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The Indian government recently sent out invites for the upcoming G20 meet in New Delhi. However, one change has sparked a controversy.
In the invites, the country is reportedly called "Republic of Bharat" instead of the 'Republic of India'. The signature also says "President of Bharat", instead of "President of India".
This has led several citizens and politicians to speculate that the country's name will be changed to 'Bharat' — a word that is used to represent 'India' in Hindi.
Political parties and figures across the spectrum have reacted to the news with some favouring the change and others vehemently opposing it.
The global event is set to be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. World leaders, including US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese, are among the attendees.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan shared a photo of the invite, and it does not mention the word ‘India’. This, almost immediately, sparked a heated debate on social media that India could be renamed Bharat soon.
Congress leader and MP Jairam Ramesh voiced his concerns on the matter. “So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India'. Now, Article 1 in the Constitution can read: “Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States.” But now even this “Union of States” is under assault,” he tweeted.
The invite comes days after the Indian government called for a special session of the Parliament from September 18 to 22.
Reports in Indian media claim that the centre could move a resolution to rename India as Bharat at the five-day special Parliament session. The agenda for the session has not been unveiled yet, leading to speculation that a constitutional amendment bill could be introduced for a name change.
According to NDTV, the term Bharat has been used to refer to India in a G20 booklet handed to foreign delegates, titled Bharat, The Mother Of Democracy. The work highlights India's G20 presidency and its rich democratic ethos.
The Constitution of the country uses the term Bharat as well. "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States,” read the start of Article 1 on the document.
In 2015, the Narendra Modi-led government told the Supreme Court that there was no need to rename India as Bharat, reported The Indian Express.
In its response to a public interest litigation on the matter, the Centre said, “There is no change in circumstances to consider any change in Article 1 of the Constitution of India.”
If there is a change in its name, India will join the likes of countries — including Turkiye, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and the Republic of North Macedonia — that changed their names officially.
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