Recently, there has been a debate over India’s name, with the opposition forming an alliance called I.N.D.I.A. Now, the government is considering removing this term. A controversy arose when the invitation letter for the G-20 summit addressed the ‘President of India’ as ‘President of India.’ But did you know that a petition to change India’s name was rejected by the Supreme Court three years ago?
What the Supreme Court Decided
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking to amend the Constitution to change ‘India’ to ‘India.’ The argument was that ‘India’ originated from the Greek word ‘Indica,’ and thus, the name should be changed. However, the Supreme Court clarified that ‘India’ means ‘India.’ Then Chief Justice SA Bobde dismissed the petition, questioning why the petitioner brought this matter to court when the Constitution clearly states that ‘India means Bharat.’
Demand for Constitutional Amendment
Nevertheless, the petitioner requested the Supreme Court to forward the demand to the relevant ministry, which the Court accepted. The petition referenced Article 1 of the Constitution, which uses the name ‘India.’ The petitioner called for an amendment to this article, reigniting the debate over the term ‘India.’ Following the President’s invitation letter, several opposition leaders criticized the Modi government, fearing that the BJP might change the name if any alliance adopts ‘Bharat’ as its name in the future.