Rumours are circulating that the often discussed possibility is soon to be a reality.
Invites sent by Indian President Droupadi Murmu calling herself "President of Bharat" for a dinner on the sidelines of the G20 summit - due to take place in South Africa in November this year - have stirred speculation that the government may be about to change the country's name.
Indians have long argued over the name of their country. While the nation is officially called the Republic of India, many have pushed to change its name to "Bharat," the Hindu word for India.
In its constitution, the world’s most populous country is known as India and Bharat. Hindustan (“land of the Hindus” in Urdu) is another word for the country. The three names are used "interchangeably officially and by the public," reports Al Jazeera. However, around the world, India is the most commonly used name.
Hindus have been pining to change the country's name officially, and the nation's constitution refers to it as "India, that is Bharat."
Reuters reports that "while some supporters of the name Bharat say 'India' was given by British colonizers, historians say the name predates colonial rule by centuries."
Be that as it may, the remarkably far in advance dinner invitation to delegates at the G20, may indicate something imminent is about to happen. Since the G20 invitations were delivered, government critics have accused Modi’s government and his Hindu nationalist BJP of planning to change the name to only Bharat.
The name is a Sanskrit term found in scriptures written about 2,000 years ago. It refers to an ambiguous territory, Bharatavarsa, which stretched beyond today’s borders of India and may have extended to include what is today Indonesia.
The Indian government has called a special parliamentary session on September 18-22 but has not announced any agenda, leading to speculation that it will be used to rename the country.