Bharat Renaming Controversy! 2023

Bharat renaming controversy started when news spreade “Government is likely to propose renaming India to ‘Bharat’ in special 5 days parliament session starting on 18 September 2023”. The fact that the government has not announced any agenda for the special session has only added to the speculation. This matter arose when an official G20 summit invitation by President for dinner to G 20 Guests ‘the of President of Bharat’ was mentioned on invitation letter instead of President of India.

Before proceeding Bharat Renaming Controversy! lets understand Article 1.

Article 1 of the Constitution of India states that India, or Bharat, shall be a union of states. The draft of Article 1 was adopted on September 18, 1949. The article is important because it establishes the name of the nation.

Article 1 also states that the territory of India consists of the states, union territories, and other acquired territories. The states and territories are specified in the First Schedule. Article 2 states that Parliament can establish new states by law. However, Parliament cannot establish a new union territory by passing a law. This can only be done through a constitutional amendment.

However, the two official names of the Republic of India are India and Bharat, and their usage depends on the context and language.

Opposition Views on this particular Context.

INDIA bloc accused the Narendra Modi government of “distorting history and dividing India”. 

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal asked whether the ruling party would change the country’s name to ‘BJP’ if the opposition alliance decided to call itself “Bharat”.

Sharad Pawar the NCP chief said no one has the right to change the country’s name. “I don’t understand why the ruling party is perturbed over a name (INDIA bloc) related to the country,”  

BJP’s Member’s Views on this Controversy.

BJP leaders welcomed the Bharat nomenclature and they said erm “Bharat” is also in Article 1 of the Constitution, which says: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said that “We must stop using the word India and start using Bharat. The name of the country Bharat will remain Bharat wherever you go in the world. In spoken and written one must say Bharat,”

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the decision to use ‘Bharat’ is a big statement against the colonial mindset. “This should have happened earlier. It gives me great satisfaction. ‘Bharat’ is our introduction and we are proud of it. The President has given priority to ‘Bharat’

Conclusions

For the purpose of changing the name country i.e. ‘India to Bharat’ there is no any confirmation about it. In order to change the name of country requires a Constitution Amendment for it. Sources say the government may put forward a resolution to change the country’s name later this month.

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