Pakistan might change its name to India, if India changes its name.

It has been rumoured that India might change its name to Bharat, leaving the name up for grabs.

A state-issued invitation to the G20 summit this weekend, hosted by India, referred to the country in a different way, inviting world leaders to a state dinner hosted by the “president of Bharat”.

Meanwhile, prime minister, Narendra Modi, typically refers to India as Bharat, a word dating back to ancient Hindu scriptures written in Sanskrit, and one of two official names for the country under its constitution.

And the broadcaster News18 said unnamed government sources had told it that members of his Hindu nationalist ruling party, Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), who have previously campaigned against using the name India, which was imposed during the British conquest, would put forward a special resolution to give precedence to the name Bharat in the next session of parliament - so watch this space.

Now, nationalists in Pakistan have reportedly claimed they’ve got dibs on the name because it’s tied to the Indus region, so they might lay a claim on the name, India if it is derecognised at the UN.

But given the Indian government has not made any official statement on changing the name of the country, they might have to stick with Pakistan for a while yet.


  • generalpotato@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    Hahahaha gotta give it to Pakistan, there’s trolling and then there’s trolling on a global scale. Pakistan aiming and achieving the latter.

    Before anybody piles on — I don’t give a fuck about your opinion. I get this because I’m from the region and understand the dynamics between both countries pretty deeply.

    • Bread@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      Would you mind informing those of us who do not understand the dynamics of the relationship what happened to make things so bitter? Is it a one or two time event or a series of continuous bitter rivalry?

      • generalpotato@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Oh it’s a long complicated history which is worthy of a niche and focus in history within higher education for example.

        I suppose you could start at 1947 when Pakistan and India gained independence and even then depending on how you view it, you could claim that the British screwed both sides during the event furthering animosity between Hindus and Muslims in the region. The dream of a Muslim independent state starts at ~1857 when the Mughals who were primarily Muslim ruled over India for about a ~1000yrs lost out to the British which would then become to displace Mughals and rule over India and pillage it’s natural resources, not to say the Mughals weren’t guilty of their own set of atrocities. Again depending on how you look at, you could also consider Mughals invaders to a certain extent when they started gaining influence around ~700s with arrival of delegates of the Ummayad Caliphate and imposed themselves over a local populace that was primarily Hindu and Buddhist which existed in the region for 1000s of years prior with their own rich histories and cultures.

        Forwarding back over to after the events of 1947, which lead to the creation of India and Pakistan and present day Bangladesh which was part of Pakistan as well. Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, 4 wars between India and Pakistan and regular skirmishes over the territorial dispute of Kashmir later, you have a very complicated and deep history influencing feelings for almost any individual that belongs to the region.

        Largely, the people actually love each other and are fascinated by their similarities and differences in cultures, only to be manipulated by their governments for political favors and votes like any other region in the world.

        Like all history, there’s numerous takes and narratives on any detail you can pick, so consider this as just one take of it.

        Putting a note for further clarity just so we get things technically clear: “The Mughals” as in the actual dynasty didn’t rule India for a thousand years. It was Muslims and their presence in general. The Mughals were a part of the Muslim presence in India which shaped the subcontinent before the British came in.

        • Bondrewd@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 year ago

          Jesse what the fuck are you talking about? The Mughals were a Timurid descendant dynasty who founded the Mughal empire in the 1500s and it was basically gone by the middle of the 18th century.

          Early Muslim conquests in India were primarily done by individuals of arabic background.