Shillong, Sept 07: The latest of the controversy to rock the nation is the India versus Bharat debate, which was stoked after President Droupadi Murmu’s G20 invitation to leaders of different countries for a dinner on September 9 in New Delhi referred to her as the “President of Bharat” instead of the “President of India”.

Also Read : Shift from “President of India” to “President of Bharat”, Murmu’s G20 invite to foreign leaders sparks row

This debate got fanned further when the function notes of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Indonesia refer to him as the Prime Minister of Bharat. The document was shared on X, earlier known as twitter, by BJP’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra.

Also Read : After “President of Bharat,” now “Prime Minister of Bharat” adds fuel to Country’s name change speculations

Now, the nation stands divided on BJP and NDA government’s latest move. There are many voices coming from different parts of the country, some supporting the use of the name Bharat and some preferring to stick to India.

With elections to Lok Sabha due in the first half of 2024, the politicking has increased and the latest move of BJP is seen as polarising the votes in its favour.

One important piece of information that needs to be mentioned here is that Article 1 of the Constitution of India states: “India, that is, Bharat, shall be a Union of States”. Article 1 of the Constitution recognises both ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ as official names for the country.

Also Read: India or Bharat? What does Article 1 of the Constitution and Supreme Court say? -Explained

As the nation debates on this new controversy, Hub News decided to reach out to different sections of the society in Meghalaya to know their thoughts on this. This is the first of the 3-part series to understand what Meghalaya really thinks of the change in name and if it matters to them.

In this article, Hub News reached out to many youths, the most important constituent of the society, and gauge their understanding of the implications of the name. Hub News also interacted with academicians, lawyers and the people on the street to get a more comprehensive understanding.

Linda B Marak, Garo Hills: India is Bharat and Bharat is also India. But I prefer India.

Salme D Marak, Lawyer, Garo Hills: I like India. It’s not that I don’t like Bharat but Bharat and India is same. If they want to rename the name of the Country but we don’t know, they have been through that Article 1 of the Indian Constitution. As per my view I like the word India.

Danny Marak, General Secretary of Council of Nokmas, Garo Hills: India is better in my view because from before we are using this name India, and all over the world they know our country as India. Yes, of course, we also call out country as Bharat. Also, if we change the name, the signboard, official letters etc. will have to be changed to Bharat and the whole process will be lengthy.

Bryan Ch Marak, Fashion Designer, Garo Hills: I would prefer India because we have been using the word India from birth.

Hamsina T Sangma, Tailor, Garo Hills: As we have been saying from before India so I prefer India.

Student of Don Bosco College, Tura, Garo Hills: I prefer India because as our country is a secular one, making it Bharat makes it very Hinduish and also there are many tribes and religion in this country, so I prefer India.

Badasuk Kharkongor, youth, Shillong, Khasi Hills: I prefer India because we have been using this name since birth. Also, the name India sounds better. I feel it is more inclusive and secular.

Azia Rahmath, Youth, Shillong, Khasi Hills: I also prefer calling the county India. I feel changing the name will put a huge burden on the government ex-chequer as all the names on signposts, letter heads, even rupee notes will need to be changed. Also, I feel like this will be another demonetization type of drive and we will need to get new notes that are signed by Reserve Bank of Bharat. Also probably stand in long queues outside offices to file affidavits to change India to Bharat in all out documents.

As is evident from the responses above, people of Meghalaya by large prefer to continue using the word ‘India’ to refer to the nation as they cannot understand the pressing need to change the name of the country when ‘India’ is already 76 years old as an independent nation.

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