Plea in Delhi High Court to rename India as ‘Bharat’

Petition in Delhi High Court seeks to replace 'India' with 'Bharat' or 'Hindustan' in Constitution, citing cultural significance.

A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the government to decide on a representation for amending the Constitution and replacing the word India with ‘Bharat’ or ‘Hindustan’.

The court has granted time to the Centre’s counsel to get instructions on the plea filed by Namaha, a Delhi resident. The plea came up for hearing before Justice Sachin Datta on February 4 and the court listed it for further hearing on March 12.

Previously, Mr. Namaha approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to amend the Constitution and replace the word India with ‘Bharat’ or ‘Hindustan’. The apex court, in 2020, directed that the petition be treated as a representation and may be considered by the appropriate ministries.

“The petitioner is left with no option but to approach this court by way of the present petition as there is no update from the respondents about any decision taken on the representation,” the plea said.

It claimed that the English name ‘India’ does not represent the culture and tradition of the country and renaming it to ‘Bharat’ would help citizens shed “colonial baggage”.

It has sought to amend Article 1 of the Constitution, which deals with the name and territory of the Union.

The plea sought to amend Article 1 of the Constitution, which presently states, India that is Bharat, to henceforth state Bharat/Hindustan as a Union of States.