The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has replaced the name “India” with a Sanskrit word in dinner invitations sent to guests attending this week’s G20 summit, in a move that reflects his nationalist Hindu party’s efforts to remove what it sees as names dating back to the colonial era.
The Indian President, Ram Nath Kovind, was referred to as “Bharat’s President” instead of “India’s President” in the invitation sent to attendees of the G20 summit.
The country with a population of over 1.4 billion people officially goes by two names, India and Bharat, but “India” is the most commonly used name both domestically and internationally.
It’s worth noting that “Bharat” is a word from the ancient Sanskrit language, and many historians believe it dates back to ancient Hindu texts.