Name change in India causes controversy in country
India's intention to change its name to ‘Bharat’ divided the country. The Indian opposition reacted to President Droupadi Murmu being written as ‘President of Bharat’ instead of ‘President of India’ in the G20 Summit dinner invitation. If Indian government decides to use only 'Bharat' as the country's name, it must submit a bill to amend Article 1 of the constitution.
In India, the use of "Bharat" instead of "India" in the G20 dinner invitation drew reaction from the opposition,
The invitation to the G20 Summit dinner to be held in New Delhi, the capital of India, sparked controversy when President Droupadi Murmu was written as "President of Bharat" instead of "President of India".
According to India Today, the opposition reacted to the use of the word "Bharat" in the invitation to the opening dinner of the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10.
Indian National Congress MP Jairam Ramesh made a statement on social media platform X, implying that the second name was preferred in the expression "India, i.e. Bharat" in Article 1 of the country's constitution, and criticized that the federal structure of India in the same article is"now under attack".
"The whole country wants us to use the word 'Bharat' instead of 'India'. 'India' is an insult directed at us by the British, but 'Bharat' is a symbol of our culture," Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Harnath Singh Yadav said and called for a constitutional amendment on the issue.
'BHARAT' IN CONSTITUTION
Article 1 of the constitution, which begins with the phrase "India or Bharat", indicates that the name of the country may be officially referred to as "India" as well as "Bharat".
Allegations that this change will be brought up in the special session of parliament scheduled for September 18-22, the agenda of which has not yet been announced, and that a bill for a formal name change may be submitted have sparked controversy.
The main point of contention is whether the administration plans to amend the constitution to remove "India" and make "Bharat" the only official name.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT NEEDED FOR 'BHARAT'
If the Indian government decides to use only "Bharat" as the country's name, it must submit a bill to amend Article 1 of the constitution.
The government must obtain the votes of at least two-thirds of the members of the Assembly for any amendment to Article 1.
The Supreme Court of India rejected the application seeking a name change in 2020, advising that this request could be converted into a representation and forwarded to the central government for an appropriate decision. The court's Chief Justice also said, "Bharat and India are both enshrined in the constitution. India is already called Bharat in the constitution."
In the parliamentary session, Naresh Bansal, a BJP member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, said that the word "India" symbolized "colonial slavery" and should be removed from the constitution.
Source: BBC
