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India That Is Bharat

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by HariLakhera, Nov 21, 2021.

  1. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    INDIA THAT IS BHARAT

    India-One Country, Many Names.

    The landmass on this beautiful planet, which is called “India, that is Bharat’ today, was known by different names.
    In the beginning, India called Aryavarta (Land of Aryas) in the Vedic Period under the laws of Manu (Manusmriti).
    After a long gap, some people started calling it Bharatvarsa/Bharat/Bharata-founded by King Bharata Chakravarti, son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala, and great grandfather of Pandavas and Kauravas.
    After another long gap, the Persians came and pronounced it as Indos after Sindhu/Indus River a Land on the other side of Sindhu/Indus River).
    After the Muslim invasion and take over it was called Hindustan/ Hindustana (Indos + stan)/Hindostan/Hindoostan.
    The Britishers could not pronounce any of the above and called it India.
    All along with this, the Bharata dynasty did not recognize Aryavarta, Persians did not recognize Bharata, Muslims did not recognize Indos, and the British did not recognize Hindustan. They wrote their own history.
    The only thing they did was change the name or names of places and build new ones in their own names. No one tried or succeeded to change the fate of the people who lived here.
    The only thing common was that each one of them became a past and no one could change the basic character of the patches of small landmasses within this whole landmass, inhabited by many groups with many things common and few things not common particularly language. Till such time the country was not politically unified in its true meaning.
    After the British left, the Democratic System of Governance was adopted and the first party to rule, the Congress Party, with the help of legal luminaries of those days adopted a rule book named Indian Constitution.
    After marathon deliberations, the Constitution named the Country in Article 1 (1) “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”. (India, associated with foreigners whose rule was coming to an end and Bharat as native as was found in the ancient Sanskrit Literature).
    It is only after Independence the adoption of the Indian Constitution that the country became politically unified in its true sense.
    History is likely to take another turn. Some people are thinking of renaming it as Hindu Rashtra. Changing the names of cities and places started long back but it has got added momentum now. One self-acclaimed Saint even threatened to take Jal Samadhi if it is not done immediately. He found some excuse and postponed it indefinitely.
    As it is, the History of this landmass, surrounded by sea in the south and Snowy Hills Himalayas in the north, had many names, as we have seen above, has been very complicated. Hope it is not made more complicated for history students of the future.
    THE PRIORITY SHOULD BE TO CHANGE THE FATE OF ITS POOR INHABITANTS AND NOT USE THE MASSES SCREWS FOR POLITICAL GAMES)
    Let us sing together.
    Sare jahā se acchā Hindustā hamārā

    Ham bulbule hai us kī, yi gulistā hamārā.

    Mażhab nahi sikhātā āpas me bair rakhnā

    Hindī hai ham, vatan hai Hindūstān hamārā

    (The best in the whole world is our Hindustan

    We are his robin, he is our rose-garden

    Religion does not teach mutual hatred.)

    Mohammad Iqbal (1877-1938)
     
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  2. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    One of the names I find fascinating is Jambudvipa. I don’t know how old it is but I’ve read it is mentioned in some of the Puranas. It means the island of the Jambu fruit (Indian blackberry) or the Jamun it is called in Hindi. Makes one wonder how important the Jamun fruit was to become synonymous with the name of an ancient land. One thing I noticed is that all the names we have are Vedic or post Vedic. I wonder if we have any clue what the original inhabitants of India called their land? We haven’t deciphered the Harappa script yet so we have no knowledge of their nomenclature. Perhaps Tamil due to its antiquity might hold clues to other older names of India.
     
  3. joylokhi

    joylokhi Platinum IL'ite

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    After that Vir Das rhetoric, this came as such a pleasant , unbiased and beautiful piece on our great land! Thanks for the sharing and wish the leaders would really go by your above QUOTE. :clap2:
     
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  4. Mistt

    Mistt IL Hall of Fame

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    Gauri,
    Usually we say Jambudweepe and Bharathakhande In sankalpam before beginning of any pooja/rituals. I never think of know about why it called Jambu Dweepe.:facepalm:
     
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  5. shyamala1234

    shyamala1234 Platinum IL'ite

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    Changing names is easier than changing the fate of its poor inhabitants. So , the politicians take the easy way!
    Syamala
     
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  6. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    In some parts, it was also called Jambudvipa.
    I guess, initially, when humans migrated to this land, for whatever reasons, had no clue as to what Kingship may mean. It is only after a long time that for reasons of security, they needed someone to guide and protect them. He might have been a village head. Rest as you know is history.
     
  7. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    Thank you so much. Vir Das is being trolled left and right. Our memory is too short. Only some 6 years back, our honorable PM, after taking charge on 16th May in 2014, said to the Indian diaspora at Seul- in future, you will not be ashamed of introducing yourself as Indian.
    On the hindside, Vir could have avoided those words about women in a foreign land.
     
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  8. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    This is what I could find out.

    The main feature of Puranic Bhārata is its insularity. This insularity has two dimensions: one is spatial, the other is social. The territory of Bhārata is situated on Jambudvīpa or the ‘apple-tree island’ (Jambosaeugenia).
     
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  9. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    True. Names of places have been changed in the past also and will continue but doing that just before elections can be easily linked to voting politics.
    Changing the name of the country itself has many dimensions. Almost 80% of people living in India are Hindus and they are happy with that. There are so many sects of Hindus in the country worshipping many Gods and at the same time calling themself Hindu. So, I am a Hindu, though I do not worship the same God of yours. This is tolerance. This is Sanatan Dharma.
    By naming the country Hindu Rashtra, we will open the can of worms within Hindus only.
    What is wrong with India, that is Bharat?.
     
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