New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of a petition which sought to change the name of the country from "India" to "Bharat".
Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, who was slated to hear the matter, was on leave today, hence the matter was adjourned. The apex court has not given another date on when the hearing would take place.
The plea sought a direction to the government to take appropriate steps to bring amendment in Article 1 of the Constitution, which deals with name and territory of the Union, to the effect that "the same refers to the country as Bharat/Hindustan, to the exclusion of India".
The plea, filed by a Delhi-based man, has claimed that such an amendment will "ensure the citizens of this country to get over the colonial past".
"The removal of the English name though appears symbolic, will instill a sense of pride in our own nationality, especially for the future generations to come. Infact, the word India being replaced with Bharat would justify the hard fought freedom by our ancestors," the plea claimed.
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Referring to the 1948 Constituent assembly debate on Article 1 of the then draft constitution, the plea said even at that time there was a "strong wave" in favour of naming the country as 'Bharat' or 'Hindustan'.
"However, now the time is ripe to recognize the country by its original and authentic name i.e. Bharat especially when our cities have been renamed to identify with the Indian ethos," it said.
(With inputs from agencies)
