The invitation to an official dinner within the framework of the G-20 leaders' summit in New Delhi, issued by the Government of India, caused a political controversy on Tuesday due to the use of the word Bharat, the other term recognized by the Constitution to refer to the Asian country.
"The president of Bharat requests the pleasure of your company," reads the invitation shared on social networks by opposition politicians and written in English for an official dinner next Saturday.
Issued on behalf of the president of the Asian country, Droupadi Murmu, the invitation has been interpreted in an electoral key by members of a recently formed opposition coalition for the 2024 general elections. This group, led by the historic Congress Party (INC ) of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, was baptized as INDIA.
“In the invitation letter sent by the president to the guests of the G-20, the expression Republic of Bharat is used instead of Republic of India. Are you so afraid of INDIA?" the Congress Party said on the X social network.
The Constitution formulates in its first article that the Asian country is called “India, which is Bharat”. But the invitation comes amid rumors, picked up by the opposition but not confirmed, that the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi could change the country's name solely to Bharat.
“Although there is no constitutional bar to calling India 'Bharat', which is one of the two official names for India, I hope the Government is not foolish enough to completely abandon 'India', which has a value of immeasurable mark and built over centuries,” said Congress Party MP Shashi Tharoor, who advocated continuing to use both forms.
“Republic of Bharat. Happy and glad that our civilization is steadily advancing towards Amrit Kaal", a term that can be translated as the golden age and is used by the government to describe the aspirations of the Asian country, said Himanta Biswa Sarma, the head of government of the northeastern state of Assam and a member of the BJP, Modi's party.
