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Virender Sehwag responds to criticism of ‘India-Bharat’ post: ‘Funny when people think…’
Former cricketer Virender Sehwag said that advocating for the use of 'Bharat' as India's name should not be seen as a political agenda
Former cricketer Virender Sehwag on Wednesday issued a detailed statement on the ongoing debate over rumoured plans to replace the official usage of the country's English name 'India' with 'Bharat', a day after he welcomed the prospect of a name change and urged India's cricket board to begin using "Bharat" on team uniforms. Sehwag stressed that advocating for the use of "Bharat" as the nation's name should not be seen as a political agenda.
“Funny when people think having a desire that our nation be addressed as Bharat is viewed as a political thing,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Clarifying his stance, the cricketer-turned-commentator said, "I am no fan of any particular political party. There are good people in both national parties and there are also very many incompetent people in both parties."
Sehwag went on to assert that he has never had, nor does he have any political aspirations, claiming that he had declined offers to contest in the last two Lok Sabha elections from “both parties”, in an apparent reference to the BJP and Congress. Sehwag noted that his on-field achievements would have been sufficient to secure a ticket from either party if he had any political ambitions.
“Speaking heart out is different from political aspiration. My only interest is “Bharat” ,” he wrote.
Several political figures waded into the issue after Rashtrapati Bhavan sent out invites for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual ‘President of India’, with opposition parties claiming that the BJP was panicking because of INDIA bloc.
Sehwag, a swashbuckling opener of his time, suggested that united opposition could just as easily choose to be called B.H.A.R.A.T, stating, “There are very many creative people who can suggest apt full forms for the same.”
He further opined that regardless of the alliance's name, elections in India will ultimately be characterized as a contest between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leader of the opposition.
“May the best win. It will just give me a great deal of satisfaction and fulfillment if we are addressed as a nation by the name “Bharat”,” he concluded.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sehwag urged the BCCI to have "Bharat", instead of India, inscribed on the jerseys of the national team players in the upcoming ODI World Cup and tagged BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
"I have always believed a name should be one which instills pride in us. India is a name given by the British (and) it has been long overdue to get our original name 'Bharat' back (sic)," he wrote.
Sehwag's social media post triggered enthusiastic support as well as strong criticism, with many wondering whether he felt no pride wearing the “India” jersey while playing for the country.
“Since cricket is also a British sport, why not ban it and instead motivate our youngsters to take up gilli-danda. Let’s declare it our Rashtriya Khel, make you the national team coach,” wrote Abhishek Choudhary, author of ‘Vajpayee: Ascent of the Hindu Right 1924–77’.
