The buzz around India being renamed Bharat divided the internet into two. This speculation has been fueled after a photograph of a G20 dinner invitation went viral which was sent by Rashtrapati Bhavan and signed in the name of ‘President of Bharat,’ instead of the usual ‘President of India.’
The opposition parties, including the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, have criticized the invitation. The Congress has even accused the ruling government of attempting to distort history due to fear of the newly formed I.N.D.I.A alliance.
However, in June 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to remove the word “India” from the Constitution and use only “Bharat” instead. The PIL claimed that using “Bharat” would help citizens to get over India’s colonial past. However, the Supreme Court rejected the PIL, stating that the Constitution already refers to India as “Bharat” in the constitution itself.
The Constitution of India, adopted in 1950, formally recognizes the country’s official name as “India, that is Bharat.” Article 1 of the Constitution uses the two names interchangeably: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” This unique formulation acknowledges both the ancient and modern identities of the nation. “India” signifies its global presence, while “Bharat” connects it to its ancient roots, rich mythology, and cultural heritage.
Bharat: Ancient Roots in Mythology
The roots of “Bharat”, “Bharata”, or “Bharatvarsha” are traced back to Puranic literature. Derived from the legendary king Bharata, a prominent figure in Hindu epics like the Mahabharata, this term has its roots in ancient Indian texts. The Rig Veda, one of the oldest sacred scriptures in Hinduism, mentions “Bharata” in the context of a legendary king, giving birth to the term “Bharatvarsha” to denote the Indian subcontinent.
The Puranas describe Bharata as the land between the “sea in the south and the abode of snow in the north”.
‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ in the Indian Constitution
Jawaharlal Nehru, in his renowned book ‘Discovery of India’, referred to India using different names such as “India”, “Bharata”, and “Hindustan”. He often spoke about these names during his speeches, referring to the old Sanskrit name “Bharata” which is derived from the mythical founders of the Indian race, and also to “Hindustan”.
However, when the question of naming India in the Constitution arose, “Hindustan” was dropped and both “Bharat” and “India” were retained. During the Constituent Assembly debates, the “Name and Territory of the Union” was discussed on September 17, 1949. The first article of the Constitution read, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”, and this sparked a division among the members. Some members were opposed to using the name “India”, as they felt that it was a reminder of the colonial past.