E-Paper
‘Nobody can change it…’: NC leader Omar Abdullah speaks amid ‘India vs Bharat’ debate
Omar Abdullah said nobody can change the name of the country from ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’. “To do this, you will have to change the constitution,” he said.
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah claimed that nobody can change the name of the country from India to Bharat amid a massive political issue. The ‘India vs Bharat’ debate comes months after the 26 opposition parties formed a bloc and named it Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA.
“Nobody can change it. Do they have a majority support over this decision? Changing the name of the country is not an ordinary issue,” the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader said.
“To do this, you will have to change the constitution of the country. If you have guts, then bring it. We will also watch who will support you in changing the nation’s name,” he added.
Article 1 of the Constitution of India reads in the beginning as – “India, that is, Bharat, shall be a Union of States”. The article cites both names -- ‘India and Bharat’. People call it India, Bharat and Hindustan as it is their right, said Abdullah.
Abdullah further said, “If Prime Minister Modi does not wish to use the name ‘India’, then he shall not. But he cannot remove it from the Constitution.”
India vs Bharat debate
A political slugfest erupted over the speculation of renaming ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’ days ahead of hosting the G20 Summit in New Delhi, when G20 dinner invitations were sent to global leaders and delegates in the name of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of usual ‘President of India’.
Earlier, a top United Nations official commented on the possible name change and said the UN considers requests from countries to change their names as and when it receives them.
What does the Constitution of India state?
The preamble of the Constitution of India in English begins with, “We the people of India…..”, and Article 1 of the Constitution states, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”. The Hindi version of the preamble replaces India with Bharat.
