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India that is Bharat: On a name game

India that is Bharat: On a name game 

There is no need for one name to be given primacy  over the other

India and Bharat have both evoked the same emotions among patriots for decades , but these labels of pride have now been weaponised for narrow political ends . The Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre has decided to use Bharat instead of India in some official communication and documents, a practice that its representatives say will now expand . ‘India, that is Bharat,...’ is how the Constitution of India names the country, and the use of one or the other has been largely contextual all this while. The cultural echoes of Bharat have never been in doubt, and the current hype around it is more about a campaign to discard the use of India, as if both cannot exist in harmony . India, according to this telling, is a foreign imposition , and hence unsuitable for national dignity . Bharat, linked as it is to various ancient sources, goes beyond the geographical and cultural landscape that constitutes the modern republic of India. In that sense, both names are an outcome of India’s nation-building journey. Labouring to tease out the foreign from the native in the expanse of this nation that hosts a multitude of ethnic , linguistic , and genetic diversity and that has been formed as a result of millennia of migrations and cross-currents of human interactions serves no purpose other than creating new flashpoints in society.

This farcical hubbub hoisted upon the country should have been allowed to dissipate and recede , but the knee-jerk reaction of the Opposition gave it the aura of a fundamental identity question before the nation. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been asking for privileging the use of Bharat over India for-long , but the Opposition bloc ’s decision to label itself INDIA as an acronym also might have influenced the BJP’s hurry in the naming exercise. Far-from demonstrating a nation’s strength and pride, the government’s name game undermines the confidence and soft-power of the nation. Bharat has been part of popular culture, political and cultural idioms, and literature across many Indian languages. Similarly, India is also used by millions within and outside the country who yearn for its progress. It is possible that contexts and constituencies of these proper-nouns might vary , but that is the very reason to desist from attempting to impose the use of one and edge-out the other. Whether it is India or Bharat, the essence of the meaning that it conveys remains the same. The needless juxtaposition of the two names should not affect the bonding of the inhabitants in the pursuit of a misplaced cultural combat . Let India and Bharat coexist as they have always been.

 

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Primacy (noun) – Preeminence, importance, predominance, prevalence, superiority

प्रधानता

 

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Evoke (verb) – Invoke, elicit, induce, arouse, summon

पैदा करना

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Patriot (noun) – Nationalist, loyalist, supporter, devotee, compatriot

राष्‍ट्रप्रेमी

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Decade (noun) – Period of 10 years

दशक

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Label (noun) – Tag, sticker, marker, badge, insignia

टैग

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Pride (noun) – Self-esteem, dignity, honor, self-worth, self-respect

गर्व

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Weaponise (verb) – Convert into weapon, militarize, arm, equip

हथियार बनाना

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Narrow (adjective) – Restricted, limited, tight, confined, constricted

संकीर्ण

 

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Ends (noun) – Goals, objectives, purposes, aims, targets

उद्देश्य

 

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Representative (noun) – Delegate, envoy, emissary, spokesperson, agent

प्रतिनिधि

 

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Expand (verb) – Extend, enlarge, increase, broaden

विस्तार करना

 

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Echoes (noun) – Reverberations, resonances, reflections, repeats, ringings

गूंज

 

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Hype (noun) – Exaggeration, overstatement, promotion, publicizing

अधिक प्रचार

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Discard (verb) – Reject, dispose of, throw away, abandon

त्यागना

 

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Harmony (noun) – Accord, concord, unity, agreement, amity

सामंजस्य

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Imposition (noun) – Enforcing, infliction, forcing, implementation

थोपना/ आरोपण

 

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Dignity (noun) – Respect, honor, self-respect, decorum

गरिमा

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Geographical (adjective) – Topographical, territorial, cartographic

भौगोलिक

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Landscape (noun) – the distinctive features of a sphere of activity; situation, backdrop, setting, circumstance परिदृश्य

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Constitute (verb) – Form, compose, make up, establish

गठित करना

 

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Outcome (noun) – Result, consequence, conclusion, end result

परिणाम

 

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Labour (verb) – work hard; make great effort.

 मेहनत करना, प्रयास करना

 

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Tease out (phrasal verb) – Extract, obtain, elicit, derive

धीरे धीरे समझाना या निकालना

 

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Native (noun) – Indigenous person, original inhabitant, local

देशवासी

 

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Expanse (noun) – a very wide space or area

फैलाव, प्रसार

 

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Host (verb) – hold, present, accommodate, lay on

उपस्थित होना

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Multitude (noun) – A large number of people or things

भारी संख्या

 

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Ethnic (adjective) – Racial, cultural, tribal

जातीय

 

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Linguistic (adjective) – Language-related, philological, grammatical

भाषा संबंधित

 

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Genetic (adjective) – Hereditary, inherited, inborn, congenital

आनुवांशिक

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Diversity (noun) – Variety, multiplicity, range, assortment, mixture

विविधता

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As a result of (phrase) – Due to, because of, on account of, consequent to

के कारण

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Millennia (noun) – Thousands of years, ages, long periods

सदियों

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Migration (noun) – movement from one part of something to another.

 प्रवास

 

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Cross-current (noun) – a situation or tendency marked by conflict with another

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Serve (verb) – Function, work for, be of use

के रूप में कार्य करना

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Flashpoint (noun) – Crisis point, critical moment, turning point

संकट स्थल

 

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Farcical (adjective) – Ridiculous, laughable, comedic

हास्यास्पद

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Hubbub (noun) – Uproar, commotion, clamor

शोरगुल

 

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Hoist (on/upon) (verb) – raise or haul up.

उठाना

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Dissipate (verb) – (with reference to a feeling or emotion) disappear or cause to disappear.  

ग़ायब हो जाना

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Recede (verb) – Diminish, lessen, decline, wane

कम होना

 

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Knee-jerk (adjective) – Unthinking, immediate, mindless, thoughtless

विचारहीन

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Knee-jerk reaction (noun) – Spontaneous reaction, automatic response, reflex reaction

स्वाभाविक प्रतिक्रिया

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Aura (noun) – Atmosphere, ambience, air

आभास

 

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Privilege (verb) – Favor, advantage, benefit

प्राथमिकता देना

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For long (phrase) – For a considerable time

लंबे समय तक

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Bloc (noun) – Alliance, association, coalition, federation

गुट

 

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Label (verb) – to describe someone or something using a particular word or phrase, often unfairly

करार दिए जाना

 

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Acronym (noun) – Abbreviation, short form

संक्षिप्त रूप

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Hurry (noun) – Rush, haste, urgency

जल्दी

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Far from (phrase) – Not at all, nowhere near, away from, different from, not nearly,

से अलग

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Demonstrate (verb) – Show, exhibit, display

प्रदर्शित करना

 

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Undermine (verb) – Weaken, compromise, diminish

कमजोर बनाना

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Soft power (noun) – the ability to achieve one's goals without force, esp by diplomacy, persuasion, etc.

 

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Yearn (for) (verb) – Desire, long for, crave for

लालसा होना

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Constituency (noun) – Electorate, voters, body of voters

निर्वाचन क्षेत्र

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Proper noun – A name of a particular person, place, or thing

विशेष संज्ञा

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Vary (verb) – Differ, change, alter

अलग होना

 

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Desist (verb) – Stop, cease, discontinue, abstain, refrain,  

रोकना

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Impose (verb) – Enforce, foist, thrust upon

थोपना

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Edge out (phrasal verb) – remove something from main role by indirect means.

हटाना; किनारा करना

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Essence (noun) – Core, heart, crux, gist, substance

सार

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Convey (verb) – Communicate, transmit, impart, relay, pass on

बताना

 

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Needless (adjective) – Unnecessary, unneeded, redundant, pointless, superfluous

अनावश्यक

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Juxtaposition (noun) – Adjacency, closeness, proximity, conjunction, alignment

निकटता

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Inhabitant (noun) – Resident, dweller, occupant, denizen

निवासी

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In the pursuit of (phrase) – In search of, in quest of, on the trail of, in the chase of

की तलाश में

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Misplaced (adjective) – Misdirected, misguided, inappropriate, ill-advised

गलत

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Combat (noun) – Battle, fight, skirmish, conflict, clash

संघर्ष/ युद्ध

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Coexist (verb) – Live together, cohabit, co-occur, co-live

एक साथ होना