Last year, a committee appointed by NCERT to overhaul the school curriculum recommended replacing the term 'India' with 'Bharat' in textbooks across all grades
Spiritual leader and founder of the Isha Foundation Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev responded to the National Council of Educational Research and Training's (NCERT) recommendation of replacing India with Bharat in all textbooks, stating that a country should have a name that 'reverberates' in everybody’s heart.
In a post on X, Sadhguru expressed his view: 'We should have reclaimed the name ‘Bharat’ when the British left our shores. A name will not do everything but it is important the country is named in a way that reverberates in everyone’s heart.'
We should have reclaimed the name ‘Bharat’ when the British left our shores. A name will not do everything but it is important the country is named in a way that reverberates in everyone’s heart. Even though the Nation means everything to us, the word ‘India’ has no meaning. If… https://t.co/ycsRZz2zGK
— Sadhguru (@SadhguruJV)He further commented that while the country meant everything to its citizens, the word ‘India’ held no significant meaning. 'Even though the Nation means everything to us, the word ‘India’ has no meaning. If we are unable or unwilling to change the name of the Nation officially, it is time we at least bring ‘Bharat’ into our daily parlance.'
Sadhguru congratulated the NCERT on their recommendation and emphasized the importance of the younger generation knowing about Bharat. 'Younger generations must know that Bharat existed long before India was born. Congratulations @ncert.'
The NCERT committee, tasked with revising the school curriculum, had suggested last year that 'Bharat' should replace 'India' in textbooks across all grades.
According to NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 'Bharat' and 'India' would be used interchangeably, following the precedent set by the Indian Constitution. He clarified, 'It is interchangeable....our position is what our Constitution says and we uphold that. We can use Bharat, we can use India, what is the problem? We are not in that debate. Wherever it suits we will use India, wherever it suits we will use Bharat. We have no aversion to either India or Bharat. You can see both being used in our textbooks already and that will continue in new textbooks. This is a useless debate.'
Meanwhile, committee chairperson C I Isaac stated, 'The committee has unanimously recommended that the name Bharat should be used in the textbooks for students across classes. Bharat is an age-old name. The name Bharat has been used in ancient texts, such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old.'