Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has long sought to remove symbols left over from the British colonial era from India’s cities, political institutions and history books. But if the name change is real, it would be the biggest move to date.

Modi himself usually refers to his homeland as “Bharat”, a name taken from ancient Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit. “Bharat” is one of the country’s two official names, according to the constitution.

The ruling Hindu nationalist party has previously advocated dropping the country’s better known name, India – which was also the name used when India was a British colony.

Mysterious invitation

This weekend, India is hosting a summit of the G20 countries, which will end with a state dinner. As per the invitation of the Indian authorities, the event was hosted by “President Bharat”.

The government has invited the National Assembly to convene a special session in September, but has so far been silent on the agenda. However, unnamed government sources told broadcaster News18 that Modi’s party would submit a proposal that would prioritize the name “Bharat”.

For decades, Indian authorities have tried to erase traces of the British colonial era by giving new names to roads and towns across the country. One example is the big city of Mumbai which was formerly called Bombay.

This process has intensified under the Modi government, which in several public speeches has stressed the need for India to leave behind traces of the “colonial mindset”.

Erasing Islamic names

Among other things, the Prime Minister’s government carried out renovations to the Government Offices in New Delhi, which were originally designed by the British, to replace colonial-era buildings.

In August, the government outlined plans for sweeping changes to India’s criminal code to remove references to the British monarchy and what Home Minister Amit Shah described as “other signs of our slavery”.

The Modi government has also removed Islamic place names used during the Mughal Empire before British rule. Critics believe the move is a symbolic attempt to uphold the supremacy of the Hindu religion, which the majority of Indians adhere to.

[ Kommentar: BRICS tar nye grep ]