India vs Bharat

 Bharat vs India







One invite has set the ball rolling for endless views, counter views, trolls, satire, punches et al  Too much is there on News Debates all around 

I have a slightly different confused take on this. This entire issue has gained traction since the day the G20 presidential invite was given to various dignitaries in the name of "The President of Bharat"...


From that day, the Opposition is hell bent on taking on the Government for trying to change the name of the country. And the Ministers and Spokespersons of the Government are, equally vocally, justifying the need for this name change...


But I wonder, is there a need for this debate today ? Is someone actually changing the name of the country ? 

The Opposition's claim is not true because the Government has an unfettered right to use either India or Bharat.

Right at the beginning, our Constitution gives us both the names : India and Bharat. 

Article 1 begins with this


It is just that "India" has been more liberally used all these years; and the present dispensation is using "Bharat" at a few extra places than where it was being used earlier. That's about it. So let them do so.


The debate would have been justified, if there was a proposal for changing the name of the country to "Bharat" and remove "India" altogether. That would need a Constitutional Amendment to change Article 1 of our Constitution.... 


And for any Constitutional Amendment to be passed, we have a very well structured legislative process in place. So anytime in future, whether today, tomorrow or in 2047, if this name change happens through a Constitutional Amendment, then let's grant it to the wisdom of our legislature and give a thumbs up... As we have done so 105 times since our independence.


But, that is not the case here today. Today, it is just about using a lesser-used identity for a government invite, while staying within the Constitutional domain. 


And why a furore out of nowhere... While on the one hand this Government has continued the use of "India" lexicon with policies and schemes like Make in India, Digital India Mission, Startup India, Standup India, Skill India etc ; it has also used "Bharat" liberally for public consciousness with many schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, Ayushman Bharat etc. So why raise a heartburn over an invite just because it has never been done before.


What we all must unanimously agree to is that "India" has an incalculable global brand value built over last 200+ years (as articulated by Shashi Tharoor recently); while "Bharat" is seeped in our history and culture of 1000s of years. Use them both as and when you deem appropriate. 


By creating a storm out of it, the Opposition is giving a tool to the Government to further polarise its core vote bank. They should focus on the governance issues to corner the Treasury benches.


So for now, I don't think that the India in IITs, IIMs, ISRO, BCCI etc is going anywhere... And remember, despite the name changes of the cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata etc by their State Legislature, we still have IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, Madras High Court and Calcutta High Court.

So let's not frown,,,, chill.... We are Bharat... And we are India... Use both as you deem fit. 


*****************

Credits : Images Courtesy World Wide Web


Comments

  1. Much ado about nothing? The issue now becomes the fact that it was raised. Peculiarities of Indian politics.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fan Forever... Rest in Peace Adi

Travel : Hampi - A Place which Time Forgot

Good Bye Tiger