Indian president starts calling the country “Bharat”

Indian President Droupadi Murmu replaced the name India with Bharat on dinner invitations to attendees of the Group of 20 economic summit on Tuesday, referring to herself as “President of Bharat.” As president, Murmu is a leading member of the country’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which advocates for removing influences left over from British colonization. “Bharat” is the original Hindi word for “India” and dates back to ancient Sanskrit texts.

Will India formally change its name? Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a special session of parliament for Sept. 18 without disclosing the meeting’s agenda. News outlets such as India Today hypothesize that BJP leaders will use the session to bring out a resolution that would officially change India’s name, specifically by changing India’s constitutional language from “India, that is Bharat” to just “Bharat.” The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, known as INDIA, opposes BJP’s name change. INDIA party leader Shashi Tharoor has said the name of India has “incalculable brand value built up over centuries,” and that citizens should use both words interchangeably.

Dig deeper: Read Bethel McGrew’s report for WORLD Magazine on evangelism among India’s “untouchable” caste.