The Delhi borders will be shut for a week, said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, adding that essential services will be allowed. The CM added that people having passes will be allowed to enter the national capital.
“Delhi borders to be sealed for the next one week. Essential services are exempted. We will take a decision again in one week to open borders after suggestions from citizens,” said the CM.
“What’s in a name,” celebrated playwright William Shakespeare had his most famous heroine Juliet say in his Romeo and Juliet play. “That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.”
But most people wouldn’t agree with Shakespeare in their daily lives. For, a name is the most prominent identity of a person, a family, a caste, a religion or a country. Every name has a history.
This was hotly debated in the constituent assembly when India got Independence from British rule. The British called India “India”. Before them, the Mughals, the biggest empire in India, called it Hindustan.
After an intense debate, the Constitution adopted two names for the country, India and Bharat. Now, a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking removal of ‘India’ as the name of the country and keeping just Bharat as the solitary identity of the nation.
The petitioner, Namah – a resident of Delhi, has sought to amend Article 1 of the Constitution, which names the country and defines its territories.
Article 1 (1) of the Constitution reads, India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. The petitioner says the name “India” is a “symbol of slavery” while seeking to recognise “Bharat” or “Hindustan” as the only name for the country.
The petitioner has quoted from the constituent assembly debates to support his arguments in favour of the name change. He has also referred to places whose names were changed over the years.
The constituent assembly debated Article 1 of the then draft constitution prepared under the chairmanship of BR Ambedkar. It was a heated debate that saw sharp exchanges among the members on November 18, 1949 – just eight days before the Constitution was adopted by “We, the people”.
The debate opened with HV Kamath, a constituent assembly member from the Central Province and Berar. Kamath objected to the Ambedkar committee’s draft that had two names – India and Bharat.
Kamath proposed amendments to Article 1 putting Bharat or alternatively Hind as the primary name for the country and pronouncing India only as the name in the English language.
He went on at length in the constituent assembly to assert that the Namakaran (the naming ceremony) should be taken up more seriously. He enlisted names such as “Hindustan, Hind and Bharatbhumi or Bharatvarsh” to have been suggested by people.
When Kamath began elaborating the origin of the name of Bharat, Brharatbhumi or Bharatvarsh dating it to ancient times, Ambedkar interjected for cutting short his speech.
Kamath snapped back at Ambedkar telling him to let the chairman, Rajendra Prasad run the house. An exchange took place between Prasad and Kamath following which he moved “Bharat” as the amended name for India. Kamath was strongly opposed to the language of Article 1(1) that says, “India that is Bharat”.
Another prominent name to oppose the language was Seth Govind Das, who said, “India, that is, Bharat” are not beautiful words for the name of a country. We should have put the words “Bharat known as India also in foreign countries.”
Das cited the Vedas, the Mahabharat, couple of Puranas and the writings of Chinese traveller Hiuen-Tsang to say that Bharat was the original name of the country, hence India should not be put as the primary name in the constitution post-independence.
He also invoked Mahatma Gandhi saying that the country fought the battle of freedom raising the slogan of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” asserting that Bharat could be the only plausible name for the country.
The petitioner cites MA Ayyangar of Madras province as proposing names of Bharat, Bharat Varsha and Hindustan as substitutes for India in Article 1.
Among others who supported India being named only as Bharat included KV Rao from Andhra Pradesh. Rao went to the extent of suggesting that on the basis of historical nomenclature, Pakistan could be named as Hindustan.
He said, “we can now call ‘Pakistan as Hindustan because the Indus river is there. Sind has become Hind : as (‘sa)’ in Sanskrit is pronounced as (Ha) in Prakrit. Greeks pronounced Hind as Ind. Hereafter it is good and proper that we should refer to India as Bharat.”
BM Gupta, Sriram Sahai, Kamalapati Tripathi and Har Govind Pant were among other constituent assembly members who vociferously supported India be named only as Bharat. In fact, Tripathi and Ambedkar had some heated exchanges during the debate on naming of the country that day.
Tripathi was going at length to reinforce his point for “Bharat” saying the country was “in bondage for a thousand years, this free country will regain its name” prompting an interjection from Ambedkar asking, “Is this all necessary, Sir?”
everal cities across the country saw the lockdown restrictions being eased with even traffic snarls returning back on roads on day 1 of the government’s Unlock 1 as the nationwide tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases crossed 1.9 lakh.
STREETS COME ALIVE AGAIN IN TAMIL NADU
After a hiatus of 68 days, government-run buses resumed operations in a limited manner in Tamil Nadu on Monday except in Chennai and three nearby districts while autorickshaws, which were already plying in other parts of the state, hit the roads in Chennai.
Also, intra-state passenger train services were back on track in Tamil Nadu
connecting key places for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown was announced on March 24 and the resumption of public transport, albeit, curtailed, brought cheers to the general public.
NO TAKERS FOR RAJASTHAN MONUMENTS
After over two months of closure due to the coronavirus lockdown, monuments and tourists places in Rajasthan reopened on Monday with cultural events and performances by folk artists, but there was no footfall.
Domestic tourists mostly visit these places during the summer season and they can be expected in the next few days.
Barring the high-risk areas where the authorities have clamped a curfew to check the coronavirus spread, shops reopened in the Jaipur’s walled city after over a gap of two months on Monday.
However, the response from people remained lukewarm as a majority of shops in the main markets of the walled city reopened.
LUCKNOW BOUNCES BACK TO LIFE
In Lucknow, Alambagh, Nahariya Chauraha, VIP Road and Rae Bareli road tri-section, which had virtually turned into zones of silence following the imposition of lockdown, witnessed a flurry of activities and clamorous honking of vehicles.
After relaxing curbs on movement, traffic congestion also witnessed at some places in Lucknow as the government allowed two people (rider and pillion) on two-wheelers and private cabs to ply as well.
Markets opened in the city on the basis of the left-right formula as directed by the district administration.
In Allahabad, shops in Civil Lines opened, and the Hanuman Mandir Chauraha, which wore a deserted look since Holi, witnessed the movement of people and vehicles.
Shops in Banda also opened on Monday and UPSRTC buses to other districts of the state also started plying.
ODISHA ANNOUNCES WEEKEND SHUTDOWN
Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases and reports suggesting that outbreak might peak in June, Odisha on Monday announced weekend shutdown for the month in 11 districts of the state, anticipating that people might venture out in large numbers as the Centre has eased lockdown curbs.
The state government has also prohibited all sorts of public congregations across the state till month-end, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said.
“Educational institutions, including schools, colleges, coaching centres, will remain closed till the end of July, while places of worship will be shut for devotees up to June 30. Similarly, shopping malls, cinema halls, swimming pools and gyms will also remain closed till June-end, he said.
Hotels, however, will be allowed to reopen with just 30 per cent occupancy, but their restaurants will be operating only for in-house requirements, the chief secretary said.
The two-day shutdown would be implemented in Bolangir, Nayagarh and nine coastal districts, including Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Balasore, in view of “high-case load” in these places, he said.
CENTRE GIVES BOOST TO MSMES, FARMERS, STREET VENDORS
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and farm sectors received major boosts on Monday as the Union Cabinet approved relief packages announced earlier by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with a few new reliefs.
The Cabinet approved a package worth Rs 20,000 crores which will benefit 2 lakh MSME units, Union minister Prakasha Javadekar said. The government also approved a Rs 50,000 crore package for the street vendors. Under this package, street vendors, including hawkers, cobblers and salons, can get a loan of Rs 10,000. The Union minister said that at least 50 lakh vendors will benefit from this scheme.