Amitabh Bachchan, Virender Sehwag cheer Centre’s ‘Bharat’ move

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag on Tuesday (September 5) urged the BCCI to have ‘Bharat’, instead of India, inscribed on the jerseys of the national team players in the upcoming ODI World Cup.

Sehwag tagged BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, and suggested that the players wear a jersey with Bharat written on it. “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 (secretary) Jay Shah to ensure that in this World Cup our players have Bharat on our chest,” Sehwag said in his post on X.

In another post, he wrote, “Team India nahin #TeamBharat. This World Cup as we cheer for Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah, Jaddu, may we have Bharat in our hearts and the players wear jersey which has ‘Bharat’ @JayShah.”

Sehwag's comments came on the heels of controversy over the Rashtrapati Bhavan sending out invites for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India'.

Several political figures waded into the issue after it became public.

Sehwag, a swashbuckling opener of his time, also cited examples of other nations who had changed their names. “In the 1996 World Cup, Netherlands came to play in the World Cup in Bharat as Holland. In 2003, when we met them, they were The Netherlands and continue to be so. Burma have changed the name given by the British back to Myanmar,” he said.

“And many others have gone back to their original name,” he added in another tweet.

Meanwhile, the debate has spiralled with Amitabh Bachchan joining it. Taking to X, Big B on Tuesday (September 5) said, “Bharat mata ki jai.” He also shared a tricolour emoji with the post.

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan shared on X a G20 dinner invitation from President Murmu which described her position as ‘President of Bharat’, leading to allegations from the Opposition that the government was trying to change the name of the country from India to Bharat.

There has been no official word from the government on the issue yet.

The G20 Summit is being held in Delhi on September 9 and 10 under India's presidency and several heads of state from across the world, including US President Joe Biden, are attending the event.

It has been reported that the central government is considering changing India’s name to ‘Bharat’ in the special session of Parliament which is scheduled from September 18 to 22.

(With inputs from agencies)