Pvt member bill to replace word 'India' with 'Bharat' in Constitution

A Congress member on Thursday introduced a private member bill in the Rajya Sabha seeking to replace the word "India" in the constitution by the word "Bharat".

A Congress member on Thursday introduced a private member bill in the Rajya Sabha seeking to replace the word "India" in the constitution by the word "Bharat".

Introducing the Constitutional Amendment Bill, Shantaram Naik said in the statement of objects and reasons attached to the bill that India denoted a territorial concept whereas "Bharat" signifies much more than the mere territories of India.

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"When we praise our country, we say Bharat Mata Ki Jai and not India ki Jai," Naik said.

This was the second time Naik introduced the bill on the same subject in the Rajya Sabha. His earlier bill on the subject introduced in the same House had lapsed on account of his term coming to an end.

However, after being re-elected, he reintroduced the bill, a release by his office said.

The grounds for changing the name of the country to simply "Bharat" are many but more than the grounds or the reasons, it is the sense of patriotism that the name generates and electrifies the people of this country that is relevant, Naik said in the bill's objectives quoting a Hindi film song to drive home his point.