At the City Montessori School, Rajajipuram Campus II, the National Sports Day on 29th August was celebrated as 'Athlopolics', a sports event was conducted dedicated to the junior section students.

The event was a healthy amalgam of prayers, pledges, and athletic activities, all curated to cultivate a disciplined and physically fit lifestyle among the students. 
The event commenced with a prayer and a powerful thought, followed by a virtue and pledge, setting an honorable start to an energetic day.

The importance of embracing sports in daily life was emphasized by the Head Girl during her speech, further reiterated by the principal's address. The inspirational speeches set the stage for the physical endeavors to follow, starting with a stimulating aerobics session led by the energetic girls of Class 5.

Post aerobics, a range of races engrossed everyone present. The first race, Carrom, was fervently inaugurated by the principal herself. Diverse races ensued, including traditional sprints, one-leg and three-legged races, and shuttle and relay races which witnessed immense enthusiasm and competitive spirit.

Unique, fun-filled competitions like the pastry race, Hoola hoop race, crocodile race and throw and catch race left everyone exhilarated. The girls showcased their agility in the skipping race. It was then followed by a gripping Kabaddi match by the boys of Class VIII.

Without a doubt, one of the most anticipated events of the day was the gripping Kabaddi match between the boys of Class VIII. As the audience waited, the atmosphere was thick with palpable excitement and eager anticipation. With every Kabaddi chant, the venue was filled with an electric atmosphere, further fuelled by the loud cheers and encouraging shouts from the audience.

The day was concluded by prize distribution, leaving behind a trail of victorious smiles and the joyous spirit of sportsmanship.

The sacred scriptures that originated on this soil referred to this immense, varied, and mystic land as distinct and diverse in every possible aspect and dimension—its geographical, historical and spiritual being that came to be known as the homeland of "Bharata", which is a culturally and intellectually rich and awakened world located in the South East ("Dakshina Poorva Dighbhage, Bharata varshe, Bharata khande"). This land which was the chosen home of the descendants of King Bharata, was known for its vast treasure of knowledge immortalised in books that are primitively simple and holistically and esoterically profound in philosophy, science, medicine, and just about anything that is concerned with the earthly and heavenly aspects of human life. A critical reading of history would alert us to the naming of this land from a conqueror’s perspective, a perspective that would be inevitably limited, much like the blind men in the story trying to name the elephant. This was bound to be impressionistic. Some of these names are referents to such geographical and cultural features as the Sindhu, and Hindu, Indica and India. Megasthanes, the Greek traveler, whose extinct text "Indica", which survives only some surviving fragments sings paeans to the rich cultural, philosophical and spiritual heritage of this country.

As E M Forster says, the sun can look down at this part of the world and claim it to be the flesh of its flesh, the blood of its blood, for, India has never been under the sea unlike other landmasses. It has a unique, matured look on the one side, and a young, fresh look on the other. Its tectonic plate extends up to the Antarctic, justifying the name of the ocean named after it. All other countries near the Ocean are peripheral to it. Historically, India can also claim to be the cradle of mankind what with fossils of Sivapithecus, to name one, being found in the Himalayas. Isolated from the turmoils of Asia and Europe for a long time, the country evolved a unique culture and history. It stands to reason that this part of the world, unlike any other in every way, and older than any civilisation in its continuity, should have a unique and original name that is given by her own children who know her best.

While it is claimed that political nationalism originated in the British Isles and France’s Burgundy, cultural and social historical bonds are no less binding factors of nationalism. The fact that Sri Adishankara, often compared by Western scholars with St Thomas Aquinas, built mathas more than a millennia ago in the four corners of what came to be called India, establishes no less explicitly and forcefully the concept of India as any political nationalism can. On the other hand, the idea of kala pani excluded other lands from India. The subcontinent forms a natural landmass with the Himalayas in the north and the Ocean in the south. In civilisational and national terms, the idea of India as we know it, was already in place. The fact that some people dismissed India as a “mere geographical expression” is neither here nor there—Metternich said the same words about the Italy of his times. Such denigrators have all been consigned to the dustbin of history. And all the time, there was a Greater India, as some historians have called it, extending to Cambodia (the Southeast Asian version of Kambhoja, or with the Thai capital of yore as Ayuthaya (their version of Ayodhya), India had its own version of the mission civilisatrice, albeit a peaceful one.

The rich legacy of this nation attests to its ancient glory and its historical annals are adorned with every modern feature that our contemporary world boasts of. In Harappa of the Indus Valley Civilisation, there was city planning on the grid pattern, and a drainage system with an advanced plumbing replete with manholes to clean them. In the Mahajanapadas (republics), we had an alternative to the monarchy almost in a Hegelian dialectic of thesis and antithesis. The Sabha and the Samiti were vital moot halls—parliaments—deciding the fate of the land they ruled. Nor was there a conflict between republican and monarchical forms of government as we see today. Harmony was the watchword then, as it is now. The point is that the land developed and sustained an advanced civilisation. It is unfortunate that it came to be known by the name given by foreigners who only saw it literally peripherally. For, if the Indus is a mighty river, there are others such as the Brahmaputra to match. Thus it is very important to find a name that does justice to the land.

The name Bharat is rich in meaning. It is the name of a great and inspiring hero whose prowess was the subject of wonder right from his childhood, and is known to have united India in ancient times. This vision of unity is much needed, since it is from this mystic land hails the profession "vasudhaiva kutumbakam"—the world as one family.

Further, the name Bharat recalls the unsurpassable ancient knowledge, teaching the world numbers and astronomy and thus playing a major role in ushering the modern age. Bharat will be a reassuring hope for the world against imperialist and other anti-civilisational forces.

Perhaps, India is the only country that officially has two names. According to Article 1 of the Constitution of India, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states". It is a union strongly resisting any propensity of secession. In an enlightening moment for the rest of the world, the US Ambassador to India, in the 1980s, when the so-called Khalistani movement was at its peak, said that there are more chances of Texas splitting off from the US than Punjab breaking away from the country. The point is that culturally, historically, and in every conceivable way, the nation has been one, and will remain so. With the name of Bharat, all malicious and centrifugal forces can be neutralised.

Since the name Bharat is already in the Constitution, the change entails no radical departure from it, keeping in place what has been called its “basic structure”. It would only be making it more focused, and more appropriate. The strange juxtaposition of a foreign name and a genuine, indigenous one will no longer puzzle or bemuse Indians—and the world.

The distinguished culture, the remarkable historical legacy, an influential way of life, and a spirituality of cosmic consciousness, which are valued as the intellectual bases for a highly conscious culture sourced from this soil have been a part of the conscious and subconscious experiences of almost all people on this planet. This consciousness should deter and preclude any annoyance and defuse any inept questioning of the necessity of this great nation to be renamed as 'Bharat'. This intellectual acquiescence has led to the obscuring of the nation’s proud legacies and history for centuries together. This historical meekness reconfiguring itself is now trying to at least re-centre its jaded ideas and views to barrenly, out of dead habit, questioning the renaming of the nation.

There was no such susurrus when so many nations across the world renamed their lands to reflect and earn back their historical pride. Turkey, once called Asia Minor, changed its name to 'Turkiye'; Holland renamed as 'Netherlands'; Czechoslovakia as the ‘Czech Republic'; Kampuchea as 'Cambodia'; Siam as 'Thailand'; and Swaziland as 'Eswatini'. Our neighbouring countries have no exception, since Burma renamed itself as 'Myanmar', and Ceylon as 'Sri Lanka'.

As India finds her feet and rises in importance on land, air, and in space, in economics and international affairs, it is time that a colonial legacy and historical accidents are laid to rest and the patina of the ages is wiped clean. While the lessons of history have to be learnt, it is also important that they should not continue their vice-like grip on the country. Thus, historically, culturally, constitutionally, semantically, and in every other sense imaginable, it is appropriate to rename India as Bharat.

(The opinions expressed in this article are personal)

* The author is the Vice Chancellor of The English and Foreign Languages University (A Central University) located in Hyderabad, Shillong and Lucknow.

Prof. E. Suresh Kumar

In a remarkable feat, India's Chandrayaan-3 has landed near the Moon's south pole. The successful Moon mission has made India the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface after the US, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union, and the first to land a craft near the Moon's south pole.

The lander Vikram captured several images of the lunar surface during the power descent. The images show a portion of the landing site, the lander's metal leg and its shadow.

The rover Pragyan rolled out from the lander some hours after the successful touchdown. India became the first nation to land a craft near the Moon's South Pole, a historic triumph for the nation and the world.

This is likely to trigger massive investment in the Indian space sector. 

As a society, it is unthinkable that even today women are used as a means to take revenge in a conflict. Women were paraded naked and the whole mechanism shamelessly remained a spectator until they saw the incident became viral and there was no other way to hide it. On the one hand, it shows the ugliness of a patriarchal overview of women and on the other hand, it exposes a grave failure of the rule of law and accountability within our society.

The gruesome details of the Manipur incident are not hidden from anyone but unfortunately, what happened after the incident is even more disturbing. The police took no action to trace the family that was abducted from their custody and no action was taken for 2 months. The proximity of this heinous crime to India & police station, Nongpok Sekmai police station, (as reported in Indian Express December 2, 2020 & India Today Jul 21, 2023) also adds to the sense of disillusionment among the public.

The lack of action for a prolonged period of time following the incident, till the video went viral, prompts questions not only regarding the police inaction but the ineffectiveness of oversight bodies, such as the State Human Rights Commission, State Women Commission, National Commission for Women (NCW) or National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). This inaction raises serious concerns about the integrity of the police and other Institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law.

Regrettably, the Chief Minister is found to be playing theatrics to the crowd by demanding that the accused be hanged. This is a clear display of chaos and crippled leadership where the chief of the state is clearly unaware of his own duties. The Chief Minister forgot the role of hanging an accused falls under the purview of the judiciary.

The viral video of this gruesome incident has not only tarnished Manipur's image, but the entire nation feels embarrassed. As a former member of the NHRC, I feel that the inaction of these oversight bodies is due to the feeling of no actual obligation towards the citizens until either the video goes viral or there is no option but to save their own image.

At the Commissions, there are no oral hearings, and the cases are handled in a very routine manner. The complaints are initially dealt with by junior consultants, who take a call on whether this complaint is serious or not. There is no formal and regular training for them to be sensitized on what are grave and urgent matters and how should they be dealt with. In any complaint, it might take more than a month to pass the first order in the complaint. On the other hand, the emphasis had always been how many complaints were being disposed of. The focus remains on reducing the pendency, forgetting that the purpose of Institutions is to protect Human Rights.

We should also not hesitate to say that the Manipur High Court also failed to protect human rights and fundamental rights. The inactivity of these oversight institutions raises a basic question: what purpose do these bodies have if they are failing in their basic duties? The delayed response from the NCW and NHRC until the video went viral reflects poor functioning and accountability toward the public.

It is imperative that these Commissions take immediate action when presented with such complaints. Accordingly, this incident should be taken as a wake-up call for the Commissions to re-design their functioning and focus more on the protection of Human rights by associating more people working in the field of human rights. It is the commissions that have the responsibility to enquire where the state fails in the prevention of human rights violations, it is they who should have stepped in when these complaints from Manipur started being reported to them in May. The public outcry on the waste of the taxpayer's money on such Institutions needs to be addressed.

It is necessary to understand that these institutions acting neutrally and promptly is fundamental for a strong democracy. At least, the police officials should have been held accountable for being negligent or complicity, under Section 166A of the Indian Penal Code. The Commissions must find out what went wrong and why action was not taken promptly. They must have special and fast-track mechanisms for handling grave and serious cases and should have had a ready mechanism for sending the teams for spot inquiry in such crimes. Even a mere belief among the public and the police officials that the Commission team is coming for a spot inquiry would have changed the situation on the ground. Unfortunately, in this scenario, none of this happened.

As a nation, we believe in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the idea that the world is one family. Yet, incidents like this demonstrate that there are dark elements in our society that resort to gruesome acts of revenge, particularly against women. Our system has built-in redundancies if the state is unable to uphold the rule of law. However, if our commissions fail to live up to this responsibility, we are looking at a grim future.

( Writer is an Advocate-on-record Supreme Court of India, Former Member National Human Rights Commission )