NEW DELHI: In his opening remarks at the start of the two-day conference on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was introduced as the representative of “Bharat” at the G20 Summit. In various official G20 documents, the administration has used “Bharat,” the name given to the nation together with India in the Constitution. Official sources have stated that it was a deliberate choice. ‘Bharat’ was written on the name card in front of Modi as he spoke to the crowd at the Summit’s location, the Bharat Mandapam.An invitation to dinner was sent by the “President of Bharat” to G20 participants and other guests. This action sparked a political debate, with the opposition parties alleging that the administration is attempting to remove the word “India” from the country’s name. Additionally, they connected the action to their choice to call their partnership INDIA. The governing BJP has applauded the use of Bharat, noting the historical and cultural roots of the old Hindi name. Some officials asserted that the colonial legacy of the English term “India” exists. But despite the leaders of the party pointing out that the Constitution utilises both names for the nation, the party has mainly refrained from engaging in the “Bharat vs. India” issue.
