Jaishankar weighs in on ‘India-Bharat’ debate amid rumours of name change

External affairs minister S Jaishankar weighed in on the raging ‘India-Bharat’ debate and said Bharat has a connotation that is reflected in India’s Constitution.

Rashtrapati Bhawan sending out invitations for a G20 dinner on September 9 on behalf of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of ‘President of India’ fuelled rumours about plans to scrap the official usage of the country’s English name.

With the government remaining tight-lipped about its legislative agenda of the special session of Parliament called later this month, some news reports claimed that BJP MPs would put forward a special resolution to give precedence to the name “Bharat”, sparking a mix of opposition and enthusiastic support.

“India that is Bharat, it is there in the Constitution. Please, I would invite everybody to read it,” Jaishankar said.

The minister was asked about the opposition parties’ reaction and if the government is going to reposition India as Bharat coinciding with the G20 Summit.

“Look when you say Bharat in a sense, a meaning and understanding and a connotation that comes with it and that is reflected in our Constitution as well,” Jaishankar said.

India is also called Bharat and Hindustan – its pre-colonial names – in Indian languages and these are used interchangeably by the public and officially.

Over the years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has worked to remove lingering symbols of British rule by changing colonial names to, what it says, help India move past a mentality of slavery.

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said that his party is dedicated to working for both India and Bharat while BJP has put its focus on India versus Bharat. He said that it appears that the BJP is unable to accept that the INDIA alliance has garnered popular support and a newfound hostility has emerged within the BJP ranks after the emergence of the INDIA alliance.

“BJP is constantly trying to deflect attention from important issues of inflation, unemployment, a probe against Adani, China, Ladakh, J-K and Manipur. We are working for India and Bharat, while BJP is working for India vs Bharat,” he added.