India Consider Changing Name to Bharat, Here's Why
- Pune Pulse
Jakarta – India is rumoured considering changing its name to "Bharat". This thing after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government referred to the country as Bharat on official invitations, leaving many wondering whether the name will be changed.
In dinner invitations sent on Tuesday to guests attending this week’s G20 summit, Droupadi Murmu is referred to as “President of Bharat” instead of the usual “President of India”.
Presiden Jokowi serahkan palu Presidensi G20 ke PM India Narendra Modi.
- Tangkapan layar.
On the same day, a tweet by a senior spokesman of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Modi was attending an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit in Indonesia as the prime minister of Bharat.
In its constitution, the world’s most populous country is known as India and Bharat. Hindustan (land of the Hindus in Urdu) is another word for the country. The three names are used interchangeably officially and by the public.
However, around the world, India is the most commonly used name.
Since the G20 invitations were delivered, government critics have accused Modi’s government and his Hindu nationalist BJP of planning to change the name to only Bharat.
The name is a Sanskrit term found in scriptures written about 2,000 years ago. It refers to an ambiguous territory, Bharatavarsa, which stretched beyond today’s borders of India and may have extended to include what is today Indonesia.
The BJP has already renamed cities and places that were linked to the Mughal and colonial periods. Last year, for instance, the Mughal Garden at the presidential palace in New Delhi was renamed Amrit Udyan.
Critics said the new names are an attempt to erase the Mughals, who were Muslims and ruled the subcontinent for almost 300 years, from Indian history.
On the other hand, an Indian parliament member from the opposition Congress Party, Shashi Tharoor, expressed that the government should not hastily change the country's name.
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