Speculation is rife in India as reports emerge of a potential name change for the country, from "India" to "Bharat” as world leaders have received invitations to a state dinner hosted by the "President of Bharat" in anticipation of the G20 summit scheduled for this weekend.
The genesis of this development traces back to a state-issued invitation to the G20 summit, which notably referred to the nation as "Bharat,” Guardian reported.
Government sources, while remaining tight-lipped about their legislative agenda, have indicated that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may introduce a special resolution in a forthcoming special session of parliament to prioritize the use of the name "Bharat" in official contexts.
This move by the BJP government coincides with ongoing political developments within the country as Opposition parties, seeking a united front ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, have recently convened in Bengaluru. After deliberations, they announced a new name for their alliance - 'I.N.D.I.A,' symbolizing unity in diversity.
This name changing row has sparked intense debates across the country.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor today took a swipe at the government over the India-Bharat naming row, saying the opposition bloc could call itself the "Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT)" and then perhaps the ruling party might stop the "fatuous game of changing names".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime has been marked by historic changes and a concerted effort to remove vestiges of the India’s history.
Modi administration undertaken substantial initiatives to reaffirm Indian identity and heritage, including the renovation of New Delhi's parliamentary precinct, originally designed during the British colonial era.
It also removed Mughal empire’s history from the academic curriculum, a move critics say is emblematic of a desire to assert the supremacy of India’s majority Hindu religion.
It also scrapped the historic article 370 of the Indian constitution on 5 August 2019 that granted autonomous status to the Jammu and Kashmir, a Himalayan region divided and shared and India, Pakistan and China.