Recently, there have been allegations by the opposition parties that the government is trying to change the name of our country to Bharat. I do not understand this allegation because even our Constitution says India that is Bharat. The name Bharat was used from the ancient days, it was the rulers who invaded our country who changed the name, First, it was the Mughals who started using the country’s name as Hindustan and later it was the British who changed it to India.
But have you wondered WHY OUR COUNTRY IS KNOWN AS BHARAT?
One of the most common answers is that it is named after King Bharat, who was the son of King Dushyant and Shakuntla. If we probe further, we will get another reply that this land Bharat after the great Rishi Bharatamuni. Then there was a great sage called Jada Bharata, a King called Bharata who was the son of King Rishab Dev, and then there was Prince Bharat, who was the brother of King Rama of Ayodhya during Ramayan times. This land has illustrious personages who have been called Bharat. All this raises the question, why were there so many great souls called Bharat, such that the name of this land can be attributed to them?
To find the answer, one should try to understand the name “Bharat”. It is such a word which connotes several meanings from etymological, literal, metaphorical, physical as well as factual perspectives.
An Etymological and Metaphorical Connect
Bha is a syllable that denotes light. It is the root in names such as Bhaskara for the Sun, and Bhanumati, which is also connected with the Sun. If we look at the syllable Ra, it denotes that which is desirable, charming, or pleasing. That, which radiates charm and attracts attention. From this, we get names such as Rama for one who is charming, Ramya for one who is pleasing, charming, etc. We also have Rati for one who is full of delight or delightful to the senses. Rati is the name that has been aptly given to the consort of Kama Deva, the divinity of love and Desire.
So Bharat becomes the land of people who are connoisseurs of knowledge.
A Factual and Physical Connect
If we notice, we will see that this land does indeed enjoy the physical Bha, the actual sunlight, in abundance too. Hence Bharat also denotes that land in the world which enjoys sunlight and the bounty that the sun has to offer. Even though there are many lands near the equator, this land of Bharat has the advantage of
- Of being a fairly big mass of land as against many of the islands along the equator.
- Of having topological features that aid good rains as well as the flow of rivers crisscrossing the land.
- Of receiving seasonal and copious monsoons, as against brief daily rains like equatorial regions.
- Of receiving these rains, just after the scorching Summer, so that there is both ample water and cooler weather to cultivate good harvests.
This civilization had learnt how to relish the sunlight and the seasonal rains that it ushers. They had mastered the art of responsibly harvesting these bounties to cultivate sustainably and produce sufficiently for their own consumption as well as for world trade.
Even today, we are the leader in harnessing Solar energy in the world. Bharat is also a land where people are experts and connoisseurs of harnessing Sunlight.
A Metallic Tone To The Name
One of the aspects that this civilization has been known for, across millennia is its prowess in metallurgy. It was metallurgy, which was one of the most sought-after products from this land and had earned this civilization much acclaim as well as wealth through trade from all across the land. Metallurgy and Pottery in this land can be traced to one of the Rishi called Bhrgu. His very name connotes the effulgence of fire as well as the sound made by wind of fire/flame. Flame needed to smelt and wind are closely connected with metallurgy through bellows. Thus the light, and radiance of syllable Bha also connotes the effulgence, Bhr from the metallurgical prowess of this civilization.
Acknowledgement As a Land of Knowledge
When a corroboration for this civilization comes from different quarters, it vindicates our ancestors’ choice of the name ‘Bharat”, for our land and people.
The Chinese called this land as Tianzhu meaning Heavenly Centre as they looked towards this land for various texts on Sciences and Buddhism. In the Chinese language, India is still known as Tianzhu.
Then Al Jahiz of Basra, Baghdad who lived between 716 to 815, Abu Umar Jahiz, Baghdad; an Arab philosopher in 868; Yakubi an Arabic Historian and geographer from Egypt in 897; and Said Al Andalusi, an Arabic scholar from Andalusia , Spain (Iberia) 1068. All their writing show, how they had regarded the civilization of Bharat as a land of Science, philosophy, Medicine, Astronomy, Mathematics, Fine arts, Sculpture, Metals, Musical Instruments and many more.
A Timeless Name
This name Bharat, can be found all the way back in the Veda and Purana. Rishi Vishwamitra in the Rig Veda, on the civilization of his times, describes the people living in this land as “Bharatham Janam”.
A Multi-Dimensional Name
The name Bharat stands for our land- famed for its knowledge (Bha); nourished by its agriculture enriched by the Sun (Bha); rich due to its trade in metals and products forged by flame (Bha); and Bharat is the name we had given our land and civilization based on nature and aspirations.
Most countries are named after people or after their geographical or topological aspects. It is rare to find a civilization which in the time of yore itself had deemed it apt to give itself the name “Bharat” based on the Guna, the character of its people seeking the glow of knowledge, of leveraging the glow of sunlight, of handling the glow of fire.
In the end
The integrated, indigenous model which had sustained this civilization in the past, is now being rejuvenated for the present. Such thought leadership and practical wisdom is what Bharat can offer and needs to offer its own people and the world community at large, to make this world a better place to live on.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong, if we start using Bharat as the name of our country. Our assured success in becoming self-reliant, Atmanirbhar and Swavratta, self–sustaining in a holistic manner, is bound to inspire. Secondly, now we should stop trying to impress the world, but must inspire the world.
I understand that, practically it is not possible to stop using the name India immediately, as there are many institutions in whose name India is incorporated.
Politically, there will be opposition to changing the name to Bharat, as leftists and so many other parties who are still influenced by past history of the Mughals, and British Raj are not going to support this. Secondly, throughout the outside world, our country is known as India.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
14th September 2023