India Debates Adopting ‘Bharat’ as Its Name

A Sanskrit word used in place of the name India on official dinner invitations has sparked wild speculation that the Indian government is considering a name change for the world’s most populous nation.

Droupadi Murmu was referred to as “President of Bharat” instead of “President of India” on the invitation to a dinner for participants of the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi over the weekend. Shashi Tharoor, a high-level member of India’s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, revealed the change on Sept. 5 when he posted a photo of the invitation on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.