A G20 summit will be held in India next week. The G20 (Group of 20) is a group of 19 countries and the European Union that meets regularly to promote international cooperation in the financial field. Together, its members account for about 80 percent of global gross national product, about 75 percent of world trade, and represent 60 percent of the world’s population.
As the host country, India sent out invitations for a dinner on the occasion of the summit. And they may have caused some mouths to drop. On the invitation you will have a hard time to find the name India. It is not the president of India invites them, but the “president of Bharat”.
Constitution
Bharat may sound strange to many Westerners, but it certainly doesn’t in India. Bharat has actually been a synonym for India for a long time there. The two names are together in the constitution, which dates from 1950. The definition says of the republic that India, which is also called Bharat, will be a union of states. So those two names are definitely in it.
Until now the name India has mainly been used. Especially on an international level. But now all of a sudden those invitations to such an important international event say President of Bharat instead of President of India. Much to everyone’s surprise.
Anti colonial, but also political
What’s behind that? The name change could be part of a broader diplomatic strategy to position itself as a global power with its own indigenous name. A world power that also wants to be recognised as such, in its own strength.
Proponents of the name change think India is a colonial term given to the country by the British. They want to get away from that name, kind of like an anti-colonial statement, to be more assertive on the world stage. In that respect it is somewhat similar to what Turkey did when it no longer wanted to be called Turkey (the English name, which also means turkey) on the international stage, but Türkiye.
But there could also be an internal reason behind it. Parliamentary elections will be held in the spring of next year and the largest opposition party, the Congress Party, has recently formed a coalition with 25 other parties to challenge the current government coalition, including Prime Minister Modi’s BJP. The name they have given to that coalition is the acronym INDIA, which stands for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.
To a certain extent, it is now also becoming an issue that the name no longer refers exclusively to the country, but is actually also the name used by the opposition. It may then be useful for the government parties to use Bharat in order not to have to mention the name India.
A keeper?
Whether Bharat will really push India completely into the background remains to be seen. The BJP, Prime Minister Modi’s Hindu nationalist party, says it supports the name change. The current coalition also seems to make it in the next elections. so if they support that, it could well be that it will pass. But is this what concerns the people on the street?