The invitation to delegates of G-20 for a dinner by the President of Bharat has sparked a heated debate over the name of our country. Article 1 of the Constitution says,” India, that is, Bharat shall be a union of States.” Thus the word India refers to Bharat. Our National Anthem uses the word Bharat and not India. When Arabs came to Bharat they called it Hindustan - the land of Hindus.

European, however, called the land beyond the river Indus as India. For them Indian means native people. The British called the native people of America as Red Indians. To trade with Bharat the British named their company East India Company. In our scriptures and ancient literature our land that also included present day Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq was called by several names like Jambu Dwip, Aryavarta, Bhartkhande, Bharat etc.

The word Bharat is derived from two Sanskrit words ‘Bha’ and ‘Rat’. Bha means knowledge & wisdom and Rat means involved. Thus, Bharat is the land of the people who are constantly involved in knowledge and wisdom. The word Bharat comes from the name Bharat the son of historical /mythological Dushyant and Shakuntala. We can find the name of this country as Bharat in our ancient literature and religious books.

The word India is a British legacy. It is surprising as to why constitution makers used the word India for this country. This shows their mindset. If we dig the past, we find that Congress was formed by the British to provide a vent to the growing discontent among the people of India. It was founded by AO Hume, the British bureaucrat. Its first President WC Banrji was the standing Counsel in Calcutta.

It is interesting to note that the Congress never demanded Independence from the British Rule. They always demanded a share in the government and finally Nehru got it in 1946 when he became Prime Minister even before Independence. Thus, the Congress was very much attached to the British and so they could not drop the word India while drafting the Constitution. Growing discontent in different parts of the country forced then governments to change the names of several places.

Calcutta became Kotkata, Bombay became Mumbai, Madras became Chennai etc. At that time the Congress did not oppose a change in name. But, this time the Congress and other opposition parties are not taking the amendment in good taste. In fact, the opposition has itself given an opportunity to BJP to take this step. The opposition deliberately names their alliance is such a way that its abbreviation becomes I.N.D.I.A. In fact no one should be allowed to keep country’s name for his Business, institution or organization.

If Bharat will be known by single name Bharat, it will restore our ancient glory. A large section of our people will favor it. This may prove to be a master stroke by Modi for the forthcoming parliamentary election. The more the opposition will oppose the change the more they will lose the battle. It is definitely a welcome change. No country in the world has more than one name. India is not the translation of Bharat. It is a name and should not be translated. Let our country be called Bharat and we are Bharatiya.

Author is an IPS officer and retired recently. I have recently written a book entitled "My Discourses With The Saptarishi" One can find this book on pratibhabooks.com. My ideas on several current problems are enshrined in this book. My second book KRISHNACHARITAM THE ESSENCE OF LIFE is recently published by Notion Press. The book encapsulates the entire life and deeds of Krishna the great Avatar.