Is India Being Renamed? What Has The Modi Government Said? Entire 'Bharat' Controversy Explained – 5 Points

Two weeks ahead of the parliament's special session, the agenda of which is still unknown, a political row erupted on Tuesday after official invitations for the G20 summit dinner described Droupadi Murmu's position as 'President of Bharat', replacing the customary 'President of India'. Soon after, questions arose on whether the Narendra Modi government is planning to drop India and stay with just Bharat as the country's name.

While senior BJP leaders and other union ministers cheered the move, claiming that 'Bharat' is the official name of the country, opposition members targeted the government alleging that the move was reflective of the BJP being scared of the INDIA bloc. The word 'Bharat' has in fact, been used several times and finds mention in the country's schemes, political movements and Bollywood movies. 

Bharat Controversy - What We Know So Far

1. A booklet prepared for the G20 delegates titled 'Bharat The Mother of Democracy' stated: Bharat is the official name of the country. It is mentioned in the Constitution as also in the discussions of 1946-48. "In Bharat that is India, taking the consent of the people in governance has been part of life since earliest recorded history," it said. While opposition leaders have expressed concerns over whether a purported name change of the country is in the works, Union minister Anurag Thakur in an interview said that the speculation appears to be "just rumours which are taking place". No other clear statement of denial has been issued by the government.

2. Close on the heels of the naming controversy, on Tuesday night, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra shared an official information regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Indonesia in which he has been referred to as the 'Prime Minister of Bharat'. PM Modi will be leaving for Indonesia on Wednesday night to attend the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. 

3. Although the use of 'President or PM of Bharat' on G20 invitations only appeared on Tuesday, the terms were also used in government notifications for PM Modi's visit to South Africa for the 15th BRICS Summit and Greece thereafter in August. "The visit of Prime Minister of Bharat Narendra Modi to South Africa and Greece," the notification read.

4. An official comment regarding whether the name of the country will be changed to Bharat is still awaited. However, such proposals have been made earlier. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal had pitched for such a name change during the recently concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament, saying that, "India is a symbol of 'colonial slavery' and should be removed from the constitution. Our country has been known by the name of 'Bharat' for thousands of years." The government has previously renamed several landmarks in the country including Rajpath and introduced amendments such as the latest Bills to overhaul the criminal justice system, with the reasoning of 'shedding colonial past'. 

5. Whether it was intentional or not, the special session of parliament which has been called on September 18, coincides with the day the Constituent Assembly adopted the draft Article 1 of the Constitution which says, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States," in 1949. This further fuelled speculations on whether a name change was on the agenda for meeting. The Constitution of India currently refers to the country as "India, that is Bharat".