Amid all the hustle and bustle of G20 Summit (LIVE UPDATES), the India vs Bharat name change buzz is getting stronger with each passing day. The G20 Summit is scheduled to take place in Delhi between September 8 and September 10. Delhi will be welcoming global leaders and influential personalities that are going to attend the G20 Summit. Amid the beautification of Delhi, President Draupadi Murmu sent out a dinner invite to all the delegates that referred her as ‘President of Bharat’ instead of usual ‘President of India’.
While there has been no word from the government on name change of India to Bharat, the Opposition bloc ‘INDIA’ has been vocal about its stance against any such decision. According to official records, ‘India’, ‘Bharat’ and ‘Hindustan’ are used interchangeably in both formal and informal manner. However, there are speculations that ‘Bharat’ may likely be the only official name from now on.
It will not be the first time when a country undergoes a name change process but, a very common phenomenon. In history, many countries have challenged the name given by colonisers to attain back their powers as an independent country. For others, countries change their name for political, economical- to attract tourist and cultural reasons. Here is the list of countries that decided to refer to different names now.
- Ceylon to Sri Lanka: The neighbouring country Sri Lanka used to be called Ceylon, a name given by the colonisers. In 2011, Sri Lanka officially abandoned Ceylon and declared its independence from Portuguese and British rule.
- Countries of South Africa: There are 7 countries in South Africa that changed their name during the period of 1960 – 1980 as a sign of independence such as, Benin changed into Dahomey, Togo, Burkina Faso.
- Holland to Netherlands: The European country Netherlands was used to be called ‘Holland’ but in 2020 the government changed the name for promotional and tourism purposes.
- Czech Republic to Czechia: The Czech Republic simplified its name to Czechia in April 2016 for convenience, making it easier to be recognized in sports and marketing globally.
- Swaziland to Eswatini: To avoid confusion with Switzerland and reflect its indigenous roots, Swaziland changed its name to Eswatini.
- Republic of Macedonia to Republic of North Macedonia: In February 2019, it changed its acronym to the Republic of North Macedonia in order to join NATO and set itself apart from the Macedonia province of Greece.
- Irish Free State to Ireland: Ireland formally became a republic and took on the name “Ireland” in 1937.
- Siam to Thailand: After changing its name from Siam to Thailand in 1939, the country briefly returned to its original name between 1946 and 1948 before becoming the Kingdom of Thailand.
- Burma to Myanmar: Myanmar took over as Burma’s official name in 1989, reflecting linguistic accuracy despite the older name’s continued use around the world.
- Cambodia: With time, Cambodia’s name has changed several times, reflecting the country’s complicated past. Some of these names include the Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea, State of Cambodia, and the Kingdom of Cambodia.
- Persia to Iran: In 1935, Iran changed its name from Persia to Iran, which led to disagreements among Iranians and altered how the nation and its people were perceived.