory of the Union” was taken up for discussion on September 17, 1949. Right from the time the first article was read out as “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”, a division arose among the members. There were quite a few members who were against the use of the name ‘India’, which they saw as being a reminder of the colonial past.

Hargovind Pant, who represented the hill districts of the United Provinces, made it clear that the people of Northern India “wanted Bharatvarsha and nothing else”. Pant argued: “So far as the word ‘India’ is concerned, the Members seem to have, and really I fail to understand why, some attachment for it. We must know that this name was given to our country by foreigners who, having heard of the riches of this land, were tempted towards it and had robbed us of our freedom in order to acquire the wealth of our country. If we, even then, cling to the word ‘India’, it would only show that we are not ashamed of having this insulting word which has been imposed on us by alien rulers.”

Officials of Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) back the change in nomenclature. They argue that the name India was introduced by British colonials and is a “symbol of slavery”. The British ruled India for about 200 years until the country gained independence in 1947. The BJP has long tried to erase names related to India’s Mughal and colonial past. The government has been accused of pursuing a nationalist agenda aimed at forming an ethnic Hindu state out of a constitutionally secular India.

In 2015, New Delhi’s famous Aurangzeb Road, named after a Mughal king, was changed to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road after protests from Modi’s party leaders. In 2022, the government also renamed a colonial-era avenue in the heart of New Delhi that is used for ceremonial military parades.

Modi’s government says the name changes are an effort to reclaim India’s Hindu past. “Another blow to slavery mentality,” the top elected official of Uttarakhand state, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said on X. Dhami, a BJP leader, shared the G20 dinner invitation in his post.

India’s opposition parties, however, criticised the government’s move. “Rashtrapati Bhawan [President’s House] has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th in the name of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the usual ‘President of India’,” Jairam Ramesh, leader of the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Congress legislator Shashi Tharoor said Indians should “continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world”. “While there is no constitutional objection to calling India ‘Bharat’, which is one of the country’s two official names, I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with ‘India’, which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries,” he posted on X.

BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda slammed the Congress party. “Why does the Congress have so much objection to every subject related to the honour and pride of the country?” he posted on X. “It is clear that Congress neither respects the country, nor the Constitution, nor the constitutional institutions.”



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