Many people are familiar with India, a country known for its stunning ecosystem and diverse culture. We have also grown very accustomed to India’s name as well, ever since the sixth century BCE when India was named after the Indus River and the lower Indus basin. It might be time to get used to India’s original name, Bharat, because it looks like that’s what India’s name is going to change to.
On September 9th, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, did not explicitly state anything about India’s name change. Instead, it was heavily suggested through a nameplate that had the name Bharat inscribed on it instead of India. Granted, the country won’t officially change its name to Bharat. Instead, Bahrat will be used more as a non-official term. Sort of like how the United States is often called America, despite there being two different Americas.
This change is happening because India’s government never officially changed India’s name. Other than that, we aren’t really given a direct reason. The Prime Minister never said anything about it, India’s government never really said anything about it, and barely anyone from India has said anything about it either. There have been some theories about the name change, however from some outside resources, it has been suspected the change is due to how the name changed back in BCE, when Britain colonized India for its useful materials (indigo, cotton, tea, coffee, etc.) for Britain’s factories. Plus, the word India is actually a symbol used for slavery, which isn’t exactly something a country wants to represent. So (unsurprisingly) the Indian government wants to rename it as a symbol of their independence.
