New Delhi: In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged that the name of the country be officially changed from India to Bharat to “strengthen and inculcate the feeling and sentiments of nationalism”.
“We, on behalf of 7 crore traders of the country, applaud your gigantic efforts in the past for restoration of the glory of the country as also establishing India that is Bharat as one of the most powerful nations across the globe. We are sure that under your leadership, the country will not only be strengthened within its geographical limits but will also emerge as a self-reliant nation all over the world,” states the letter written by Praveen Khandelwal, national secretary general, CAIT.
In the communication sent to PM Modi, Khandelwal said CAIT urges him “to replace the word India with Bharat as the name Bharat itself reflects the high tradition, culture and glory of the country and will also strengthen and inculcate the feeling and sentiments of nationalism”.
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‘No constitutional amendment required’
The letter also refers to Article 1(i) of the Indian Constitution and argues that such a change would not require an amendment.
“This (article 1 (i)) specifically says that India, ‘that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States’, giving a clear interpretation that the feeling and intention of the Constitution makers by adding ‘that is Bharat’ was to make the country be known as Bharat,” it said.
“As per this article, India and Bharat, both names are used. Therefore, there is no requirement of amending the Constitution and the word India can be replaced with Bharat by issuing a necessary notification under required laws stating that the word India shall be substituted with the word Bharat, wherever it appears,” the letter added.
The association also applauded Modi’s efforts in the past for the “restoration of the glory of the country as also establishing India that is Bharat as one of the most powerful nations across the globe”.
For the past few days, CAIT has also intensified its anti-China campaign following the violent Galwan Valley face-off on the Line of Actual Control that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. It also called for the boycott of 450 categories of Chinese products in India, and even wrote to celebrities asking them not to endorse Chinese goods.
Apart from the CAIT, RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch has also been stressing on boycotting Chinese products and accepting local ones.
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