Supreme Court to hear petition to change India’s name

Recently, a Delhi-based man by name Namah reportedly approached the Supreme Court with a plea to make the government of India change the name of the country from India to Bharat.  The petition has been listed for hearing on June 2.  A bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde will hear the petition.

The petitioner feels that removing the “colonial” name from the Constitution of India will “instill a sense of pride in our own nationality, especially for the future generations to come.”

If the SC feels the petition has got substance, it might direct the government to initiate a legislative process to get Article 1 of the Constitution amended suitably.  The ball will always be in the Parliament’s court.  To be sure, the SC is likely to stride down the petition.  

Commenting on the development, social media influencer @slickenteur writes, “There is only one way I see this going.  The Supreme Court will say this is not in the purview of the Supreme Court of ‘India’. Nevertheless, this is a good start, we have got to keep pushing for such changes.”