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KOMPAS.com – An article announcing that India will change its name to Bharat is creating a buzz on social media.
Details of plans to change country’s name to Subcontinent nickname revealed internet user X or formerly known as Twitter, Tuesday (5/9/2023) evening.
The name change to Bharat was also visible in the download of X ThisWednesday (6/9/2023) early in the morning.
“India reportedly intends to officially change the name of the country to ‘Bharat’,” the message read.
Also from the upload, the request to change the name to Bharat was reportedly expressed several times.
Attracting attention, the upload has been viewed more than 11 million times, liked by 68,000 users and shared by more than 2,400 netizens as of Wednesday morning (06/09/2023).
So, is this news true?
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From “The President of Bharat”
The news of India’s name change began when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government used the word “Bharat” in the invitation to the G20 dinner hosted in the country.
According to Aljazeera, the invitation sent on Tuesday (05/09/2023) contained the statement “The President of Bharat”, not “President of India”.
For information, India hosts the annual G20 summit, precisely in New Delhi on September 9 and 10, 2023.
The G20 or Group of Twenty is the main forum for international economic cooperation made up of countries with large economies in the world, made up of 19 countries and one European Union institution.
In fact, this country of more than 1.4 billion people is officially known by two names: India and Bharat.
However, Indian names are more popular and commonly used, both nationally and internationally.
Bharat itself is an ancient Sanskrit word that many historians believe comes from early Hindu texts.
The word Bharat is also used as a Hindi option for India.
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Reasons for renaming “India”
Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party led by Narendra Modi, support the changes in the country’s nomenclature.
They argue that the name India was introduced by British colonialists and is a symbol of slavery.
The British government ruled India for around 200 years, until India finally gained independence in 1947.
Quoted by The Guardian, on Tuesday, Narendra Modi repeatedly removed the remaining symbols of the British government. urban landscapes, political institutions and history books.
However, the dinner invitation extended to the leaders of the G20 countries is the biggest step ever taken.
Modi is said to be more accustomed to referring to his country in ancient Sanskrit.
The government has called a special session of parliament at the end of the month, but has remained silent on its agenda.
However, several unnamed government sources said that BJP lawmakers would file a special resolution to put Bharat’s name first.
Rumors regarding this plan have received full approval and support from various parties. One of them, former cricketer Virender Sehwag.
“India is the name given by the British (and) it is high time we get back our original name ‘Bharat’,” he said.
Meanwhile, Indian MP from the opposition Congress party, Shashi Tharoor, hopes that the government will not act rashly by completely replacing the word ‘India’.
“We must continue to use these two words (India and Bharat) rather than giving up our claim to a historic name, a name recognized throughout the world,” he stressed.
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