What's In A Name? Know Everything About India Vs Bharat Row

Will India be called as Bharat soon? The topic has captured everyone's interest in last few days. Speculations have been rife that government is planning for a name change soon. According to reports, the government has also called a special parliamentary session on September 18-22 and yet to announce the agenda for the same.

The name change controversy erupted when dinner invitations sent to guests attending the upcoming G20 Summit referred to Droupadi Murmu as "President of Bharat" instead of the regular "President of India" and it got intensified after a government booklet on Prime Minister's visit to Indonesia for the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit referred to PM Narendra Modi as "Prime Minister of Bharat.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also mentioned "Prime Minister of Bharat" in his latest tweet on X platform, earlier known as Twitter". Here is the tweet:

Interestingly, many people feel that the government may move a resolution to change India to Bharat in the upcoming special Parliament session to be held from September 18-22. If it happens, it will reportedly imply a kind of identity crisis for websites using .IN domains.

The government however rejected reports of country's name change. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told The Indian Express: "I think these are just rumours which are taking place. All I want to say is that anyone who objects to the word Bharat clearly shows the mindset."

"I am a minister of Bharat Sarkar, many news channels also have Bharat in their name. Why should anyone object to Bharat, who are these people who are allergic to the name Bharat. Who is opposing the name Bharat? Now have you even started feeling the pain at the mention of Bharat?," Thakur said as he slammed the opposition.

Here is what celebrities, politicians, and sportsperson said ever since the controversy broke out:

Soon after reports of India's name change controversy surfaced, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan took to his X handle and left many social media users divided on the controversy with many supporting him while others questioning his action. Here is the tweet:

Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar also jumped into the India Vs Bharat debate and shared his opinion in a chat with India Today saying, "That is the original name, Bharat. So it has a nice ring to it. But it has to be done at the official level, the government level and the BCCI level for the team to be called Bharat cricket team. But changes have occurred. Burma is now called Myanmar. So the original name can come in and I do not see much of a problem. But, basically, it needs to come in everything."

Meanwhile, Virendra Sehwag expressed his opinion on the raging controversy that has sent political temperature soaring. He took to X platform and shared:

Earlier this week on Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the need to rename India as Bharat in official communications. She said that the entire world knows the country as India instead of Bharat.

Gurmit Singh Arora, National President, Indian Plumbing Association said "Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent an invitation to a G20 dinner on September 9th in the name of 'President of Bharat' rather than the normal 'President of India'. Changing a country's official name is a serious and difficult affair that normally necessitates considerable legal and constitutional processes. Any such suggestion would necessitate debates, discussions, and perhaps modifications to the constitution or other relevant legal documents. The Republic of India is the official name of India, and "Bharat" is one of its official names, as mentioned in Article 1 of the Indian Constitution, which states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." The term "Bharat" evokes feelings of national pride and solidarity, emphasising the significance of India's cultural and historical contributions to the world."

Aastha Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Share India Fincap said "It is a historic and momentous occasion for us. "Bharat" is profoundly ingrained in the cultural and historical character of India. It highlights India's ancient tradition and may be viewed as a means of reconnecting with the nation's rich history. It has been utilised in Indian scriptures and literature for millennia. Adopting this name might represent historical continuity. Because "Bharat" is a term that frequently appears across many Indian languages, renaming the nation "Bharat" might promote the usage as well as preservation of Indian dialects."