SC asks Centre to look into plea to change name of India to Bharat

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition that sought changing the name of India to Bharat, and asked the Centre to treat the writ petition as a representation and decide on it.

The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde observed that Article 1 of the Constitution already refers to India as Bharat. “But India is already called Bharat in the Constitution,” said the bench, directing the appropriate ministry to consider the petition as a representation and take the decision.

Petitioner told the court: “Repeatedly, the name India has been sought to be excluded. It is not been derived from within India, but is a name of Greek origin derived from the word ‘Indica’. Please allow me to make a representation in this regard.”

While the top court refused to pass any orders, it observed: “Bharat and India, both names already there in the Constitution. India is already called Bharat in the Constitution.”

The plea sought an amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution by replacing “India” with “Bharat” or “Hindustan”, claiming it will “instill a sense of pride in our own nationality”.