You will be surprised to know that recently plea has been filed to rename ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’ or ‘Hindustan’.
A Delhi based man has filed a plea in Supreme Court to rename India to Bharat or Hindustan. He believes that India is the name that represents the colonial past. It is the symbol of the slavery system that we faced during the British rule.
The PIL argues that many cities have changed their names and now is the time for India to recognise itself as an individual. It should take inspiration from the past culture and tradition we have.
THE DETAILS OF THE PETITION
Supreme court will hear the argument on 2 June 2020. The petitioner demanded that the country should be referred to as Bharat or Hindustan instead of India. The court should direct the government to change the name from India to Bharat or Hindustan. It urged the government to make amendments in the constitution as well regarding the same especially in Article 1.
Article 1 mentioned that India, that is Bharat, shall be the Union of States. His PIL has been accepted and hearing is scheduled for 2 June. He argued that terms like Bharat or Hindustan bring a sense of patriotism and collective belonging. When we hear the words like Hindustan or Bharat we feel the pride. It connects us to the root and original-authentic India.
The term India is the symbolic representation of the colonial past. While Bharat or Hindustan reminds us of authentic India. It reminds us of the freedom struggle and our fight against the almighty Britishers.
He mentioned that in 1948 there was a discussion in the Constitution Assembly regarding the name. There was strong support to rename it as Bharat or Hindustan at that time as well.
RESPONSE TO THE SIMILAR PIL FILED EARLIER
Niranjan Bhatwal from Maharashtra filed a similar PIL in 2016. Ajay G. Majithia and Rahul Pandey represented the case. They presented the arguments like India is not the literal translation of word Bharat or Hindustan. In fact, both histories, as well as scriptures, describes India as Bharat or Hindustan.
But the petition got rejected by the then, Chief Justice of India. He told the petitioner that the PILs were made for people especially poor and underprivileged. So, that they can secure their rights and justice.
CJI slammed the petitioner and said that the court is not meant for dealing with emotional issues. He urged the petitioner to come to the court to help the poor get justice and their right. There is no problem if someone wants to call India as Bharat or Hindustan, it depends on the individual’s choice.
He later mentioned that PILs are not being used for the actual purpose. Instead, they are being misused by people.
The petition was scheduled for hearing on 28th May but got cancelled because of the absence of Chief Justice of India SA. Bobde. The Delhi based man who filed the petition claims that it is necessary to change the name Bharat or Hindustan to help people to get over the colonial past that people has faced. The future generation should know about the original orientation of the word. It also ensures the justice to the freedom fighters and the fight that they fought.
CONCLUSION
India is the land of culture and tradition. We have one of the oldest civilization. Bharat is the name derived from Sanskrit word Bharta. It means Agni that is fire, bhr means ‘to maintain’. Bharata also means the search for knowledge.
The court is yet to make any further jurisdiction regarding the issue. To stay updated about the same you need to wait till 2 June 2020.