The Indian government is seeking to officially return the country’s ancient name, Bharat. They propose not even to mention “India” in the Constitution, because they consider this name to be a “symbol of slavery” imposed by the United Kingdom.
The Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is considering adopting a resolution to change the official name of the country to “Bharat”. This initiative will be discussed during a special session of the parliament scheduled for September 18-22.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also confirmed that the official invitations from Draupadi Murmu to the G20 meeting were signed by the “President of Bharat”.
“So the news is true. Rashtrapati Bhavan sent the invitation to the G20 dinner on September 9 on behalf of the “President of Bharat” instead of the usual “President of India”. Now Article 1 of the Constitution may sound like this: “Bharat, which was India, shall become a Union of States”. But now even this ‘Union of States’ is under attack,” he said.
Who supported the idea of renaming
The Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, along with several other leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, also expressed their support for the idea of changing the country’s name.
“The Republic of Bharat is happy and proud that our civilization is boldly marching forward to (the era of development – ed.) Amrit Kaal,” Sarma wrote.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh party also supported the idea of renaming the country Bharat. Their parliamentarians believe that the old name should be restored and remain unchanged. Some government officials view the current name “India” as a symbol of “colonial slavery” imposed by the British. They express the view that “India” should not even be mentioned in the Constitution.
There were also opponents of the initiative
Not all officials support the idea of changing the country’s name. The national leader of the Sivani Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal, criticized this initiative. He emphasized that the country belongs to its citizens, not political parties.
“What kind of a joke is this? The BJP thinks that their vote count will go down, so they have to change the name to Bharat,” he said.
Despite discussions within the government, there is a willingness to amend the Constitution and remove the word “India” and replace it with “Bharat.” Politicians are even urging the population to start getting used to this yet-to-be-adopted change.
