An official G20 dinner invite sent in the name of the “President of Bharat” instead of the usual “President of India” has triggered a political row in the country.
Following this, there are speculations that the Indian government might bring forward a resolution in the upcoming special session of the Parliament, from 18-22 September, to officially change the country’s name to “Bharat.”
G20 dinner invite for 9th September from President of Bharat pic.twitter.com/pGMICzoZqF
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) September 5, 2023
The Issue
After the G20 invite for a banquet hosted in the name of “President of Bharat” caused commotion, an Indian government booklet on the PM’s visit to Indonesia was released.
The booklet released in connection with Modi’s visit to attend the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit referred to the Indian PM as “Prime Minister of Bharat,” thus adding fuel to the rumours.
Following this, the opposition questioned the government’s motives behind the terminology. The newly formed INDIA bloc accused the government of “distorting history and dividing India.”
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. We should… pic.twitter.com/V6ucaIfWqj
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 5, 2023
As the agenda of the upcoming special session remains undecided, people suspected an official move regarding the name change might be one of the reasons that the session has been called.
Government Denies Rumours
As social media became rife with discussions regarding the logic behind the name change and the costs it would incur, the Indian government cleared the air regarding the rumours.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said, “I think these are just rumours which are taking place. All I want to say is that anyone who objects to the word Bharat clearly shows the mindset.”
Calling himself a “Minister in the Bharat Sarkar” and saying there’s nothing new in it, Thakur said that the G20 branding and logo will have both India and Bharat written.
He said, “So why this objection to the name Bharat?...This shows their mentality that in their hearts they are against India or Bharat.”
The minister took a dig at the opposition and said, “When they go overseas, they criticise Bharat. When they are in India, they have objection to the name of Bharat.”
Refuting allegations around dropping the word India, Thakur said, “Why should anyone even speculate or object to Bharat being written like that? This branding has been done for the last one year.”
'When you say Bharat...'
— WION (@WIONews) September 6, 2023
India's EAM @DrSJaishankar addressed the controversy surrounding #G20 invitation cards that gave rise to speculations that the government is intending to drop 'India' as one of the official names of the world's largest democracyhttps://t.co/ffWz6JM8Lx
Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar also denied the rumours. Speaking to the ANI, he said, “India, that is Bharat - it is there in the Constitution. I would invite everybody to read it,”
“When you say Bharat, in a sense, a meaning and an understanding and a connotation comes with it and I think that is reflected in our Constitution as well,” he added.
India, That is Bharat; Renaming Drive
The draft Article 1 of the Indian Constitution says, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
Thus, the usage of both the terms can be interchangeable, without actually needing a formal constitutional change.
The Indian PM and Bharatiya Janata Party’s repeated insistence on India’s glorious civilisational past and the need to eliminate the colonial legacy have added to the confusion.
The Modi government recently introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill in place of the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Code (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, which was seen as the latest move in this direction.
Previously, the government has also changed the name of Rajpath to “Kartavya Path” and Race Course Road, which is home to the Indian PM’s residence, to “Lok Kalyan Marg” in New Delhi.
Earlier, the names of the islands in Andaman and Nicobar were also changed, with Ross Island renamed to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Neil Island to Shaheed Dweep, and Havelock Island to Swaraj Dweep.