Name change, name game
The use of the name ‘Bharat’ in place of ‘India’ need not be controversial, as the Constitution itself says, “India, that is Bharat” (Page 1, “‘Bharat; replaces ‘India’ in G-20 invite from President”, September 6). If there is to be change, it should have been started with records and communication within the country first, after the approval of Parliament and gradually changed in respect of communications with the outside world. But after using ‘India’ as the country’s name in almost every communication, a change to ‘Bharat’, especially when the G-20 summit is about to be held, would be very confusing and could send wrong signals. “India” as a name evokes a lot of respect globally. India has indelible “brand value” in the comity of nations.
As far as Indians are concerned, India is Bharat and Bharat is India.
Kosaraju Chandramouli,
Hyderabad
“India” is held in high regard in the hearts of most Indians, especially by non-Hindi speakers, and has incalculable brand value abroad. While ‘Bharat’ represents our shared culture and traditions, ‘India’ is testimony to our position as a modern, democratic nation with a dynamic economy. The government needs to understand that both are equally essential to the spirit of our nation, as our founding fathers articulated this blend of tradition and modernity in the very first article of our Constitution: “India, that is Bharat...”
Prakhar Jaiswal,
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
One fails to understand why a name change has cropped up when there are umpteen number of urgent and important issues waiting to be addressed — taming the spiralling price of essential commodities, jobs creation, the Manipur unrest and even China’s provocative acts.
Is the Bharatiya Janata Party nervous about the Opposition alliance’s ‘INDIA’?
A. Jainulabdeen,
Chennai
The naming of the Opposition alliance as INDIA appears to have enlightened the government all of a sudden that it was in the grip of a colonial mindset in calling itself ‘Indian’. Whether we call ourselves ‘India’ or ‘Bharat’, what is important for citizens is that their rulers do not forget the motto ‘Satyameva Jayate’; their precious time should not be wasted on avoidable and worthless controversies.
Manohar Alembath,
Kannur, Kerala
Whether it is to be ‘India’ or ‘Bharat’, the day-to-day hardships faced by ordinary mortals are not going to vanish because of this ‘find and replace scheme’. Perhaps, this move may provide a golden opportunity for supporters of the ruling party to boast that the regime has brought back lost glory.
A. Venkatasubramanian,
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
