Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his opening speech at the G20 summit in New Delhi today sitting behind a sign that said the name of his country is ‘Bharat’, the strongest indication yet that he may change the official name of India.

A few days earlier the invitations to the conference dinner were sent to G20 leaders by “President of India” Draupadi Murmu, sparking a wave of rumors that the country’s official English name will be changed.

Moreover, the logo of the conference features both the names “India” in English and “Bharat” in Hindi.

Modi often uses the word “Bharat” when referring to India, one of the country’s two official names under its Constitution, which is derived from ancient Hindu texts written in Sanskrit.

Members of the Hindu nationalist BJP (Bharatiya Janata) party have already campaigned against the name “India”, which has its roots in Western antiquity and was imposed on the country during British colonial rule.

The Modi government has sought to eradicate symbols of British colonialism from Indian cities, political institutions and the country’s history books.

Earlier this year Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar appeared to support the idea of ​​changing the name. “The name Bharat,” he explained, “carries with it a meaning, a perception and an association, which is also reflected in our Constitution,” India’s Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday.

Reactions

The prospect of such a change was enough to provoke mixed reactions among Modi’s opponents as well as enthusiastic supporters of the change.
“I hope the government is not stupid enough to do away with ‘India’ altogether,” commented Shashi Tharut, a senior official of the opposition Congress party on Platform X.

“We should continue to use both words,” not renounce “a name steeped in history, a name recognized around the world,” he added.

On his part, cricketer Virender Sehwag expressed his joy at the prospect of such a change and requested the Indian Cricket Association to put the word ‘Bharat’ on the team’s official uniforms.
“India is the name given by the British and the time has come to return to our original name ‘Bharat’,” he said.