Modi uses ‘Bharat’ not India for G20 nameplate amid name change row

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s placard at the opening of the G20 summit on Saturday, 9 September, referred to India as “Bharat”, raising speculation of a change of name for the South Asian nation.

India is also called Bharat, Bharata, Hindustan in Indian languages and these are used interchangeably by the public and officially.

As Modi declared the summit in New Delhi open on Saturday, he sat behind a table nameplate that read “Bharat”, while the G20 logo had both names - “Bharat” written in Hindi and “India” in English.

Such placards have used “India” in the past.