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| India-Pakistan | |
| Media: India intends to change its name | |
| 2023-09-06 | |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] The Indian authorities intend to return the ancient name of Bharat to the country. This was reported on September 5 by the Indian newspaper The Economic Times. The corresponding resolution can be submitted to the Indian Parliament and considered at a special session from 18 to 22 September. “Now Article 1 of the Constitution can read: Bharat, that is, India, should be a Union of States,” wrote the head of the Indian National Congress, Jairam Ramesh, on the social network X (formerly Twitter) . He pointed out that the official invitations to the G20 summit dinner were sent out on behalf of President Bharat and not the President of India. Ramesh recalled that the country was known for thousands of years under the name of Bharat, found in ancient Sanskrit texts, and the British renamed it India. “The name India was colonial and thus symbolic of slavery. The name India should be struck out of the Constitution,” added the head of the national congress. As IA Regnum reported, on June 2, 2022, the United Nations granted Turkey's request to change the spelling of the country's name in all official documents. Republic of Turkey (Republic of Turkey) was renamed Republic of Türkiye. After that, the short version of the country's name became Türkiye instead of Turkey. Ankara explained that such a decision would increase the prestige of the country in the international arena.
The controversy ignited when the Rashtrapati Bhawan, for the first time, extended official invitations to world leaders attending the G20 Summit under the banner of "President of Bharat" rather than the customary "President of India." This development triggered a political dispute between the Opposition I.N.D.I.A alliance and the ruling BJP, with the Congress accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to manipulate history and divide the nation. Responding to the Opposition's criticism, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar asserted, "Our country's name is Bharat, and there should be no doubt about it." He was quoted by PTI as saying, "If we do not use Bharat as the name of our country, then what should we use?" However, the call to change the name from 'India' to 'Bharat' was not new, as similar petitions had previously been presented to the Supreme Court on two occasions. WHAT WAS THE SUPREME COURT'S STANCE ON RENAMING 'INDIA'? In 2020, a businessman based in Delhi filed a petition seeking an amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution. Article 1(1) states, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." This is the sole provision in the Constitution that addresses how the country should be officially referred to. In the plea, the petitioner argued that the name "India" had Greek origins, stemming from the word "Indica." He claimed that the English term "India" did not adequately represent the country's culture and traditions. Renaming it to "Bharat," the petitioner contended, would enable citizens to shed the remnants of colonial influence. In the verdict, while dismissing the plea, then Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde stated, "Bharat and India are both names specified in the Constitution... India is already referred to as 'Bharat' in the Constitution." A similar petition was also turned down by a Supreme Court panel led by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur in 2016. At that time, the then Chief Justice asserted that every Indian had the right to choose whether to call the country "Bharat" or "India." The bench emphasized that it was not within the purview of the Supreme Court to dictate what citizens should call their nation. HOW DID ARTICLE 1 OF THE CONSTITUTION COME INTO EXISTENCE? Article 1 of the Constitution is a critical provision that specifies the name by which our nation will be known. The draft of Article 1 was adopted on September 18, 1949, by the Constituent Assembly. During the deliberations, various suggestions were put forth, including Bharat, Hindustan, Hind, Bharatbhumi, and Bharatvarsh. Some members of the drafting committee favored "Bharat," while others preferred the new name "India." Ultimately, the Constituent Assembly approved the statement: "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." | |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #13 "Where's India, bro?" "Is it not where we left it, down there by the ghat, in the smoke?" "No, it woke, and by way of a joke, now it goes by Bharat... as in dot." |
| Posted by: Heriberto Dribble3682 2023-09-06 22:40 |
| #12 Hodu in the Hebrew Bible Ivooi in old Greek Hindush in old Persian Sindhu in Sankript Indus was the river of the civilization lots to choose from |
| Posted by: lord garth 2023-09-06 19:20 |
| #11 That's a lot of letterhead and business cards to pulp... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-09-06 14:55 |
| #10 Whatever it turns to I expect it will be like Madras /Chennai. The next corrupt administration (theirs!) will change it back. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-09-06 14:40 |
| #9 If they had a sense of humor, they'd change their name to Native America just to mess with people. And maybe a little payback for all that 'Indian' confusion. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2023-09-06 14:22 |
| #8 The actually going to change the name to wevebeentryingtoreachyouaboutyourecarswarranty. Just for the html extension. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-09-06 12:54 |
| #7 This name is available and comes with a logo with powerful impact in our nations capitol: |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2023-09-06 12:24 |
| #6 ^^^More likely one or two bored old leftist white women. |
| Posted by: Tom 2023-09-06 11:48 |
| #5 the "woke" have no concept of "Honor" |
| Posted by: 746 2023-09-06 11:47 |
| #4 DooDahMan, the really stupid thing about the Indians changing their name is that they were originally named that to HONOR a Native American player. Of course, these days all it takes is one or two members of a favored group to get outraged to force a change like this. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2023-09-06 10:02 |
| #3 Cowboys and Bharaties? |
| Posted by: Enver Slager8035 2023-09-06 09:49 |
| #2 This'll simplify the "Dot vs Feather" confusion |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-09-06 06:32 |
#1 Well, shit, first the Cleveland Indians, and now the country of India.  |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-09-06 01:17 |