More controversial,in a country with a large Muslim population,has been the renaming of cities established by the Mughals,a Muslim dynasty that ruled much of the subcontinent between the 16th and 18th centuries. In 2018,the northern city of Allahabad,founded by Mughal emperor Akbar,was changed to the Sanskrit word,Prayagraj,which officials claim was the original name.

There is a long history of violent conflict between Hindus and the minority Muslim community,which comprises about 14 per cent of India’s population.

Critics claim some name changes are erasing the country’s heritage and pandering to the Hindu majority.

But for many,the word India also has negative associations with the subcontinent’s colonial history.

On Tuesday,former Indian cricket star Virender Sehwag,who has 23.4 million followers on X,posted that “India is a name given by the British&it has been long overdue to get our original name ‘Bharat’ back officially”. He called on cricket authorities to ensure that “our players have Bharat on our chest” at the World Cup tournament in India in November.

But Shashi Tharoor,a prominent member of parliament from the opposition Congress Party,said dispensing with the name,India,would squander “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 posted on social media.

Sitaram Yechury,leader of India’s Communist Party,told thePress Trust of India “we just don’t know why they hate ‘India’ so much”.

Robin Jeffrey,a visiting research professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore,said the word,Bharat,invoked the region’s distant past.

“Although not a perfect analogy,it’s a bit like if the French stopping calling their country France and starting calling it Gaul,” he said.

The term,Bharat,has been championed by Hindu nationalist groups affiliated with the ruling BJP.

Jeffrey said there may be a long-term goal to change the formally recognised name,and that the Modi government had astutely drawn global attention to the idea of India as Bharat by including the term on a G20-related document.

“I think it’s a way to soften up the world’s media and get people learning about Bharat,” he said. “It’s also a way of softening up India on this.”

There are also allegations of political mischief.

Leaders from a new multi-party opposition bloc called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance – or INDIA – claim the BJP wants to change the country’s name to Bharat because it fears the electoral clout of the INDIA coalition and is desperate to foil it.

“If INDIA alliance renames itself as ‘BHARAT,’ will they change ‘Bharat’,too?” said Arvind Kejriwal,whose Aam Aadmi Party belongs to the new political grouping.

Modi will hostthe G20 summit in Delhi at a vast conference centre newly built for the occasion – it is named the “Bharat Mandapam”.

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