Bharat, Not India: Twitter Is Divided At Governemnt’s Call For Name Change

According to reports, The Government of India is all set to propose a new name for the country during Parliament’s upcoming special session set to take place from September 18-22. The news comes after senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that the invites to a G20 summit dinner have noted ‘President of Bharat’ instead of ‘President of India’. In case the name change is accepted, the Constitution of India which currently refers to the nation as ‘India, that is Bharat…’ will only mention it as ‘Bharat’.

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After a picture of the invite went viral on soical media, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed out how the name had changed in a official document. In a tweet he said, “So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhawan sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th 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.”

Meanwhile, there has been support from many other politicans like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has urged the people of the country to use the word Bharat instead of India. Back in 2022, on August 15 during his speech at the Red Fort, he appealed to take five pledges, one of which was freedom from every trace of slavery and the Westernized name for the country seems to be one of them.

Twitter has had a mixed reaction to the same, while some said India has had a huge brand that took decades to work now and abandoning the name will impact the country. Meanwhile, others said if countries like Myanmar can return to their original name why can’t Bharat.

Amid the speculation and divided opinions, actor Amitabh Bachchan also tweeted, ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ on his Twitter account. There are also many memes going viral about the anticipated change in the name of the country. Take a look here:

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While some claimed the name change will impact the country’s global standing the others believed it will impact Indian citizens and worsen the political and growing religious gap in the country. The Government of India is also being accused of diving the country.

Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “distorting history and dividing India” and added, “But we will not be deterred. After all, what is the objective of INDIA parties? It is BHARAT—Bring Harmony, Amity, Reconciliation And Trust. Judega BHARAT Jeetega INDIA!” he added.

On the other hand, BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav has claimed that the entire country is demanding the name change. He claimed that, “India is an abuse given to us by the British whereas the word ‘Bharat’ is a symbol of our culture…I want there should be a change in our Constitution and the word ‘Bharat’ should be added to it.”

It is unclear if the change will be made permanent and how it will impact the everyday lives of the country’s citizens.

Cover artwork by Patrick Gawande/Mashable India