Traditionally our land has been glorified in shastra as having sapta-sindhu (sapta-sindhavah), seven great sacred rivers. Naming the entire country after just one river located at the outer boundary would be like naming the entire United States as New York. We need to restore the traditional ancient name of this country, Bharat, as has been in use for more than 5,000 years by the ancient Rishis, the indigenous residents of this land and forefathers of all modern Indians. This is not communalism or religious fanaticism, this is simply truth and history. People should be called by the name they themselves choose, and the name their ancestors chose, not the name imposed on them by foreign invaders. In modern times, many neighboring countries have restored their ancient names or chosen the name they want to identify with (freeing themselves from their British colonial past). Ceylon was changed to Sri Lanka. Burma was changed to Myanmar. Siam became Thailand. It is time for India to break free from its colonial past and restore the ancient name of the country, Bharat.
