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.

Source: Bangkok Post September 09, 2023 13:04 UTC