A giant screen shows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting behind a sign that reads “Bharat”, while delivering the opening speech during the G20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday. NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s placard at the opening of the G20 summit on Saturday referred to India as “Bharat”, raising speculation of a change of name for the South Asian nation. India is also called Bharat, Bharata and Hindustan — its pre-colonial names — in Indian languages and these are used interchangeably by the public and officially. As Modi declared the summit in New Delhi open on Saturday, he sat behind a table nameplate that read “Bharat”, while the G20 logo had both names — “Bharat” written in Hindi and “India” in English. While some supporters of the name Bharat say “India” was given by British colonisers, historians say the name predates colonial rule by centuries.
