Kangana Ranaut, Amitabh Bachchan say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ amid India name change buzz

An invitation for a G20 dinner sent out by President Droupadi Murmu in her capacity as 'President of Bharat' has sparked a row with speculations making rounds that the country’s name might be changed from ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’ in the upcoming special session of Parliament.

While the report of name changing has triggered a controversy, several Bollywood celebrities and sportsmen have reacted to the proposed name change and spoke in its support.

Actress Kangana Ranaut shared an old statement where she can be heard saying, “What is there to love in this name? First of all they couldn’t pronounce ‘Sindhu’ toh usko bigad ke ‘Indus’ kar diya. Phir kabhi Hindos kabhi Indos kuch bhi gol mol karke India bana diya.”

What is there to love in this name? First of all they couldn’t pronounce ‘Sindhu’ toh usko bigad ke ‘ Indus’ kar diya. Phir kabhi Hindos kabhi Indos kuch bhi gol mol karke India bana diya.
From the time of Mahabharata, all the kingdoms who participated in the Great War of… https://t.co/R11hrMcjbH

— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 5, 2023

“Also the name Bharat is so meaningful, what is the meaning of India? I know they called Red Indians that because in olden English Indian simply meant a slave, they named us Indians because that was our new identity given to us by British. Even in olden days dictionary Indian’s meaning was mentioned as slave they recently changed it. Also it’s not our name we are Bhartiya not Indians,” said Kangana.

Similarly, megatstar Amitabh Bachchan took to his X handle and wrote, “Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”

My guru said it decades ago, I am nothing but mere dust of his feet, he is on Kailash yatra, he doesn’t know yet but this remarkable change of the name of this nation will bring him tears of joy, he will be returning not to India but to his beloved Bharat 🇮🇳 #Bharat #भारत https://t.co/B2v63jT7r9

— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 5, 2023

Furthermore, former cricketer Virendra Sehwag reacted to the news and wrote, “I have always believed a name should be one which instills pride in us. We are Bhartiyas, India is a name given by the British and it has been long overdue to get our original name ‘Bharat’ back officially. I urge the BCCI and Jay Shah to ensure that this World Cup our players have Bharat on our chest.”