Personally, the biggest highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on India’s 75th Independence day ceremony were:
- Getting out of Colonial Mindset
- Taking pride in one’s own roots.
In no way, this means jingoism. For thousands of years, Bharat has been open to learn from other cultures. We have assimilated people from various faiths, races, etc while making space for them to keep their uniqueness. However, there is a tendency to glorify/mollify other cultures at the expense of one’s own.
This can be reversed with simple acts like naming/renaming. Why on earth is Nalanda station still called Bakhtiyarpur? If one wants to name your team after superheroes, why not name it after Pandavas, instead of Avengers/Hulks etc.
One may argue what’s in the name? Well, Shakespeare wasn’t always right. A name is associated with an image, an idea, a sound. These constructs have the potential to move mountains, let alone change a human being. So, a lot is in the name. There is a reason why Bharat is more appealing than India.
