Indore: Amid the ongoing 'India' versus 'Bharat' debate, the Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya is the first university in the country to use 'Bharat' instead of 'India' in all its official documents and communication. A decision in this regard was taken at the university's executive council meeting on Thursday.
The proposal of using 'Bharat' in all verbal and written communication was placed at the meeting. The members of the executive council unanimously approved the proposal. "We had been considering to use 'Bharat' for sometime and today all the members agreed to it and has also decided to use Hindi as the language of correspondence. Using 'Bharat' will not only promote the country's traditional name but will also strengthen the cultural heritage," Renu Jain, vice chancellor of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya said.
Jain said that the name 'Bharat' signifies that it is a part of Indian culture. Hindi will be used for communicating within the university as well as with other colleges and the government. English will also be used but only wherever necessary," she added. The name plates of all officer-bearers of the university will from now onwards be displayed in Hindi including both the name and the designation. Whenever the country is referred, the university will use 'Bharat', she said adding that it will be used both in the day-to-day affairs as well as in the syllabus.
The Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya has been accredited A-plus grade by NAAC and has given affiliation to more than 200 colleges. It is located in Indore and named after Ahilya Bai Holkar, the 18th century ruler of Indore of the Maratha empire. Initially, the university's jurisdiction was Indore but later it extended to the districts of Jhabua, Allrajpur, Dhar, Khargone, Khandwa, Burhanpur and Barwani.
