Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to introduce a resolution during the upcoming five-day special session in Parliament, commencing on September 18, to rename India as ‘Bharat’. This proposed change has sparked a mix of reactions across the political spectrum. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his support for the renaming, tweeting, “REPUBLIC OF BHARAT – happy and proud that our civilization is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL,” as reported by CNN-News18. However, the Congress party has raised concerns about the implications of this move. They pointed out that a dinner invitation from the president’s office to G20 summit delegates referred to Droupadi Murmu as the “President of Bharat” instead of the usual “President of India.” General Secretary Jairam Ramesh of the Congress suggested an alteration to Article 1 of the Constitution, proposing, “‘Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States’.” In response, JP Nadda, a prominent BJP leader, questioned the Congress’s resistance to the name Bharat. He inquired, “Why does the Congress party have so much objection to every subject related to the honor and pride of the country?” He also criticized the Congress for allegedly prioritizing the interests of a particular family over national interests.

However, it is true that such change requires constitutional amendment and such amendment requires special majority in both the Houses of Parliament not just the simple majority. We need to wait and see whether central government indeed does this exercise in the upcoming sessions of the parliament.