Introduction:
Recently amidst the G20 Summit which is being held in India, the Honourable Prime Minister decided to change the name “India” to “Bharat” and it was stated by various members of the ruling party that the term “India” is an abuse in the name itself that was given by the British during their rule over the country. Following such statements, there have been many controversies about whether the name of the country would change from “India” to “Bharat”. This situation has also been aired on reputed news channels creating an absurd situation all about the country.
Analysis of the Situation:
It should be understood that the name of the country was a subject matter of debate way back during the time of enactment of the “Indian Constitution” or “Bharat Ka Sanvidhan”. Ironically for the zillionth time, rather than looking for ourselves, we decided to ponder upon what a bunch of people over the television decided to tell us! Here are facts on why the debate on whether the name should be changed from “India” to “Bharat” is just a ridiculous topic:
- Article 393 of the Indian Constitution states that “this Constitution shall be called the Constitution of India”. Whereas the same Article 393 of “भारत का संवधान” uses the word BHARAT as a Hindi translation of the word INDIA.
- Article 52 of the Indian Constitution states that “there shall be a President of India”. Article 76 of the Indian Constitution states that “there shall be an Attorney General of India”. Similarly, there is a Supreme Court of India and an Election Commission of India which are all integral parts of the Basic Structure of the Indian Constitution.
- It is clear that the word “Bharat” is to be used as a Hindi Translation of the English word “India” or can be used at an individual’s discretion whenever it deems fit and necessary.
Basis for the Analysis:
Article 1 clause (1) of the Indian Constitution clearly states, “India, that is Bharat shall be a Union of States” and the same was stated by the Former Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur and Honourable Judge U.U. Lalit way back in 2016 while dismissing a PIL. It was further said that you may call it India or Bharat whatever deems fit and necessary, to which the current ruling Government offered support to the Judgement only to cause a sense of disagreement now. So, what is the reason behind such a change of heart? Let us find out.
The root cause for the issue:
The entire hatred towards the name “India” started because of the Alliance formed by the Congress Party, TMC, DMK and AAP the major partners in this alliance called I.N.D.I.A. (Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance) for the 2024 elections in India. This is formed with the main aim of opposing the current ruling party because they have caused more financial risks, exceeding unemployment rates, attacks by the Hindu nationalists on other minorities and shrinking space for media.
This is the main reason why the current ruling party has developed a hatred towards the name “India” and was even seen using the name Bharat in many places during the welcoming and initial stages of the G20 Summit in India or should I say Bharat.
Conclusion:
The name change from India to Bharat would not stand because such PILs have been dismissed by the Supreme Court merely because an individual is free to use either of the words to address or refer to the nation. There is no specific word by which the nation can be referred. The entire rumour and sense of hatred towards the term INDIA is only caused due to the political alliance formed against the ruling party.