‘If country’s name is Bharat, it should only be called that’: RSS’ Dattatreya Hosabale

NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has reignited the debate over the nation’s name, advocating for it to be referred to as Bharat. The organisation’s general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale emphasised that if the country’s name is Bharat, it should exclusively be used in that manner.

“In English, it is India, but in the Indian language, it is ‘Bharat’. It is the ‘Constitution of India,’ ‘Reserve Bank of India. Why is it like this? Such a question should be raised. It should be rectified. If the country’s name is Bharat, it should only be called that way”, Dattatreya Hosabale said on Tuesday.

#WATCH | Delhi | General Secretary of RSS, Dattatreya Hosabale, says, “…In English, it is India, but in the Indian language, it is ‘Bharat’…It is the ‘Constitution of India’, ‘Reserve Bank of India’…why is it like this? Such a question should be raised. It should be… pic.twitter.com/8pmr7gSy29

— ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2025

On the RSS general secretary’s statement, AIUDF MLA and party general secretary Dr (Hafiz) Rafiqul Islam said, “The statement is filled with hatred. We call our country Bharat, India, and Hindustan with pride. They will also have to change the name of RSS if they continue to change the names of everything”.

Reacting to the RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement, Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah said, “We call our country Bharat, India and Hindustan. Whoever wants to call this country by whatever name, he can call it. We call it the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army and also sing ‘Sare jahan se achha Hindustan humara’.”

#WATCH | Delhi: On General Secretary of RSS, Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar says, ” Then tell them to remove ‘RSS’, these are all English alphabets, why are they keeping English alphabets in their name? Is this Hindi alphabets?…tell them to change these… pic.twitter.com/5nyhYWcE2X

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2025

CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said there is no point in making this a controversial subject. “Then tell them to remove ‘RSS’, these are all English alphabets, why are they keeping English alphabets in their name? Are these Hindi alphabets? Tell them to change these alphabets first. Article 1 of the Constitution clearly speaks about the name of the country. It is India, there is no point in making this a controversial subject”, he said.

#WATCH | Jammu: On General Secretary of RSS, Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement, J&K LoP and BJP MLA Sunil Sharma says, ” Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement that India should be called as Bharat…I feel that no Indian has any objection to this…Bharat is the oldest name of this… pic.twitter.com/8YG5LBSH51

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2025

Jammu and Kashmir Leader of Opposition (LoP) and BJP MLA Sunil Sharma on Tuesday expressed support for RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement advocating for India to be officially called Bharat, saying that the term highlights the country’s rich culture and civilization.

“Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement that India should be called Bharat. I feel that no Indian has any objection to this. Bharat is a traditional name, which came into being after Dushyant and Shakuntala’s son Bharat. It highlights the culture and civilisation. We welcome Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement. Every Bhartiya will feel proud and there will be no objection, no dispute”, said Sunil Sharma.

#WATCH | Delhi: General Secretary of RSS, Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement, Congress MP K Suresh says, ” This is the mind of RSS, they are always thinking like that. They don’t want India, they want only Bharat…this is their ideology and policy…people of India haven’t accepted… https://t.co/lPiGLhdV6y pic.twitter.com/qKJ8z2oZcD

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2025

Meanwhile, Congress MP K Suresh also reacted to the same and said, “This is the mind of RSS; they are always thinking like that. They don’t want India; they want only Bharat. This is their ideology and policy. People of India haven’t accepted this policy of RSS.”

Addressing a book launch programme on Monday, Dattatreya Hosabale questioned the use of “India” in official contexts and called for rectifying this practice and using “Bharat.”.

“During the G-20 summit, the invitation card for Rashtrapati Bhavan and the invitation card for the PM on January 26 had Republic of Bharat written in English. Constitution of India in English and ‘Bharat ka Samvidhan’ in Hindi. It is the ‘Constitution of India’, ‘Reserve Bank of India. Why is it like this? Why do we have to do this everywhere? Such a question should be raised. It should be rectified. If the country’s name is Bharat, it should only be called that way”, Hosabale said.

Hosabale also said, “India is living for the world. India will rise not only for its benefit. India will rise not to crush or bully other countries; India will rise for the welfare of other countries. This is India’s aim”. Hosabale said that Indians never felt inferior during Mughal rule, but British rule instilled a sense of superiority of English culture, leading to the persistence of “Englishism” and the prominence of English-medium education. (ANI)