Why is it time for Bharat?

In the forthcoming special session of Parliament, scheduled from September 18-22, there could be a notable discussion within the government regarding the introduction of a resolution to change the official name of India to Bharat. Currently, the Constitution of India refers to the nation as "India, that is Bharat...," but a mounting chorus is advocating for a streamlined designation, simply "Bharat." As stipulated by Article 368 of the Constitution, the central government requires a simple majority in both Houses of Parliament to successfully pass the resolution for renaming India as Bharat. Subsequently, following the resolution's approval, the government must undertake amendments to the Constitution.

This development coincides with an official invitation extended to the G20 Heads of State and ministers for a dinner event hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, which has adopted the title "President of Bharat." In light of this, there is speculation among opposition circles that this maneuver may be strategically aimed at mitigating potential confusion, particularly concerning the Opposition alliance known as I.N.D.I.A.

As authors of the book titled - Time for Bharat - launched in nov 2022, we want to articulate the critical reasons why it is indeed time for our nation to be called Bharat.

India is the most enduring civilisation in the world. Our rishis and sages laid the foundations for ‘Bharat Varsha’. The Vedas eschewed certitude and embraced skepticism. Indian civilisation has predated any organised religion or race or group identities because it sought equality with the nature of intelligence or consciousness. Thus, India became a land of seekers, which requires understanding the intelligence of ignorance in its full depth and dimension.

India was always a cultural and geographical entity, and never ruled with commandments. Indian contributions have been profound. Albert Einstein once stated, “Not a single, significant step could the

modern science take without the mathematical basis from India”. Mark Twain went further, “Anything that can ever be done either by man or God has been done in this land”.

In this civilisational state, ‘Dharma’ (‘Dharma’ is not religion, which is an imported idea, but is code of conduct. The Sanskrit word ‘dharma’ is not translatable into the English language. “Dharma is that one should not do to others what would be disliked by oneself.”) has been the anchor protecting the idea of individual rights, and the larger vision has always been ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam‘ – ’World is One Family’. A ‘civilisational republic ’based on the rule of law and rooted in the plural ethos of India is the best guarantee to securing the freedom for all, personal and economic.

The task, therefore, that rests on hand is to rid India of its accumulated sloth, distortions, and false narratives. Let ‘Indianness ’be freed of its rituals around class, hierarchies, untouchability, and addictions. Restoration of ‘timeless dharma ’requires ‘Bhartiya Samskriti’ (An eternal value: ‘sam ’means equanimous; ‘kriti ’means what to do. ‘Samskriti ’means to live life in an equanimous way - to move with equanimity), inclusion for sustainable growth, and balance of welfare for all whilst adjusting for the rules of conduct. We must rebuild India in terms of its disposition and timeless values as we are an ideational state and not an ideological state.

The many-sided view of Truth (‘ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti’) means that the government’s ability to enable and empower individuals to follow their ‘dharma ’must rest on minimum well-being through good governance.

India’s narrative has the continuum of Bharat based on natural laws, which are life centric. Our highest goal is not God but liberation, which means living life ‘here ’in full intensity. This timeless narrative needs to be consciously restated, and buttressed through effective governance via robust political processes, and world-class institutions – all underpinned by dharmic principles and underwritten with a ring of security – both from within and without. This means following the rigorous disciplines of ‘Neeti’, ‘Neeyat’, and ‘Nyaya ’with inclusion and equity for all.

Bharat’s enduring civilisational ethos and economic dominance for more than three-fourths of known global economic history happened by design, not by chance. A civilisation as rich as Bharat has never been without its narrative, which must be restated for the contemporary Bharat to help reengineer its future. The Indian narrative, interlaced with moderation and nuance, highlights the fairness of the process and consequent outcomes. That reality may not have always lived up to such a standard but that does not invalidate these concepts. Being an ethical power has been and shall always be the Bharat Way!

It is important to recognise the origins of democracy in ancient India: India has to offer its narrative on world history and provide it with a vision. We are not aspiring upstarts; we are a nation that inspired great journeys

and greater systems. Democracy is quintessentially vote and voice, but it is more than a periodic free and fair election. Democracy is about the ideas at play, animated and flighted vision, and the humility of players. No one is larger than the game. The democratic processes must provide adding to the width and depth to any dimension, whoever wins. An important priority is to strengthen our democracy that supports social harmony, and pluralism.

When we say ‘India ’and ‘Bharat’, the modern mistaken approach is that ‘India ’refers to an educated population/urban areas and ‘Bharat ’refers to rural areas/not suave population. This psychological and artificial faultline between ‘India ’and ‘Bharat ’is unfortunate and unfair. Instead of ‘India that is Bharat’, the narratives around ‘India ’and ‘Bharat ’are fundamentally flawed and deeply disturbing. Our daily conversations highlight many such societal divides, which need to be urgently fixed.

‘Bharat ’must, therefore, come to the fore and allow ‘India ’an honourable exit to ensure a level-playing field for all, and help bury the distances and the divides since Bharat can neither afford two names nor can it endure the politics of division. It must stay with the one that has presented and persevered with plurality and profundity together, since time immemorial. What Bharat has to offer is a way of being, that is both age-old and timless, which seeks harmony between the individual and the collective, between borders of nations and unbounded humanity, and between the impetus of progress and a greater impetus to preserve all encompassing ecology.

Authors: Srinath Sridharan, Co-Author (Time for Bharat) and Arun Agarwal, Co-Author (Time for Bharat) (views are personal)

Book link: https://www.amazon.in/Time-Bharat-researched-conversation-Governance/dp/B0BKWGPNMQ

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