India to Bharat: What’s the controversy behind the country’s name?
Image Source: iPleaders
India is embroiled in controversy after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration used the name Bharat on official invitations, causing many to wonder if the name will be changed.
Droupadi Murmu is referred to as “President of Bharat” rather than the “President of India” in dinner invitations distributed on Tuesday to visitors attending this week’s Group of 20 (G20) conference.
The most populous nation in the world is known as India and Bharat in its constitution. Another name for the nation is Hindustan, which translates to “land of the Hindus” in Urdu. The public and official usage of the three names is interchangeable.
India, on the other hand, is the name that is most frequently used globally.
Why has Bharat caused controversy?
Government critics have claimed that Modi’s administration and his Hindu nationalist BJP are preparing to change the name of the G20 summit to just “Bharat.”
The name is a Sanskrit word found in texts from about 2,000 years ago. It refers to the ill-defined region known as Bharatavarsa, which may have included what is now Indonesia in addition to India’s present-day borders.
Cities and locations with connections to the Mughal and colonial eras have already had their names changed by the BJP. For instance, Amrit Udyan was given to the Mughal Garden at the presidential residence in New Delhi last year.
The Mughals, who were Muslims and dominated the subcontinent for about 300 years, are being attempted to be forgotten in Indian history, according to critics of the new titles.
The dispute, according to Roop Rekha Verma, a philosophy professor and former vice chancellor at Lucknow University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is a result of the intolerance displayed by Modi’s administration.
“We have consistently seen the rule of law and the constitution violated. If the government disagrees with a ruling by the Supreme Court, it is altered,” Verma told the Anadolu Agency in Turkey.
How has the opposition reacted? The BJP has been cautioned by the opposition to avoid dropping the word India. Shashi Tharoor, a lawmaker for the Indian National Congress party, wrote on X, the platform that replaced Twitter, “While there is no constitutional objection to calling India ‘Bharat,’ which is one of the two official names of the country, I hope the government is not so foolish as to completely abandon ‘India,’ which has immeasurable brand value built up over centuries.”
“We should keep using both words rather than give up our claim to a name that is evocative of history and well-known throughout the world,” he continued.
What has the BJP said?
According to the BJP, the word “India” is a holdover from the nation’s colonial past. The name “India” is a representation of “colonial slavery,” according to BJP member of parliament Naresh Bansal, and “should be removed from the constitution.”
In a parliamentary hearing, Bansal said that “the British changed Bharat’s name to India.” ‘Bharat’ has been the name of our nation for countless years. Given by the colonial Raj, the term “India” is a representation of servitude.
What may happen next?
There is a rumor that the Indian government may use the special parliamentary session, which will take place from September 18 to 22, to rename the nation.
Arunag Thakur, the information minister, and other government representatives, however, have dismissed the notion as “rumors” circulated by the opposition.
Rasheed Kidwai, a visiting fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think tank in New Delhi, asserts that political and electoral concerns play a significant role in the India-Bharat dispute. Kidwai thinks Modi is “feeling the heat” from the opposition because of the heightened rhetoric. “It shows the BJP’s apprehension,” he said. The party has always claimed that Modi is indispensable, but for the first time, he is seeing a genuine threat from the opposition bloc. For this reason, his party has decided to rename the nation Bharat.
Team Profile
Latest entries
Article30 September 2023Can RPF Personnel Be Treated As ‘Workman’ For Compensation Purposes? SC Decides
English30 September 2023High Court Expounds: The Statement of an Eyewitness Must Be Free from Blemish and Devoid of Any Ambiguity, Uncertainty, and Loopholes
News29 September 2023Radhasoami Satsang Bhawan: The High Court Directs to Maintain the Status Quo On Land in Agra until Oct 5- News28 September 2023Denying Child’s Affection to Other Spouse Cruelty: High Court
