New Delhi
\nIndia was buzzing with speculation on Tuesday over rumoured plans to scrap the official usage of the country\u2019s English name after a state-issued invite sent to world leaders referred to it as \u201cBharat\u201d.
\nPrime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government has worked to remove lingering symbols of British rule from India\u2019s urban landscape, political institutions and history books, but its next move could be the biggest such action yet.
\nModi himself typically refers to India as \u201cBharat\u201d, a word dating back to ancient Hindu scriptures written in Sanskrit, and one of two official names for the country under its constitution.
\nMembers of his Hindu-nationalist ruling party have previously campaigned against using the country\u2019s better-known moniker, India, which has its roots in Western antiquity and was imposed during the British conquest.
\nThis weekend India hosts the G20 summit of world leaders, capped with a state dinner that invitation cards said would be hosted by the \u201cPresident of Bharat\u201d.
\nThe government has called a special session of parliament for later in the month while remaining tight-lipped about its legislative agenda.
\nBut broadcaster News18 said unnamed government sources had told it that Bharatiya Janata Party lawmakers would put forward a special resolution to give precedence to the name \u201cBharat\u201d.
\nRumours of the plan were enough to spark a mix of opposition lawmakers and enthusiastic support from other quarters.
\n\u201cI hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with \u2018India\u2019,\u201d Shashi Tharoor of the opposition Congress party said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
\n\u201cWe should continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world.\u201d
\nFormer Test cricketer Virender Sehwag said he welcomed the prospect of a name change and urged India\u2019s cricket board to begin using \u201cBharat\u201d on team uniforms.
\n\u201cIndia is a name given by the British [and] it has been long overdue to get our original name \u2018Bharat\u2019 back,\u201d he wrote.
\n\u2018Colonial mindset\u2019
\nFor decades, Indian governments of various stripes have sought to excise traces of the British colonial era by renaming roads and even entire cities.
\nThe process has intensified under the government led by Modi, who has in public speeches stressed the need for India to abandon traces of a \u201ccolonial mindset\u201d.
\nHis administration renovated the capital New Delhi\u2019s parliamentary precinct, originally designed by the British, to replace colonial-era structures.
\nLast month, it outlined plans for a sweeping overhaul of India\u2019s pre-independence criminal code to remove references to the British monarchy and what Home Minister Amit Shah described as \u201cother signs of our slavery\u201d.
\nModi\u2019s government has also removed Islamic place names imposed during the Mughal empire that preceded British rule, a move critics say is emblematic of a desire to assert the supremacy of India\u2019s majority Hindu religion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi India was buzzing with speculation on Tuesday over rumoured plans to scrap the official usage of the country\u2019s English name after a state-issued invite sent to world leaders referred to it as \u201cBharat\u201d. Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government has worked to remove lingering symbols of British rule from India\u2019s urban landscape, political institutions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-354097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n