Why is India not yet, "India, that is, BHARAT?"

How can we feel free if even the name of our country is foreign? Article one of our constitution states, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States..." Bharat is the name of our country. Officially, it is called India. The British gave us the name India. The Persians called us Hindustan. However, the Sanskrit name of our country is भारत (Bharat). The name is probably derived from King Bharat, not from any female goddess. Nevertheless, metaphorically, we may designate our country as Bharat Mata, as Paul calls Jerusalem the mother of all believers (Gal 4:26).

According to historian Roshen Dalal, the mention of the divine goddess Bharat Mata representing Bharat happened only in the late 19th century. Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated the Bharat Mata temple at Varanasi in 1936. Dalal defines Bharata in five ways. 1. The Rigveda king and the patriarch of the Bharata clan. 2. Dushyanta and Shakuntala's son in the Mahabhārata. 3. Rama's brother in Ramayana. 4. The first Jain Tirthankara, Rishaba's son Bharat. 5. Natyashastra's author Bharat. (The Religions of India, Roshen Dalal) (www.timesnownews)

The Hindu Puranas called this land Bhāratavarṣa (Sanskrit: भारतवर्ष, lit. country of Bharata). Vishnu Purana (2,1,31), Linga Purana (1,47,23), Vayu Purana (33,52), Agni Purana (107,11–12), Brahmanda Purana (14,5,62), Markandaya Purana (50,41), and Skanda Purana, Khanda (37,57). According to Vayupurana (45, 86), a Samrat is the one who conquers the entire Bharatvarsha. In the Mahābhārata, Bharata refers to King Bharata, the son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala. In many Puranas, Bharata is a Kshatriya born in the Ikshvaku Dynasty (Solar Dynasty). (Vedantu) 

In Sanskrit, Bharata can mean to be preserved (with fire) (vedantu). It can also mean seeker or bearer of the light of knowledge. Bha (light or knowledge) and Rata (Devoted to, engrossed by). It is a vridhied form of Bhr (to carry, to bear) (Monier Williams 747/2). In my view, it can mean "he/she/it bears." In a sense, this country has borne the burden of foreign (Mughals, Buddhists, and British) empires for thousands of years. Now, we need to be free, freed from all oppression and all forms of slavery. The root Bhr can also mean nourishing (Monier Williams 650/2). He nourishes.

In this sense, Bharat must bear, carry, and nourish Bharatiya people and lead them into a future of prosperity, harmony, and happiness. We don't want to be insulted by terrorists or harassed by corrupt leaders. Let Bharat be Bharat, not a slave of foreign empires. The government of India intended to rename India as Bharat in 2023. However, many people who do not acknowledge the colonial origins of the term 'India' objected. We are not slaves anymore. We must feel honoured to be Bharat: the seekers, preservers, nourishers, and bearers of light and knowledge.

Finally, let me demonstrate the depth of the colonial rule's hegemony. Many years ago, Sir Monier Monier-Williams learned Sanskrit from our Bharatiya forefathers and created a Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Now, Manoj Kumar and many Bharatiyas are learning Sanskrit from English. When they first arrived, the British needed Sanskrit to communicate with our ancestors. They spread English so virally that we are now learning Sanskrit in English. Such is the dominance of English over Bharat that its original inhabitants don't even know its original language. Still, we think we are free and independent. Therefore, to be truly free, we must first rename our country as Bharat, its Sanskrit name.