Responding to the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) recommendation to replace India with Bharat in all textbooks, Isha Foundation founder and spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev on Tuesday said it was important that the country’s name “resonates” in everyone’s mind.
“We should have taken back the name ‘Bharat’ when the British left our country. A name doesn’t say everything, but it is important that the country’s name resonates with everyone,” Sadhguru said in a post on X.
Sadhguru added that even if the country is everything to its people, the word ‘India’ has no meaning. “Even if the country is everything to us, the word ‘India’ has no meaning. If we are unable or unwilling to officially change the name of the country, it is time that we at least introduce ‘Bharat’ into our daily conversations.”
Sadhguru congratulated the NCERT on the recommendation and spoke about how the younger generation should know about India.
“Younger generation must know that Bharat existed much before India came into being. Congratulations @ncert,” he said.
A committee set up by the NCERT to revise the school curriculum had last year recommended that the term “India” be replaced with “Bharat” in textbooks for all grades.
NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Sakrani on Monday said “Bharat” and “India” will be used interchangeably as per the Indian Constitution, adding that there is no animosity towards either name.
“They are interchangeable. Our stand is what is written in the Constitution and we stand by it. We can use Bharat or we can use India. What is the problem? We are not part of that debate. We use India wherever it suits us and Bharat wherever it suits us. We have no aversion to either India or Bharat. Both are already used in textbooks and that will continue in the new textbooks too. This is a pointless debate,” Sakrani said.
Meanwhile, according to PTI, committee chairman CI Isaac said, “The committee has unanimously recommended that the name Bharat be used in textbooks for students of all classes. Bharat is an ancient name. The name Bharat has also been used in ancient texts like the Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old.”
