 "Indian rupee")
As New Delhi sets itself to host the G20 Summit on September 9 and 10, the invitation by President Droupadi Murmu to heads of state for the event under the title President of "Bharat" and not President of "India" has sparked controversy.
Later, reports claimed that the Centre may bring up a bill to rename the country Bharat in the upcoming special session of the Parliament between September 18 and 22.
However, changing the name would not require just a thumbs up from the Parliament. It will come up with other expenses like rebranding and marketing.
How much will it cost to change India's name to Bharat?
Outlook, in a recent report, came up with a figure based on a model by South Africa-based intellectual property lawyer and blogger Darren Olivier. Olivier used the model to calculate the cost of renaming Swaziland to Eswatini in 2018.
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The model compares the renaming of a nation to rebranding exercises at large companies.
According to the model, the average marketing cost of a large enterprise is about 6 per cent of its total revenue, while the rebranding cost could be as much as 10 per cent of the overall marketing budget.
India's total receipts in 2022-23 were Rs 23.84 trillion. By Olivier's model, India will have to pay Rs 14,034 crore to rename itself to Bharat.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that "India" has an "incalculable" brand value attached to its name, and the Centre must not remove the name completely.
In a post on social media platform X, he said, "While there is no constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat', which is one of the country's two official names, I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with 'India', which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries."
"We should continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world," he added.
Bharat or India: War of words over renaming
The reports of name change have triggered a political slugfest on social media.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, "So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India'."
"Now, Article 1 in the Constitution can read: Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States.But now even this Union of States is under assault," Ramesh alleged.
In another post, he said the BJP was the one that had come up with the "India Shining" campaign, to which the Congress' response was "Aam Aadmi ko Kya Mila".
"Also remember that it was the BJP that came up with Digital India, Start Up India, New India, and so on to which the Congress' response was the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the first anniversary of whose launch is day after tomorrow," he said.
In another post, Ramesh said, "Mr. Modi can continue to distort history and divide India, that is Bharat, that is a Union of States. But we will not be deterred."
As leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc took up the refrain to criticise the government, many BJP leaders hit back.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said, "We all know India is Bharat, but world knows us as India."
What changed suddenly that we should use only Bharat, she asked.
Her Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin also lashed out at the government over the issue, saying that after "non-BJP forces united to dethrone the fascist BJP regime" and aptly named their alliance INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), now the BJP wants to change "India" for "Bharat".
"BJP promised to TRANSFORM India, but all we got is a name change after 9 years!Seems like the BJP is rattled by a single term called India because they recognise the strength of unity within the opposition. During the elections, 'India' will chase BJP out of power!" Stalin said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked whether the BJP would change the name of Bharat if the opposition alliance INDIA rechristens itself Bharat.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar said no one has the right to change the country's name.
Hitting back, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar asked what is the problem with using 'President of Bharat' as our country is also Bharat.
"Congress looks at everything as tinkering. Sometimes they will talk about eradicating 'Sanatan Dharma'. I don't see there is any problem. If we won't use the name of Bharat as Bharat then what else," he said.
In a post on X, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "REPUBLIC OF BHARAT - happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL."
(With agency inputs)
