While the process can require a lot of adjustment, countries changing their names is not a rare phenomenon. Sri Lanka used to be called Ceylon, Malaya became Malaysia and most recently, the Czech Republic became Czechia.
There’s a whole host of reasons why a country might opt to alter its title, from a straightforward simplification to a better representation of the state’s geography. The newest country rumoured to be doing so is the world’s most populous, India.
Referred to in its constitution as both India, and its potential new official name ‘Bharat’, the country is apparently making this change to shed the connotations of colonial slavery – another common motivation behind a name change. Northern Rhodesia became Zambia and Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe for the same reason.
The ‘new’ name is in fact a Sanskrit term, traced back to scriptures written around 2,000 years ago, and is already the second of India’s official names, which tends to be used more colloquially.
This follows a trend of Narendra Modi’s government renaming places and cities within India, too. However, there’s a lot of controversy surrounding this issue. After the Mughal Garden in New Delhi officially Amrit Udyan, critics of the government accused Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party of erasing the history of India’s Mughal population.
Unsurprisingly, the idea of renaming the entire country is quite contentious too. Shashi Tharoor, a lawmaker for the Indian National Congress Party, said: ‘I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with “India”, which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries.’
‘We should continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world.’
The country’s name change hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the rumour has gained traction since a document was shared online which referred to Modi as the Prime Minister of Bharat, not India.
Invites to the G20 for dignitaries also referred to Draupadi Murmu as the President of Bharat, and Indian officials who attended wore ID cards labelled instead with Bharat.
While it remains a rumour, it sounds like the Indian government is pretty set on the idea. We’ll have to wait and see whether the official renaming of India comes into effect.
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