The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has put forth a proposal to substitute the term “India” with “Bharat” in all school textbooks. This suggestion, which was made a few months ago, is currently under review.
This move has sparked controversy, especially as the Central Government has begun using ‘Bharat’ instead of ‘India’ in official documents. This was first seen in an ASEAN event invitation for PM Modi, where he was referred to as the “Prime Minister of Bharat”. The issue gained further attention when Rashtrapati Bhawan sent out invitations for a G20 dinner on behalf of the ‘President of Bharat’.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar defended this by stating that ‘Bharat’ is a term used in the Constitution. He urged everyone to read it.
Congress leader Priyank Kharge criticized this move, accusing the government of being more focused on changing names rather than implementing impactful schemes. He questioned why there was a sudden dislike for the name ‘INDIA’ and why it took nine years for this change to be proposed.
