INDIA vs BHARAT: Watershed moment, if name of country restored as Bharat

NEW DELHI: An invitation describing President as 'President of Bharat' circulated on social media came as a pleasant surprise for the citizens who have long felt that the name of country as 'India' was a colonial hangover and must be dispensed with.

Expectedly, G20 dinner invitation from President Droupadi Murmu describing her position as 'President of Bharat' triggered massive debate, with the opposition parties alleging that the government is planning to drop India and stay with just Bharat as the country's name.

Importantly, the term "President of Bharat" has been used for the first time in an official invite to foreign leaders attending the weekend G20 summit, replacing the traditional "President of India".

This is a historical step and could prove to be a watershed moment in the cultural history of the country, if further requisite legislative steps are taken in this regard.

The development also marks a significant shift in nomenclature on the international stage as the country hosts the mega event featuring US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak among others.

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan shared on X a G20 dinner invitation from the president for Saturday at Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the G20 summit of world leaders, giving a credence to the speculation.

Article 1 (1) describes India, that is, Bharat' in the Constitution.

During the constituent assembly debate, there was a long discussion on the name of the country. 'Bharat', 'Hindustan', 'Hind' or 'Bharatbhumi' or 'Bharatvarsh' were the names that were suggested.

"By naming our country as Bharat we are not doing anything which will prevent us from marching forward. We should indeed give such a name to our country as may be befitting our history and our culture. It is a matter of great pleasure that we are today naming our country as Bharat, Seth Govind Das had then said.

"We fought the battle of freedom under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi by raising the slogan of Bharat Mata Ki Jai," he had said.

Kamalapathi Tripathi had then said, "Even the mere uttering of this word, conjures before us by a stroke of magic the picture of cultured life of the centuries... In my opinion there is no other country in the world which has such a history, such a culture, and such a name, whose age is counted in milleniums as our country has. There is no country in the world which has been able to preserve its name and its genius even after undergoing the amount of repression, the insults and prolonged slavery which our country had to pass through. Even after thousands of years our country is still known as Bharat. Since Vedic times, this name has been appearing in our literature. Our Puranas have all through eulogised the name of Bharat."

In the draft Constitution submitted to the constituent assembly, the suggestion was only India. However, after elaborate discussions, the constituent assembly on 18th September 1949, added name of 'Bharat' also.