India vs Bharat: Why did 'Bharat' written on President's G-20 dinner card draw controversy? What is origin of name 'Bharat'?

India vs Bharat: Preparations for the G-20 Summit slated for September 9-10 in New Delhi are in full swing. In between these preparations, there is a lot of discussion on social media about President Draupadi Murmu's G-20 dinner card sent to guests for a September 9 dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The card drew noticeable attention on Tuesday as instead of President of India, President of Bharat was written on it. 

Since ages, our country has been known by many names, like Aryavart, India, Bharat, and Hindustan. With that backdrop, is it unconstitutional to write 'President of Bharat' on the invitation card?

In this write-up, ZeeBiz will tell you about the origin of words like Bharat, India, and Hindustan.

Let's begin with origin of 'Bharat'

The name 'Bharat' has its origins in mythological times. Based on mythological beliefs, the name Bharat has been taken from Bharat, the son of King Chakravarti king Dushyant and his wife Shakuntala.

Whereas in Matsya Purana, Manu has been called Bharat because of the one who gives birth to the subjects and upbrings them. The area ruled by Manu was called Bharatavarsha.

In another evidence that refers to the name Bharat, it is written in the Yajurveda, that it is necessary to take a resolution before performing any worship.

The process also has a mantra for it. In this mantra, 'Jambudvipe Bharatkhande Bharatvarshe' is also mentioned at one place.

It is said in Jainism that this country was called Bharat after the name of Mahayogi Bharat, the elder son of Lord Rishabhdev.

Considering mythological beliefs, it can be said that our country has been called Bharat since ancient times.

Where did the name Hindustan come from?

Some stories claim that the name Hindustan is also about 2500 years old.

It is said that people coming from outside Sindh (now in Pakistan) used to pronounce 'S' as 'Ha', hence Sindh became Hind.

Because of Hind, the people associated with this civilization came to be known as Hindus.

Along with that, the place where they used to live came to be called Hindustan.

How did India get its name?

The reason Bharat is also called India is also related to the Sindhu River.

The Sindhu river was known as the Indus in Greek.

The word Indus is a Latin word. When Greek ruler Alexander attacked India, the land was identified as 'India'.

The civilization of the Indus Valley of India was called Indo or Indus Valley civilization by the Greeks.

Due to this, Hindustan came to be called India.

Historians say that till the 16th century, the names Hindustan and Bharat were most commonly used.

When the British came, they started using the name India instead of Hindustan or Bharat in official documents and correspondence.

From then, Bharat is being called India.

India and Bharat both names in the Constitution

So, it is obvious to wonder why the President's card drew controversy when both the names, Bharat and India, have been approved by our Constitution Assembly. 

On September 17, 1949, during the debate of the Constituent Assembly, the section 'Name and Territory of the Union' came up for discussion. As soon as Article 1 was read - 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States'.

Disagreements emerged between Constitution Assembly members over the name.

Objections were raised on the draft prepared by the Ambedkar Committee, in which both the two names of the country, India and Bharat, were mentioned.

An amendment proposal was put forward in which, referring to the Vedas, the Mahabharata, and some Puranas, it was said that Bharat is the original name of this country.

Most Constitution Assembly members believed that after the independence of the country, the name Bharat should come first and not India.

But the committee did not accept the amendment proposal, and both the names Bharat and India were passed in the resolution.

In such a situation, if the President of the country writes Bharat instead of India, it cannot be called wrong or unconstitutional.

If Hindustan or something else had been written instead of India, it would have been natural to raise questions.