WIll Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) change to Bharat Institute of Sciences (BISc)? Are the alumni going to be dubbed as 'BIScuits'?
Published Sep 06, 2023 | 6:40 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 07, 2023 | 8:59 AM
Is India on its way to being renamed as Bharat? (Supplied)
In 1954, a man was born in Bihar and his parents named him विनय (Vinay). For most of his life, he used the Hindi script to write his name. However, when he joined a central government service, a bureaucratic twist occurred.
During the onboarding process, he wrote his name in Hindi, but the government issued his ID card in English, changing his name to Binay.
This linguistic hiccup extended to his official documents. His PAN card, created in 2005, carried the name Binay, while his voter ID card retained Vinay, as it had been translated from Hindi in his village.
In 2012, when he needed to obtain an Aadhaar Card, the name on his Voter ID card prevailed, resulting in his Aadhaar being issued as Vinay.
Fast forward to 2020, and the government mandated the linking of Aadhaar and PAN cards. That’s when the trouble truly began. When he attempted to link the two, the bank operator informed him that the names didn’t match.
As the deadline passed, his pension stopped. For six long months, he had to endure the struggle of living without his pension, an essential lifeline of his retirement years.
The solution to this bureaucratic conundrum required him to navigate the complexities of the legal system. It entailed court proceedings, affidavit submissions, publication of his name correction in newspapers, and, finally, an amendment to his Aadhaar card.
Why should a single alphabet in a name create such struggles for someone in accessing their basic rights? It’s a question that invites us to reconsider the bureaucratic complexities that affect the lives of everyday citizens when a single alphabet can cause havoc in a person’s life.
An invitation from the Ministry of External Affairs to G20 members for a dinner referenced the host as the “President of Bharat” instead of the customary “President of India”.
This has led to the Opposition raising questions of intent, propriety, and convention against the Narendra Modi-led Union government.
People are now wondering if the country’s name is going to be changed to “Bharat”.
Changing “India” to “Bharat” isn’t as straightforward as changing your Facebook profile picture.
Institutions all over the country will have to engage in a bit of linguistic juggling and, good heavens, where does one even start?
Keep in mind that Article 1 of the Indian Constitution is there to remind us that our nation is “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”.
We’ve got both India and Bharat intertwined in our Constitution, and many institutions have dual identities — one in English, with India, and the other in Hindi, with Bharat.
If the country’s name goes under the knife, what happens to all our identity cards? Voter ID, Aadhaar, PAN, driver’s licencese, and, most importantly, our passports?
The Republic of India would need a makeover to come to the fore as the Republic of Bharat, and that sounds like a colossal bureaucratic adventure, doesn’t it?
It takes at least a month to get a passport. Does a person have to go through the whole process all over again?
Will every citizen have to jump through hoops to get these identity cards updated? This would be almost reminiscent of the time every citizen of this country stood in line during demonetisation, waiting to get their notes changed!
It is essential to recognise that when citizens lack proper documentation, their very survival can be at stake, even when the government aims to provide essential support.
A glaring example of this unfolded during the Covid-19 lockdown when the government distributed free food grains. Shockingly, millions of citizens couldn’t access this crucial assistance simply because they didn’t possess valid ration cards.
Similarly, in the banking sector, when citizens fail to provide adequate documentation for KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements, their savings accounts can be seized.
In the arena of government schemes, the BJP government has undeniably been quite prolific over the past nine years. Initiatives like Make in India, Skill India, Digital India, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Khelo India, and more have not only become household names, but have also graced our social media feeds with their catchy titles and ambitious goals.
So would changing the name of the country to Bharat mean that these scheme names will also have to change? Replace “India” with “Bharat” in the titles of these initiatives.
Get ready to welcome Make in Bharat, Skill Bharat, Digital Bharat, Start-up Bharat, Stand-up Bharat (Khara ho ja or Uth ja Bharat), and Khelo Bharat.
To promote these schemes, the government has already spent thousands of crores of public money on advertisements.
So, the burning question on everyone’s minds is: Are we about to witness a sequel where the government embarks on a grand renaming adventure, followed by a colossal rebranding campaign — all at the expense of public funds?
Many of the institutions already have Hindi versions of their names. For example, the Indian Institute of Technology goes by Bharatiya Prodyogiki Sansthan in Hindi. The Indian Institute of Science is also the Bharatiya Vigyan Sansthan. And let’s not forget the Reserve Bank of India, also known as the Bharatiya Reserve Bank.
Oh and don’t get us started on the Indian Space Research Organisation — Bhartiya Antariksh Anusandhan Sangathan. Even the Indian Railways gets a makeover to become Bharatiya Rail under the current government.
The burning question on everyone’s mind: Is the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology about to undergo a glamorous transformation into the Bharat Institute of Technology (BIT)?
Well, BITS Pilani must be positively ecstatic that IIT is finally playing catch-up in the acronym game. Or Maybe IIT Madras will become BIT Chennai, with the acronym B.I.T.C.H!
What about the prestigious Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc)? Will it become the Bharat Institute of Sciences (BISc)? And will the alumni be dubbed “BIScuits”?
But wait, some names in English have no Hindi counterpart. Take the Indian Oil Corporation, for instance. Could it morph into Bharatiya Oil Corporation? There’s already Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum in the mix.
What about our friends down in South Bharath? It’s not Bharat, but Bharath for them. Is Bharat (without the ‘h’) going to be imposed on them? How exactly is this grand renaming going to affect their aspirations?
So, buckle up, Bharat, India, or whatever you want to call yourself — the name game is on and it’s going to be a wild ride!
