Modi government`s Hindu nationalist supporters like to replace India with Bharat

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – State-issued invites sent to guests of this week’s G20 meeting referred to India’s president, Droupadi Murmu, as “President of Bharat.” 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 Narendra Modi ’s 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 “Bharat.” Now, Modi’s 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’s core vote base. Their stated reason: the name “India” is tied to colonialism and slavery, a sentiment that Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has long shared. But the reasons — political, cultural, historical — run far deeper.