<img style="float: left;" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2023/sep/Rahul-op_e.jpg" alt="Rahul Da Cunha" width="200" height="69" />There&rsquo;s a new debate raging, some call it a weapon of mass distraction, others turn their eyebrows up with cynicism, still others are truly panicked, and of course there are those whose chests swell with patriotic pride.
<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/lobo-lobo-and-the-week-that-was-23307006" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">India vs Bharat</a>, Bharat vs India is a hotter contest than Djokovic vs Alcaraz&hellip; well, Djokovic vs Medvedev this year.
The question on everyone&rsquo;s lips, as the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/walking-on-the-moon-23305761" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">G20 summit</a> enters its second day&mdash;Is our nation going to get a new name?
Well the supporters of &ldquo;Bharat&rdquo; argue its merely getting our original, old name back&hellip;conversely the critics bark, &ldquo;Aw come on, are you serious, why now, 76 years after Independence?&rdquo; Either way it&rsquo;s Mera Bharat Mahaan vs India Shining.
(Gotta say, &ldquo;Incredible Bharat&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t have the same ring as &ldquo;Incredible India&rdquo;. &ldquo;Make in India&rdquo;, becoming &ldquo;Make in Bharat&rdquo;, hmm, it was questionable grammar to begin with, now even more clunky perhaps?)
I have been pondering this conundrum for some days now, do I want to hail from India or Bharat?
Could be an election ploy&hellip; the gents in power, hackles raised because the &ldquo;rag tag Lagaan-like opposition team&rdquo; named their alliance I.N.D.I.A. So they respond with BHARAT. &ldquo;We are the OG, the original Indians.&rdquo;
See if it comes through, and the Parliament votes for it, there will be chaos, &ldquo;taking to the streets type mass madness&rdquo;. It&rsquo;s not just a &ldquo;Mumbai-Bombay&rdquo; nomenclature thingy, 100 million people will be standing outside the passport office for a &ldquo;Republic of Bharat&rdquo; change&hellip; and Adhaar cards. Let&rsquo;s not even open that can of worms.&nbsp;
The anti-Bharat brigade, argue, &ldquo;Forget name changes, how about changing living conditions&rdquo;, the supporters chant, &ldquo;Bharat is our birthright&rdquo;.
Other issues will crop up&hellip; global issues&mdash;now that we are a G20 powerhouse, how will foreigners refer to us.
Foreigners who&rsquo;ve curiously asked:
&ldquo;Where from?&rdquo; or &ldquo;Which country you?&rdquo; or &ldquo;Which count-lee you flom?&rdquo; The answer would normally have been &mdash;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m from India, I&rsquo;m Indian.&rdquo;
Now it&rsquo;ll be, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m from Bharat&rdquo;
&ldquo;Ummmm Borat&hellip; you&rsquo;re from Borat? Just like that wassisname Sasha Baron Cohen, the fictitious Khazakistani TV journalist?&rdquo;
&ldquo;No Bharat&hellip; Bhaaaa-rath.&rdquo;
&ldquo;BAR-ATT? Like Obama, but with a T?&rdquo;
&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s just call it the country formerly known as India!&rdquo;
But you see, dear reader&hellip; I am faced with the biggest problem of all.
If &lsquo;Bharat&rsquo; goes through officially, the biggest problem I have is&hellip; who will I become? What is my identity? Presently, I am Indian/Bharatiya. Like the Chinese do I become Bharese? Like a Cypriot, am I to be a &nbsp;Bhariot? Like the Spanish, Bhanish&hellip; like a Spaniard, Bhariad? Like the French, a Bharch? Like the Filipinos, will I now be a Bharatino? Like an Omani, a Bharani? Like a Qatari, a Bhari? Finland, whose people are Finnish, could I be Bharrish?
Like a Thai, do I become a Bhai? &ldquo;I&rsquo;m from Bharat, I&rsquo;m proud to be a Bhai&rdquo;, meaning either I&rsquo;m your brother or I belong to the underworld.
3 So now that the main Chinese dude hasn&rsquo;t shown up for the G20, is it a question of &ldquo;Hindi Cheeni Bhai Bye&rdquo;.
Finally, we are a BRICS nation&hellip; how cool does BRICS sound&hellip; does BRBCS have the same ring. Has the abbreviation lost its &ldquo;zaniness&rdquo;?
This and other issues to ponder over, dear reader.
Rahul daCunha is an adman, theatre director/playwright, photographer and traveller. Reach him at rahul.dacunha@mid-day.com
 <script async="async" data-cfasync="false" src="//pl23789885.revenuecpmgate.com/7445444aea29efc3d061cbd866026c06/invoke.js"></script>
 <div id="container-7445444aea29efc3d061cbd866026c06"></div>

India vs Bharat, Bharat vs India is a hotter contest than Djokovic vs Alcaraz… well, Djokovic vs Medvedev this year.

Who am I?

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / News / Opinion / Article / Who am I?

Who am I?

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast