NEW DELHI: The ‘Bharat vs India’ controversy may have stirred a debate in the country with politicians from various parties both backing and opposing it.
But do you know who was the first MP to raise this demand to amend the constitution?
It was Gorakhpur’s BJP MP Ravi Kishan who tabled a private member’s bill named ‘The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019’ that aimed to amend the clause (1) of Article 1 of the Constitution.
WATCH: Ka ba Ka ba: Ravi Kishan Sings An English Bhojpuri Rap For Yogi Adityanath & His Party For Polls
Tabled by the minister in 2019, this bill seeks to amend the Constitution with a view to change the nomenclature of our country from “India, that is Bharat” to “Bharat, that is Hindustan”. The bill aimed to change that and restore the ancient and traditional names of India.
FLASH: Sources reveal that Congress Parliamentary Committee chairperson Sonia Gandhi is set to write a letter to PM Modi where the #IndiaVsBharat issue may be mentioned
Reports @joymalabagchi
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 6, 2023
It was he who sought a change clause (1) that states “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” to “Bharat, that is Hindustan, shall be a Union of States.”
He reasoned that he anted to completely do away with the word ‘India’ because for him it ‘denotes that symbol of slavery and thus deserves to be omitted from our Constitution.’
READ MORE: Opposition leaders question rationale behind renaming India
According to him, Bharat and Hindustan are the traditional names of the country and India was a name given by Britishers to this country.
He said “The ancient and traditional names of our country are Bharat and Hindustan. These two names were popular during the pre-British period. After the establishment of British rule, Britishers used the name ‘India’ which was popular in their own country.”
While he acknowledged that ‘the framers of the Constitution recognized the ancient name of the country ‘Bharat’ and gave it its due place in the Constitution’, he said that ‘due to the popularity of the English name, the traditional name of our country ‘Hindustan’ has been left out.’
“They are scared of the word INDIA, trying to alter India’s name and it’s history. Trying to change it from Bapu’s country to Modi’s country. Changing name won’t change people’s mistrust in this govt” says Lalan Singh, JDU President#India #Bharat #IndiaVsBharat #LalanSingh pic.twitter.com/xFCMEFRsNP
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 6, 2023