New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to interfere in a petition seeking change in the name of the country to ‘Bharat’ from India’ and asked the Government of India to treat the petition as a representation and decide.
A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde and comprising Justices AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy observed that the court cannot pass any direction to amend constitution for name change.
“We cannot do that. India is already called Bharat in the Constitution,” CJI Bobde said, referring to Article 1 of the Indian Constitution.
During the hearing, advocate Ashwin Vaish appearing for petitioner Namaha submitted that the ‘India’ is originated from the Greek word “indica”. “History is riddled with examples of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ being used,” he submitted.
The counsel also urged the bench to allow him to make a representation before the Centre for such purposes.
However, the apex court disposed of the petition directing the appropriate ministry to treat the petition as a representation.
“The time is ripe to recognise the country by its original and authentic name, i.e. BHARAT, especially when our cities have been renamed to identify with the Indian ethos. In fact the word India being replaced with BHARAT would justify the hard fought freedom by our ancestors,” the plea reads.
The petitioner also stated that the purpose of the amendment to Article 1 will ensure ‘the citizens of this country to get over the colonial past.’
PNN