Bharat is that? Indian Prime Minister Modi convenes G20 conference with a name plate using other name for India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off events at the G20 summit with a nameplate reading “Bharat”, amid speculation that his government could be heading for a formal name change.

The nameplate put the moniker Bharat, which comes from ancient Sanskrit, on the world stage at a time when Modi, who leads a Hindu nationalist party, is presenting himself as the leader of a “global south.”

It came after state-issued invitations to the event by Droupadi Murmu identified the official as ‘President of Bharat’.

For some, India has acquired colonial associations, although it has its roots in the Indus River, itself called ‘Sindhu’ in Sanskrit. Yet another historical name for the country is Hindustan, which has roots in the Persian language.

Other officials in Modhi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government, known as the BJP, have also used the word.

The use of the word comes at a summit where a major branding effort is underway

Modi uses the summit to showcase the prestige and culture of his country – and himself.

Modi also used the word when he told the audience that ‘Bharat welcomes the delegates as President of the G20.’ The signs for the G20, plastered all over the venue, read both Bharat in Hindi and India in English.

The gateway to the shiny new venue where the annual confab is held is called the ‘Bharat Mandapam’ or ‘Bharat Pavilion.

If the government wants to change the name of the world’s most populous democracy, with 1.4 billion inhabitants, it would not be the first.

Countries such as Myanmar (formerly Burma), Turkiye (formerly Turkey) and Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) have made a switch.