Once again, let me point out how fortunate we are to be able to benefit from all this hard work by our community leaders and organizations like Achieve. Modi’s G20 Opening Has Triggered Conversation of India Being Officially Renamed “Bharat” On Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter discussions of India being officially renamed “Bharat” have intensified after Narendra Modi opened up Saturday’s summit in New Delhi with a sign reading “Bharat”, sparking immediate criticism from India’s largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party members have long called for India to be officially renamed Bharat.
Such speculation was further fuelled by his statement on Tuesday night that India may soon change to be officially known by another name. The Indian Constitution refers to both names collectively as “India that is Bharat ”, though until recently Bharat was predominantly used in Hindi-language communication. An increase in speculation regarding a name change began after G20 summit delegates were invited to dinner under “President Bharat”, Droupadi Murmu. Modi’s BJP announced that a special session of parliament will start September 18 but has yet to provide details regarding its agenda.
John Reed Row over renaming India occurs during an uncertain G20 meeting. India’s major opposition party, Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized any name-change, suggesting it as a “distraction tactic” and evidence of the government’s “fear” of approaching elections. Modi’s BJP will seek a third term early next year.
Chakravarty suggested that Chakravarty’s statement was intended to divert attention away from the Adani case, where Gandhi has targeted Modi over his connections with Gautam Adani – founder of Adani Group which now faces regulatory and political scrutiny due to links with opaque off-shore investment vehicles. Since 2014 when Modi first took office his Hindu nationalist government has worked toward eliminating symbols and place names associated with India’s former Muslim and British rulers.
What Will The New Name Of India Be – Bharat?
NEW DELHI, Sept 6 – India President Droupadi Mudmu has invited herself as “President Bharat” to attend a dinner at the G20 Summit, sparking speculation that its government could change the name of the nation.
What’s The Controversy Over India’s Name?
Conventionally, Indian constitutional bodies usually mention India when inviting guests in English; or Bharat for Hindi speakers. Murmu, President of Bharat was honored to receive an invitation to the G20 Dinner in English.
Critics responded by alleging that the government intended to change India to Bharat due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda and push to increase the use of Hindi. Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government has gradually changed the names of cities and towns over time to move India beyond what has been termed a slavery mentality.
What Is The Official Name Of India?
In English, India is commonly known as South Asia’s giant; while in Indian languages, such as Bharat (Bharata), Bharata, or Hindustan. In the English translation of this document, the preamble begins with “We, the People of India…” while its first part states: “India shall be a Union of States.”
The Constitution in Hindi replaces India with Bharat everywhere except in its section on naming countries; instead, it states “Bharat shall be a Union of States.” To change India from Bharat back to Bharat, an amendment to its Constitution would need to be approved with two-thirds majority votes in both chambers of Parliament.
Will The Government Officially Change The Name From Bharat?
Some feel the timing of this controversy suggests otherwise. This incident happened just a few days after the government announced a five-day surprise special session of Parliament would take place later this month without disclosing an agenda or discussion topics. Unverified media reports speculated that such a session might feature discussions and votes related to changing names during that special session.
No official confirmation has been provided regarding this change, however, several members from both the BJP and the government have suggested using “Bharat” instead of India in its name. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which serves as an ideological parent to BJP, insists upon calling India Bharat. An official from the government did not respond quickly to an inquiry for comment.
What Is The History Behind India and Bharat Names?
They have been used for over 2,000 years. Many supporters of Bharat believe the term “India” to be a British colonial term; however, historians counter by noting its long history predating colonialism.
Sanskrit refers to the Indus River as Sindhu and even before Alexander the Great’s invasion in the 3rd Century BCE, Greek travelers identified any areas southeast of Indus as India. Bharat can be found in ancient Indian scriptures. According to some experts, it was more often used as an umbrella term describing sociocultural identity rather than geography.
India To Be Renamed Bharat? Primary The Government May Introduce A Resolution At Parliament’s Special Session
For this to occur and have already sent dinner invites from President Bharat to G20 Delegates as proof. Does India change their name? Times Now reported on Tuesday that Narendra Modi’s government will likely propose a resolution to change India to Bharat at its special session scheduled from September 18-22.
Congress leader Jairam RAMESH confirmed that official G20 dinner invitations from President Modi were sent with his name written as ‘President Bharat”, instead of as expected as “President India”.
Rashtrapati Bhawan was recently invited to a G20 Dinner on September 9th addressing President Bharat instead of President India, per the usual protocol. Ramesh wrote on X that Article 1 of India’s Constitution states this fact stating: ‘Bharat (formerly India) shall be a Union of States.” On Tuesday, numerous BJP leaders, such as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa, came out in favor of renaming India ‘Bharat.’
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar: “Bharat was and will always remain our home country”. Sarma wrote on X: “REPUBLIC OF BHARAT: Proud of our civilization’s march toward AMRIT KAAL.” Dharmendra Pradhan, Education Minister in India, also demonstrated his support by posting a photo of his G20 invitation.
“Congress seems to have issues with everything”, noted Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar when responding to the debate over the name ‘India’. Opposition leaders have voiced concerns over the move to establish a panel to oversee ‘one nation one election’. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stated during his Guwahati address that Bharat is an ancient name that has been in use.
Mr Bhagwat stated at an event organized by the Sakal Jain Samaj that our country has always been known as Bharat in any language it might be spoken in. Naresh Bansal, a Rajya Sabha member from BJP who spoke at its monsoon session just concluded, proposed this idea during his address to it. Bainsal stated that India as a term signifies colonialism and should therefore be removed from its Constitution.
The British changed Bharat into India. Article 1 of our Constitution now reads that India is Bharat. From ancient times onward, our country has been known as Bharat; Sanskrit texts mention it. Under British colonialism, however, “India” became associated with slavery; “it should not appear in our Constitution,” as reported by ANI.
The BJP has frequently invoked colonial-era remnants to criticize the new opposition group INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance). Their most recent action likely intended to poke fun at their opposition.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister for Electronics and Technology, responded to Opposition criticism of his government’s ‘President Bharat G20 Invitation’ by explaining that it does not violate national identity to name India as Bharat. Chandrasekhar: “I don’t see why writing “President of Bharat” would be problematic – Bharat is after all what our country is called.” Chandrasekhar continued, “I don’t believe there should be a problem; everything should be accepted.”
‘INDIA’ vs ‘BHARAT’
India’s bloc leaders have taken an active role in deliberations over ‘Bharat.’ Congress leader Jairam Ramesh publicly voiced his displeasure with this development through social media platform X, previously Twitter.
Arvind Kejriwal (national convener of Aam Aadmi Party or AAP) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind have strongly criticized this renaming idea, asking if “BJP will change India to Bharat if INDIA Alliance changes name?” If this happened then would the BJP change India back? Since it belongs to all its inhabitants, not just political parties. “What kind of joke is this?” continued Arvind. BJP believes votes will decrease so therefore should change Bharat’s name,”
Sanjay Singh, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament had stated on Tuesday that Mohan Bhagwat of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh wanted to alter the Constitution of India and change “India” with “Bharat.” Mohan Bhagwat recently spoke in the United States and advocated that Indians adopt the practice of calling themselves “Bharat”.
Sanjay Singh responded to media reports indicating that the Central Government may “plan” to remove India from the Constitution by questioning why Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwat seem so determined to have it out for Bhim Rao who wrote the draft constitution.
Dr Bhimrao Bhimao Ambedkar famously stated in the Constitution, that India is Bharat (India is Bharat). But Modi and RSS who hate Babasaheb want to alter it by amending the text accordingly. Sanjay Singh asked in his post about X “Why do Bhagwat & Modi dislike Babasaheb so much?” Singh shared with the Constitution the Article 1 provisions.
On Cards: One Nation, Only One Election?
The special session could see the central government introduce legislation proposing one election system across India. On September 1, 2023, former President Ram Nath Kovind was assigned as chairman of a committee charged with exploring this idea and investigating its feasibility. Kovind will investigate the possibility and mechanism for holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections akin to what occurred in 1967.
As their names suggest, simultaneous state and national elections are necessary for constitutional amendment purposes; lawmakers must meet in parliament to discuss it. Opposition leaders have strongly condemned the government’s decision to form a committee, believing it threatens the nation’s federal structure. They blame the INDIA alliance meeting as being one of the catalysts behind this development; consequently, the committee was created to investigate holding both national and assembly elections at once.
Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Congress party, called this government move an act of diversion and distraction. Kharge told X that such efforts by their administration must cease immediately to maintain public confidence.
Sanjay Raut, leader of Shiv Sena UBT party, said everyone accepts India as one country and elections should take place with impartiality in mind. “No country, one election’ is being used as an excuse not to hold fair elections in India,” said Sanjay Raut. This move of “one country, one election” was used to divert attention away from what the Shiv Sena was requesting: fair polling processes.
A Rajya Sabha member questioned if there should be a special session of Parliament scheduled from September 18-22, in commemoration of the Ganpati Festival, to ensure a smooth celebration.
Agendas of Special Sessions
IANS reported that discussions would focus on India hosting the G20 Summit 2023 from September 9-10. They noted events and programs related to this prestigious event would take place leading up to it. Officially, the agenda for the Special Session has yet to be issued.
Sources report that an action plan will be developed to make India a developed nation by 2047, along with discussions regarding this matter. According to sources, ” India may consider dropping “India is Bharat” as its definition in Article-1 of their constitution.
