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ELITE V V VOL.1, Issue 57, Jul 2023OL.1, Issue 57, July2023
ELITE
VOL.1, Issue 57, Jul 2023OL.1, Issue 57, July2023

India or... Bharat ?

Youssef Mousa - Fourth year - Political science
Yusuf.musa2020@feps.edu.eg

preserve the Hindu identity. This is the vision
The first week of September witnessed
of the ruling party, “Bharatiya Janata Party,”
great controversy before the G20 summit was
to erase everything related to the colonial era
held in India, as the government sent official
and return to the Indian national origin and
invitations to the various presidents who
the ancient cultural heritage, and this is what
would attend the summit under the name
The government wants to achieve it before the
(President of the Republic of Bharat), which
completion of 100 years to achieve
sparked controversy over India’s intention to
independence in 2047.
change its name.
The government intends to submit a
The name Bharat dates back to the era of
proposal to Parliament to discuss this issue in a
Emperor Bharata, who was the conqueror of
special session that will be held from
the Indian subcontinent and the Republic of
September 18 to 22. Despite the presence of
India. In addition, the name Bharat - in some
some parties opposed to this principle and the
sacred Hindu books and texts - refers to the
continued use of the two words, the efforts of
name of a king who ruled the earth and gave it
Mr. Mohan Bhagwat, Chairman of the
its right. Bharat is a name from the ancient
Sanskrit language, taken from the word Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Organization,
Bharatam, which means the land of the south. Swayamsevak Sangh: This organization is the
This term first appeared in 1950. This name is ideological guide for the ideas of the Bharatiya
even recognized by the Indian Constitution as Party - to abolish the name India and use the
the name of India, and some have indicated word Bharat as a motivating factor for change
that the name Bharat was the common name and return to the old name.
before the arrival of British colonialism in Are these efforts by the government to test
India. the public atmosphere before holding
Therefore, the state wants to change legislative elections next year, or are they to
preserve the Hindu identity, which could lead
the name to Bharat, which has an
to racial discrimination within India towards
indication of cultural importance and to
all other religions, especially Muslims?

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