Hyderabad: Several state and central universities across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and other states have decided to replace the word “India” with “Bharat” on degrees, marksheets, and official documents, following a campaign by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-linked organisation, The Indian Express reported.
The campaign has been led by the Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, an organisation closely associated with the RSS and founded by the late Dina Nath Batra. Its wing, the Bharatiya Bhasha Manch, has been conducting a campaign to replace “India” with “Bharat” in institutional usage.
President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to attend a convocation at Rani Durgavati University in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on Sunday, June 21, where all degrees to be distributed will carry the name “Bharat” instead of “India”.
The university’s Vice-Chancellor Rajesh Kumar Verma told The Indian Express that its Executive Council had passed a resolution to use “Bharat” on all degrees and marksheets in both Hindi and English.
“We are people of Bharat and the real name of the country is Bharat. The name India came later,” he said, citing the use of “Bharat” during the G20 summit as one of the reasons behind the decision.
ML Gupta, a member of the central executive committee of the Bharatiya Bhasha Manch, said the Nyas had carried out an extensive campaign for the change.
“A country or a person should not have two names. The real name of the country is Bharat, but it came to be known as India, a word taken from the Indus, after the British came here. The British used the name in a derogatory sense, why should we retain it?” he told The Indian Express.
In his book 'India Nahin Bharat', Gupta claimed that 17 universities and educational institutions across Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra have passed resolutions to use only “Bharat” for official purposes.
Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya in Indore said it was the first university in Madhya Pradesh to implement the change. Its Vice-Chancellor Rakesh Singhai told The Indian Express, “We were the first one to pass such a resolution and have already replaced India with Bharat in writing everywhere. The other universities are following the example set by us.”
Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya in Bilaspur, a central university in Chhattisgarh, has also decided to adopt the change. Vice-Chancellor Alok Kumar Chakrawal said the revised name would appear on marksheets after the existing printed stock is exhausted.
Smita Sahasrabudhe, Vice-Chancellor of Raja Mansingh Tomar Music and Arts University in Gwalior, said its Executive Council was convinced by arguments presented by a Nyas delegation and passed a similar resolution.
“Hindi is called rashtra bhasha, so Bharat should be used instead of India,” she said.
The Constitution of India officially uses both names — “India” and “Bharat” — for the country, with “India” used in English and “Bharat” in Hindi.
In 2023, a G20 dinner invitation referred to President Murmu as the “President of Bharat”. The Office Memorandum for the 2026 Republic Day was bilingual and referred to the government as “Government of India/Bharat Sarkar”.
The Narendra Modi government has continued using both names, with “India” still appearing in major initiatives such as Make in India, Startup India, and Stand-Up India.