'Bharat' Could Soon Feature On Government Schemes And Programmes, But No Retrospective Implementation: Report

The name 'Bharat' will now be included on official documents related to schemes and government programmes, as well as national and international invitations.

However, this change will not have any retrospective effect.

The name 'Bharat' has already been used on official documents for schemes and programmes such as 'Karmayogi Bharat'.

The prominence of the name 'Bharat' increased when Home Minister Amit Shah proposed using it in the new penal codes, News18 reported quoting a senior Central government official.

After passage from the Parliament and President's assent, the Indian Penal Code will become Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will be called Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Indian Evidence Act will be referred to as Bharatiya Sakshya Bill.

Going forward, the word 'Bharat' will be more prevalent in central government programmes, like the 'Bharat Drone Shakti', in contrast to schemes named 'Make in India' and 'Start Up India'.

Both 'India' and 'Bharat' are legally recognised names of the country, according to the official.

"Passports have ‘Republic of India’ on them and ‘Bharat Sarkar’ is also mentioned there. There is no question of violating any legal or constitutional sanctity. And there is no discussion over changing things in a retrospective way," the official said.

It should be noted that invitation cards for separate events sent by the President's and Prime Minister's Office, which include the mention of 'Bharat', have sparked controversy.

The Opposition has accused the Narendra Modi government of attempting to rename the country for political gain ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, particularly to counter the anti-BJP I.N.D.I.A. bloc.

Senior bureaucrats in the government have reportedly clarified that the mention of 'Bharat' on the invitation cards is unrelated to the name of the Opposition alliance.

They explained that the transition from 'India' to 'Bharat' began long ago, as the government considers it a more Indic name.

Sanjeev Sanyal, a historian and member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, affirmed that both 'India' and 'Bharat' are valid names for the country.

However, he pointed out that 'Bharat' has its origins in this land and is considered more Indic in nature.

“Bharat is an indigenous name, while India is a result of an ancient mispronunciation by foreigners," said Sanyal.

He explained that the land of Bharat was also known by the name of Sapta Sindhu, the Land of Seven Rivers, after the original homeland of Vedic Bharatas.

"The ancient Persians had a phonetic shift from S to H, so Sapta Sindhu became Hapta Hindu. So they started calling the people who live here as Hindus. This is also a 2,500-year-old tradition. The Greeks and others then made Hindu into India. So the name India is derived from Sapta Sindhu, and it is also an ancient name," he said, News18 reported.