It began with a . How it ends could affect more than a billion people.

State-issued invites sent to guests of referred to India91裸聊视频檚 president, , as 91裸聊视频淧resident of Bharat.91裸聊视频� Suddenly, in many circles, the question was everywhere: Would the country of more than 1.4 billion now be called by its ancient Sanskrit name?

Since then, Prime Minister 91裸聊视频檚 ministers, his Hindu nationalist supporters, Bollywood stars and cricketers have made similar public proclamations: India should officially be rebranded as Bharat.

India is known by two names: India, used worldwide, and the Sanskrit and Hindi nomenclature of 91裸聊视频淏harat.91裸聊视频� Now, Modi91裸聊视频檚 government is signaling that Indians should shed the name India and instead call their country Bharat.

The possibility is resonating with Hindu nationalists who form the prime minister91裸聊视频檚 core vote base. Their stated reason: the name 91裸聊视频淚ndia91裸聊视频� is tied to colonialism and slavery, a sentiment that Modi91裸聊视频檚 ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has long shared. But the reasons 91裸聊视频� political, cultural, historical 91裸聊视频� run far deeper.

THERE ARE SOME PRECEDENTS, BUT INDIA91裸聊视频橲 SITUATION IS SINGULAR

A name 91裸聊视频� be it of a person or an entire country 91裸聊视频� is many things. It91裸聊视频檚 descriptive, emotionally important and deeply wrapped up in identity. So when it comes to a whole nation, a name change is not a small thing.

Around the world, there have been some notable national rebrandings in recent decades as nations shed names inflicted by colonial rulers. Ceylon was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Rhodesia got rebranded as Zimbabwe in 1980. Burma became in 1989. And last year, Turkey was officially changed to . The list goes on 91裸聊视频� Cambodia to Kampuchea (and eventually back again), Swaziland to , Malaya to Malaysia.

In India, the country91裸聊视频檚 renaming demands stem from a more cultural and religious perspective. They are often invoked by Hindu nationalists who say the name Bharat is more authentic to the nation91裸聊视频檚 past.

Officially, the Indian government has made no decision and issued no statement, and one senior leader dismissed the speculations of a name change as 91裸聊视频渏ust rumors.91裸聊视频� But India91裸聊视频檚 foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, seemed to advocate the increased use of Bharat this week.

91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频業ndia, that is Bharat91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� it is there in the constitution. Please, I would invite everybody to read it,91裸聊视频� Jaishankar said Wednesday.

Indeed, India91裸聊视频檚 constitution uses the term Bharat just once: 91裸聊视频淚ndia, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.91裸聊视频� Everywhere else, the country is referred to as India in English.

The name Bharat is an ancient Sanskrit word that many historians believe dates back to early Hindu scriptures. 91裸聊视频淚ndia91裸聊视频� has etymological roots in the Indus River, which was called 91裸聊视频淪indhu91裸聊视频� in Sanskrit. Another popular but not legally recognized name for the country is Hindustan, which means 91裸聊视频渓and of the Indus91裸聊视频� in Persian. All three names were in use long before British rule.

But Modi91裸聊视频檚 government, which won 2014 national polls and returned to power in 2019, has a penchant for changing names.

It has done so with various cities, towns and prominent roads that were long associated with the British rule and Muslim heritage, arguing it is an ongoing effort to salvage the country from the taint of colonialism and so-called Muslim invaders. Prominent among such efforts is the government91裸聊视频檚 renaming of the northern city of Allahabad 91裸聊视频� named by Muslim Mughal rulers centuries ago 91裸聊视频� to the Sanskrit word 91裸聊视频淧rayagraj.91裸聊视频�

POLITICS IS AT THE CENTER OF THE DEBATE

The name-changing exercise is fraught with a political motivation that is an essential ingredient of the ruling government91裸聊视频檚 revisionist agenda and has, under Modi91裸聊视频檚 rule, come amid increasing attacks by Hindu nationalists against minorities, particularly Muslims. A largely Hindu country that has long proclaimed its multicultural character, India has a sizable Muslim minority 91裸聊视频� 14% of the population.

Already, Indians and even foreigners are tacitly being nudged to get used to the revised nomenclature of the country.

A government-made mobile application for media and G20 delegates attending the summit says Bharat is the official name of the country 91裸聊视频� a first public proclamation of its kind during any global event. Visiting guests for the summit are also being welcomed to the host91裸聊视频檚 capital city with giant billboards that refer to the country as both Bharat and India.

Efforts to change India91裸聊视频檚 name have been made in the past through court cases, but judges have so far steered away from the issue. However, an upcoming session of the federal Parliament 91裸聊视频� a surprise announcement made by the Modi government without disclosing any agenda 91裸聊视频� has prompted speculation. Opposition parties say an official rebranding could very well be in the cards.

In July, India91裸聊视频檚 opposition parties announced a new alliance called INDIA in an effort to unseat Modi and defeat his party ahead of national elections in 2024. The acronym stands for 91裸聊视频淚ndian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.91裸聊视频� Since then, some officials in Modi91裸聊视频檚 party have demanded that the country be called Bharat instead of India.

The formation of that alliance, says Zoya Hasan, an Indian academic and political scientist, 91裸聊视频渃ould be the immediate provocation here.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a political debate which is aimed at embarrassing the opposition who have re-appropriated the nationalism platform with their new name,91裸聊视频� Hasan said. 91裸聊视频淭his rattled the ruling establishment, and they want to regain their monopoly over nationalism by invoking Bharat.91裸聊视频�

She also said the timing of suddenly using Bharat is curious given one particular recent event. The chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a radical Hindu movement widely accused of stoking religious hatred with aggressively anti-Muslim views, recently urged Indians to use the Sanskrit name more often. The RSS is the ideological mother ship of Modi91裸聊视频檚 party, and the prime minister has been its lifelong member.

91裸聊视频淭hey can call it Bharat. It91裸聊视频檚 one of the official names. But there91裸聊视频檚 no need to erase India,91裸聊视频� Hasan said, adding that the furor is a 91裸聊视频渘eedless controversy91裸聊视频� as both names 91裸聊视频渉ave happily coexisted.91裸聊视频�

Modi91裸聊视频檚 party leaders, meanwhile, have celebrated what they call a much-needed change.

91裸聊视频淩EPUBLIC OF BHARAT 91裸聊视频� happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL,91裸聊视频� BJP politician Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 91裸聊视频淎mrit Kaal91裸聊视频� is a Hindi phrase meaning 91裸聊视频渁uspicious era91裸聊视频� that Modi often uses to describe what he calls India91裸聊视频檚 resurgence under his government.

Modi91裸聊视频檚 opponents have been less welcoming, with many saying the government91裸聊视频檚 priorities are misplaced amid more pressing crises like increasing unemployment, widening religious strife and the backsliding of democracy. They also say his government is , and have 91裸聊视频� at least sarcastically 91裸聊视频� suggested they might change the alliance91裸聊视频檚 name as a countermove.

91裸聊视频淲e could of course call ourselves the Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT),91裸聊视频� opposition lawmaker Shashi Tharoor wrote on X. 91裸聊视频淭hen perhaps the ruling party might stop this fatuous game of changing names.91裸聊视频�

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