Rationale of Renaming India as Bharat

Professor Dr. M. M. Goel*

 Being needonomist, it is my duty to say something authentic in the new debate on Bharat (made of two words ‘Bha’ –meaning knowledge and ‘Rata’ meaning devoted as a knowledge seeker). My guru Gita (the heart of Krishan) talks of Bharat 22 times (1.24, 2.10, 2.14,2.18, 2.28, 2.30,3.25,4.7, 4.42,7.27,11.6,13.3,13.34, 14.3,14.8, 14.9,14.10,15.19, 15.20,16.1-3, 17.3, 18.62) is sufficient for me to  become votary for Bharat as the name of my beloved nation.

 Bharat needs to be promoted as a knowledge economy where ‘Sarswati’ is equally if not more than ‘Lakshmi is worshipped at the international level.    Bharat is called India in English dictionaries as independent nation declared in August. The name India is derived from the river Sindhu which flows in the north west of the country. The Greeks used to call us Indoi meaning the people of the Indus. The name Bharat is derived from the legendary king Bharat who was ancestor of kauravas and pandavas; son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala. Bharat is the traditional name of our nation as mentioned in the Vedas.

Although Indian civilization and culture has always been alive and has never ceased to move ahead with progress and prosperity, yet it is pertinent to mention that our history has been influenced by foreign invaders.

The colonial rule by the Britishers till August 14, 1947 has distorted the face of Indian history in a conspirational manner which deserves to be understood, analyzed and interpreted by all the stakeholders including politicians, academicians and researchers from all shades and creed. To develop ideal scenario in the society, we always talk of Ram Rajya which is depicted in Ramayna giving vivid account of the political and cultural life of ancient India.

In introduction of the book ‘A Brief History of India’ by Yodha Samarak Samiti, Shri Darshan Lal Jain, President quoted ‘Unless lions write their own history, the history will always reflect the view-points of hunters’. The actual history has been vanishing from the curriculum of the educational institutions at all levels particularly schools and what remains is largely influenced by political and vested interests. A close perusal of the book reveals that the content therein most of the prescribed books praise the invaders, whereas we need to glorify the defenders who sacrificed their lives for the sake of our beloved Bharat to make it incredible INDIA  as independent, non-violent, democracy with integrity and amity.

To keep the Indian history on the world map, we need to do soul searching and redesign the curriculum of history. We must remember the saying ‘If you forget history, history will forget you’. The present and future generations of India deserve to know the facts as they are which falls in the domain of the book and deserve appreciation to the major contributor late Professor Satish Chander Mittal who was my colleague at Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.

The choice of Indian Independence Day on August 15 (shared by South Korea) is probably the tribute to Maharish Sri Aurubindo Ghosh whose birth day is celebrated annually and must be known to the Indian youth of today and tomorrow with his contributions.

Let the youth around the world know Bharat as an oldest civilization as Rigveda is world’s oldest manuscript recognised by UNESCO. It has shown how an ideal and balanced community lived over several millenniums of harmony, peace and prosperity. Bharat  faced several attacks by Shakas, Huns ,Scythians and Kushans, but driven out and absorbed in cultural ethos of the land during period of 1038 years since 326 BC which is termed as a millennium of victories. Indus valley civilization (Mohenjo-Daro Harappa Civilization) along the banks of river Sarswati calls for naming it Indus-Sarswati civilization. India has been resisting foreign invaders and never surrendered before the enemy and the period of 1000 years since 712 AD is called a millennium of successful resistance. The Britishers had to quit in 1947; likewise Portuguese, French & Dutch were also thrown out. We had witnessed great empires of Chandragupta Maurya, Ashok, Chanadragupta1,Samundragupta and Chandragupta Vikkramditya, Harsvardhan, Bappa Rawal, Rana Sanga & Maharana Pratap, Chatterpati Shivaji and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh who deserve to be taught to the Indian youth today. This is necessary and sufficient for sustainable development and progress with the true spirit of patriotism. We need to understand globalization as internationalization of Indianization ( Bharatiyata) to become the friend of global village of today if not accepted as a world leader based on spiritual wisdom flowing from Gita and Anu-Gita.

I wish to justify the renaming India as Bharat as it is the oldest name of my beloved nation.

Bharat Mata Ki Jai was the emotional appeal of the freedom struggle. Our national song also justifies the name Bharat. It gives a sense of culture, civilization and values of the great democracy of the world. In the first article of the Constitution of India states that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states,” implicitly codifying India and Bharat as equally official short names for the Republic of India. Bharat is called federal of states. To see Bharat, we need to use concave lenses which unite the nation and not divide by using convex lenses. My guru Gita (the heart of Krishan) talks of Bharat 22 times  is sufficient for me to  become votary for Bharat as the name of my beloved nation.  The renaming of India as Bharat is justified as it conveys Indian ethos in the present times .

* Former Vice Chancellor and Needonomist Professor  retired from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. Disciple of Gita as heart of Krishan. www,needonomics.com

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