Will India’s Modi change country’s English name? Rumours swirl after G20 dinner invites show Sanskrit name of ‘Bharat’

PM Narendra Modi’s government replaced India with the Sanskrit word ‘Bharat’ in dinner invitations sent to guests attending this week’s Group of 20 summit

Modi’s ruling BJP has long tried to erase names related to India’s Mughal and colonial past, and this could be the biggest such action yet

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to erase names related to India’s colonial past. Photo: dpa Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:05pm, 5 Sep 2023Updated: 9:30pm, 5 Sep 2023

India was buzzing with speculation on Tuesday over rumoured plans to scrap official usage of the country’s English name, after a state-issued invite sent to world leaders referred to it as “Bharat”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has worked to remove lingering symbols of British rule from India’s urban landscape, political institutions and history books, but its next move could be the biggest such action yet.

Modi himself typically refers to India as “Bharat”, a word dating back to ancient Hindu scriptures written in Sanskrit, and one of two official names for the country under its constitution.

Members of his Hindu-nationalist ruling party have previously campaigned against using the country’s better-known moniker, India, which has its roots in Western antiquity and was imposed during the British conquest.

The Twitter page of India’s opposition Congress party leader Shashi Tharoor shows an invitation from the President of India reading as President of Bharat. Photo: AP

This weekend India hosts the G20 summit of world leaders, capped with a state dinner that invitation cards said would be hosted by the “President of Bharat”.