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

State-issued invites sent to guests of referred to India鈥檚 president, , as 鈥淧resident of Bharat.鈥� 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 鈥檚 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 鈥淏harat.鈥� Now, Modi鈥檚 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 minister鈥檚 core vote base. Their stated reason: the name 鈥淚ndia鈥� is tied to colonialism and slavery, a sentiment that Modi鈥檚 ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has long shared. But the reasons 鈥� political, cultural, historical 鈥� run far deeper.

THERE ARE SOME PRECEDENTS, BUT INDIA鈥橲 SITUATION IS SINGULAR

A name 鈥� be it of a person or an entire country 鈥� is many things. It鈥檚 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 鈥� Cambodia to Kampuchea (and eventually back again), Swaziland to , Malaya to Malaysia.

In India, the country鈥檚 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 nation鈥檚 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 鈥渏ust rumors.鈥� But India鈥檚 foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, seemed to advocate the increased use of Bharat this week.

鈥溾�業ndia, that is Bharat鈥� 鈥� it is there in the constitution. Please, I would invite everybody to read it,鈥� Jaishankar said Wednesday.

Indeed, India鈥檚 constitution uses the term Bharat just once: 鈥淚ndia, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.鈥� 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. 鈥淚ndia鈥� has etymological roots in the Indus River, which was called 鈥淪indhu鈥� in Sanskrit. Another popular but not legally recognized name for the country is Hindustan, which means 鈥渓and of the Indus鈥� in Persian. All three names were in use long before British rule.

But Modi鈥檚 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 government鈥檚 renaming of the northern city of Allahabad 鈥� named by Muslim Mughal rulers centuries ago 鈥� to the Sanskrit word 鈥淧rayagraj.鈥�

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 government鈥檚 revisionist agenda and has, under Modi鈥檚 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 鈥� 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 鈥� a first public proclamation of its kind during any global event. Visiting guests for the summit are also being welcomed to the host鈥檚 capital city with giant billboards that refer to the country as both Bharat and India.

Efforts to change India鈥檚 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 鈥� a surprise announcement made by the Modi government without disclosing any agenda 鈥� has prompted speculation. Opposition parties say an official rebranding could very well be in the cards.

In July, India鈥檚 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 鈥淚ndian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.鈥� Since then, some officials in Modi鈥檚 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, 鈥渃ould be the immediate provocation here.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a political debate which is aimed at embarrassing the opposition who have re-appropriated the nationalism platform with their new name,鈥� Hasan said. 鈥淭his rattled the ruling establishment, and they want to regain their monopoly over nationalism by invoking Bharat.鈥�

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 Modi鈥檚 party, and the prime minister has been its lifelong member.

鈥淭hey can call it Bharat. It鈥檚 one of the official names. But there鈥檚 no need to erase India,鈥� Hasan said, adding that the furor is a 鈥渘eedless controversy鈥� as both names 鈥渉ave happily coexisted.鈥�

Modi鈥檚 party leaders, meanwhile, have celebrated what they call a much-needed change.

鈥淩EPUBLIC OF BHARAT 鈥� happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL,鈥� BJP politician Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 鈥淎mrit Kaal鈥� is a Hindi phrase meaning 鈥渁uspicious era鈥� that Modi often uses to describe what he calls India鈥檚 resurgence under his government.

Modi鈥檚 opponents have been less welcoming, with many saying the government鈥檚 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 鈥� at least sarcastically 鈥� suggested they might change the alliance鈥檚 name as a countermove.

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

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