INDIA, THAT IS BHARAT

 

Pandit Nehru in his book, The Discovery of India said “Often, as I wandered from meeting to meeting, I spoke to my audiences of this India of ours, of Hindustan and of Bharata, the old Sanskrit name derived from the mythical founders of the race.”

    The indigenous Indian names of "Bharat", "Bharata", "Bharatvarsha" have their roots in ancient Hindu scriptures, notably the Puranas and the epic of Mahabharata. Another historic term, 'Hindustan', came into prominence with the rise of the Mughal Empire in the sub-continent.  The term 'Hindustan' stems from Persian language and can be translated to mean "land of the Indus River". Although it has not been officially recognised, it is still popularly revered nationally. Bharat and Hindustan both evoke a sense of national heritage and pride, but neither of them are designated as the legal name of the country as per the constitution, which uses both "India" and "Bharat".

    The modern and current day name "India" has linguistic roots dating back to the Indus valley civilisation. It originates from the Sanskrit word "sindhu", a term used by the people of the civilisation to describe the Indus river. As the sub-continent was attacked by foreign forces like the Persians, they started referring to the lands east of the Indus as Hindustan which gradually culminated to the English iteration of what we know today as "India". Under colonial rule, from the period of 1858 to 1947 when the country was under direct rule of the British crown, the name "India" was popularised globally through imperial trade and maps. With the dawn of Independence, our Constitution officially adopted and recognized India in Article 1, reading " India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States."

    In 2020, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court petitioning to officially change the name of our country from India to Bharat, which would effectually mean amending Article 1 of the Constitution. It was submitted by the Petitioner that the anglicized term "India" should be substituted with the more indigenous term "Bharat". It was submitted that the term "Bharat" will evoke a sense of nationalism and be a perfect ode to the sacrifices of freedom fighters. However, the plea was dismissed. The implication of such a name change extends to much more than amending Article 1 of the Constitution. It requires the changing of all government entities having the prefix or suffix of "India", recalling all the currency and order for reprinting as the new currency must read as "Reserve Bank of Bharat", and so on.

    Since independence, India has established itself as a force to be reckoned with. The country is recognized globally as "India" while "Bharat" is a sentiment that echoes within. Both names resonate with the rich heritage of the country and letting of either would be letting down the martyrs who laid down their lives for our homeland. Instead, both these names should be embraced, because both India and Bharat have an unvarying foothold in the conscience of our great nation.

                                                                                             

                                                                                                 *the views of the author are personal*