India, that is Bharat: The origin and meaning of the ancient name

The Rashtrapati Bhawan sending out invites for a G20 dinner in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India' has kicked off a big controversy. Many see it as a precursor to possible renaming of India as Bharat in the forthcoming special session of Parliament. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called it an attack on the “Union of States” while his colleague Shashi Tharoor hoped that the government would not be "so foolish as to completely dispense with “India”, which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries".

Reacting to the comments of the Congress leaders, BJP president JP Nadda remarked: "Why does the Congress has objection to every subject related to the honor and pride of the country? Why do those who do political tours in the name of Bharat Jodo and hate the slogan of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'?"

(Also read: India to be renamed 'Bharat'? Govt may bring resolution in Parliament's special session)


What is the official name?
To be sure, India has Bharat as its another official name. Yet, to change India's name to Bharat would require an amendment to Article 1 of the Indian Constitution which names the country. Article 1 begins with "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States", the foundational provision that establishes the Union of India.

Article 1 reads:

India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.
The States and the territories thereof shall be as specified in the First Schedule
⁠The territory of India shall comprise —
(a) the territories of the States;
(b) the Union territories specified in the First Schedule; and
(c) such other territories as may be acquired.

The naming of the country was debated by the drafting committee of the constitution. Before the Constitutional Assembly in 1949, the country was known as Bharat, India, and Hindustan. While a good number of the drafting committee members preferred the old name, Bharat, many others favoured India. That's what led to the Constituent Assembly choosing both the names.

The origin and meaning of Bharat
The most popular reference to a geographical area being described as Bharat is in the Vishnu Purana: "Uttaram yat samudrasya, Himadreschaiva dakshinam, varsham tad Bharatam nama Bharati yatra santatih", meaning, the country that lies to the north of the ocean and to the south of the snowy mountains is called Bharata as there dwell the descendants of Bharat. In Hindu scriptures, Bharatvarsha is identified as part of a larger geographical entity called Jambudweepa.

Bharata, whose descendants were said to be living in a particular area in Vishnu Purana, is commonly thought to be King Bharata, the son of Dushyant and Shakuntala and an ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas. That also explains the name of the 'Mahabharata' which chronicles the war between Bharata's descendants. In the Vedas, Bharata is the name of a tribe. King Sudasa of the Bharata tribe fights a war against the Puru tribe of which the Bharta tribe was a part. Later, Kuru dynasty emerged from the Bharata lineage in which King Bharata was born.

Just as there could be several mythological versions of the Bharata lineage, the meaning of the Bharata can also be interpreted in several ways. It could be from the root 'Bhr' which means to maintain or bear, or from 'Bha' which means light. The more popular meaning is associated with the root word meaning light which makes Bharata mean the one indulging in light, the shining one or the one that pursues light.

Needless to say, like a number of other phenomena in India, Bharata, the name, too has hoary roots and yet has been in prevalence till today. Though India, or certain parts of the subcontinent, had various other names such as Aryavrata and the ancient Meluha, Bharat is the most popular name for the subcontinent.