The Delhi High Court has adjourned to March 12, a writ petition seeking directions to the Central government to replace the word India in the Constitution with ‘Bharat’ or ‘Hindustan’.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Sachin Datta granted time to the Counsels representing Respondent nos. 1 and 4 (Centre) to take instructions on the matter and listed the plea for further hearing on March 12, 2025.
Petitioner Namaha had earlier approached the Apex Court with a similar plea. In 2020, the top court of the country directed that the petition be treated as a representation and may be considered by appropriate Ministries.
Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Sanjeev Sagar apprised the High Court that since was no update from the respondents about any decision taken on the representation of the petitioner, he was left with no option but to approach this court by way of the present plea.
The petition claimed ‘India,’ an English name, did not represent the culture and tradition of the country. Renaming the nation to ‘Bharat’ would help the citizens shed the colonial baggage.
The plea further sought amendment in Article 1 of the Constitution, dealing with the name and territory of the Union.
Referring to the 1948 Constituent Assembly debate on Article 1 of the then Draft Constitution, the petitioner claimed that even at that time, there was a strong wave in favour of naming the country as either ‘Bharat’ or ‘Hindustan’.
Now the time was ripe to recognise the country by its original and authentic name – Bharat, especially when the cities have been renamed to identify with the Indian ethos, added the petition.
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