The Facts
Invitations for guests at the G20 summit dinner refer to Indian Pres. Droupadi Murmu as the "President of Bharat," while a senior spokesman for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called Prime Minister Narendra Modi the "prime minister of Bharat" in a recent tweet.
Bharat is an ancient Sanskrit word that has referred to India for more than 2k years. The country is referred to as Bharat in Hindi, while it is called India in English — the names are used interchangeably along with Hindustan, which means "land of the Hindus" in Urdu.
The Spin
Narrative A
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to divert attention away from his business dealings by pushing an absurdist name change. The BJP has failed India by using its power to silence opposing parties and politicians, and with the public catching on, Modi is in search of a new angle. The fact is that both India and Bharat are used interchangeably in the Indian constitution, and there is nothing anti-Hindu about the name "India." Modi’s tactics are pure diversion.
Narrative B
While opposition leaders seem to be outraged about India being referred to as Bharat at the G20 summit, the fact is that many of Modi’s most vocal critics have themselves expressed a desire to change India’s name. There are many documents from opposition leaders saying that they would change India’s name to Bharat and want to reclaim India’s Hindu origins. However, they are so fixated on opposing Modi that they will scream about anything he does. Why not make this change now?
