Amid India-Bharat Debate, Here Are 4 Other Names Of The Country You Must Know About

Did you know that our country was bestowed with the name India thousands of years before it was referred to as Bharat? An interesting story tells that India was not a name bestowed by the Britishers but by the people of this country. 

what is the oldest names of india
what is the oldest names of india

India-Bharat: A debate is going around whether we should get rid of our colonial roots completely and formally recognise India as Bharat. On September 5, 2023, Times Now reported that the Narendra Modi-led government will present a resolution to change ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’ in the next Parliament session from September 18 to 22, 2023.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter to share an official document, and it mentioned ‘Prime Minister of Bharat’ instead of ‘Prime Minister of India’. On the other hand, politician Shashi Tharoor shared a tweet mentioning that in 2015. The BJP-led government assured the Supreme Court that India need not be called Bharat.

According to Article 1 of the Constitution of India, both names are officially recognised. Referring to the country, it states, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”

While this debate of changing the name to get rid of the past is not new, it surely seems like that lately politicians of the country have been focusing on the ‘naamkaran’ ceremonies of cities, states, and now the country. It has happened in the past with ‘Prayagraj’, earlier referred to as Allahabad, and with many other cities.

Without getting into the debate about whether it should happen or not, we will tell you about the other names India had in ancient times and why the country was bestowed with them.

India-Bharat Was Called Meluha (What Is India's First Name?)

A tweet shared by Devdutt Pattanaik, an Indian mythologist, explained that one of the first names of India was Meluha around 4,500 years ago. Ancient Mesopotamian texts have been found to refer to the country as Meluha because of the Indus Valley Civilisation. It was meant to highlight the country’s interactions with other civilisations.

India-Bharat Was Called Hind (What Are The Different Names Of India?)

Around 2,500 years ago, when India had strong ties with Persian traders, it was called Hind. Persian emperor Darius gave the country this name. When the king conquered the Indus Valley around 516 BCE, the texts referred to the lower Indus basin as Hind. It is believed to have been derived from the Indus River, known as Sindhu in Sanskrit. Persians replaced S with H.

India-Bharat Was Called India (What Are The 6 Names Of India?)

what are the six names of india

Interestingly, India was not a name given by the Britishers (Britishers Banned Famous Indian Fabric) but by the Greeks. Around 2,300 years ago, a Greek visitor Megasthenes changed Hind to Indus. Thus, the country was referred to as India. It was later adopted by the colonial rulers because the name flaunted Graeco-Roman (European) roots.

India-Bharat Was Called Jambudvip (What Are Other Names Of India?)

Buddhist king Ashoka conquered entire India 2,200 years ago, and he called it Jambudvip or Jambudvipa. The name was derived from the Sanskrit language, and historians found it written in the Brahmi script. The name referred to ‘the land of Jambu trees’.

India-Bharat Was Called Bhaaratvarsh or Bharat (Why India Has Two Names?)

According to popular tales, India was named Bharatavarh or Bharat 2,100 years ago. The country was bestowed this name after King Bharat Chakravarti. The name of the legendary king finds its mentions in texts referring to the Bharata Dynasty.

He is believed to be the ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas of Mahabharata (Oppenheimer Vs Bhagavad Gita). Many texts say he was the son of King Dushyanta, emperor of Hastinapur, and Queen Shakuntala.

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India-Bharat Was Called Arya-Desha (Why India Has Many Names?)

why india has many names

Around 2,000 years ago, India was called Arya-desha, ‘the land of Aryans’. In the Hindu texts of Sutras and Dharma Shastras, the northern Indian subcontinent had a majority of settlers from the Indo-Aryan race and followed their rituals.

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