Traditionally, when Indian authorities send out invitations in English, they refer to the country as India.
In Hindi, they use the name Bharat.
However, a recent G20 dinner invite, written in English, referred to the President as the President of Bharat.
When asked about this change, an official at the President’s office declined to comment.
This shift raised questions because India’s current government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has a Hindu-nationalist agenda and is promoting the increased use of Hindi.
Critics see this as a move towards officially changing the country’s name.
Over time, Modi’s government has also been renaming towns and cities with colonial names, aiming to move away from what they call a “mentality of slavery.”
What is the Official Name of the Country?
In English, we call this South Asian giant India, but in various Indian languages, it’s also referred to as Bharat, Bharata, and Hindustan.
The English version of the constitution begins with “We, the people of India…” and goes on to state that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
However, in Hindi, the constitution replaces India with Bharat everywhere, except for the part that defines the country’s names, which says in Hindi, “Bharat, that is India, shall be a Union of States.”
Changing India’s name to just Bharat would require a constitutional amendment, which would need a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.
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Will the Government Officially Change the Name?
For some, the timing of this debate is significant.
It comes shortly after the government announced a surprise five-day special session of parliament later this month, without revealing the agenda.
There are unconfirmed reports that changing the name might be discussed during this session.
While there’s no confirmation of such a move, members of the government and the ruling BJP have suggested that Bharat should take precedence over India.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the BJP, has always insisted on calling the country Bharat.
A government spokesperson hasn’t responded to requests for comments.
What’s the History of Both Names?
Both names, India and Bharat, have been around for over two thousand years.
Supporters of the name Bharat argue that “India” was given by British colonizers, but historians say it predates colonial rule by centuries.
The term “India” comes from the river Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit.
Even before Alexander the Great’s Indian campaign in the 3rd century BCE, travelers from as far as Greece identified the region southeast of the Indus River as India.
The name Bharat is even older, appearing in ancient Indian scriptures.
However, some experts believe it was used more for socio-cultural identity than for geography.