A petition to rename India as ‘Bharat’ or ‘Hindustan’ was heard in the Delhi High Court on March 12, 2025. The court dismissed the case, asking the petitioner to submit the request to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The court also directed the MHA to make a decision as soon as possible.
Government’s Response
The government lawyer argued that the petitioner had not included the Home Ministry as a party in the case. Since such a decision can only be taken by the government, the lawyer said that the petition should have been filed with the Home Ministry.
The petition demanded that the word ‘India’ be removed from the Constitution and replaced with ‘Bharat’ or ‘Hindustan’. The last hearing on this case was held on February 17, 2025, where Justice Sachin Datta gave the central government extra time to respond.
Petitioner’s Demand to Amend Article 1
The petitioner, Namah, a resident of Delhi, had asked for a change in Article 1 of the Constitution. He wanted the phrase “India, that is Bharat” to be replaced with “Bharat or Hindustan, the Union of States”.
This is not the first time Namah has raised this issue. He had also approached the Supreme Court earlier with the same request. In 2020, the Supreme Court had directed the concerned ministry to look into the matter. However, no action was taken on the issue.
