"Bharat" gained prominence as the Cabinet received a proposal from the railway ministry that replaced India in official documents. This shift sparks a broader debate over the country s Bharat-India nomenclature. While the ruling party sees using Bharat as a step away from colonial history, the opposition remains divided on the issue s significance.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pleaded with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support "cooperative federalism", claiming that the Centre is renaming "India" as "Bharat" because the opposition alliance goes by the same name. She demnanded that the PM interfere in this matter and also argued that the Constitution of India should be upheld.
On reports that 'Bharat' would replace India in school textbooks, Congress leader DK Shivakumar said the NCERT was "forced" by the government to arrive at this decision.
According to the media reports, the panel has suggested replacing the name India with Bharat in the textbooks and introducing classical history instead of ancient history in the curriculum.