cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/4495502

Britain renamed Bharat to India when it was colonized, and the name is a symbol of colonial slavery.

    • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      And yet over time it became accepted by most of the subcontinent. Probably the same can happen with Bharat given enough time.

      But ultimately this is not about what Indians call their own country, it’s about a naming convention in the anglophone world. It’s as if Germany tomorrow decided to demand that English speakers would be required to call their country Deutschland. It’s doable but it will take time for people to adapt and some will still never let go of the old name they have become accustomed to using.

      And that would still just be for English, other languages would still have their own names for some countries, like the Polish Niemcy for Germany.

      Personally i have no opinion on this either way except to say that out of habit i will probably still sometimes use the name i originally learned.

      • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
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        1 year ago

        It’s as if Germany tomorrow decided to demand that English speakers would be required to call their country Deutschland.

        Turkey did exactly that.

        Ukraine even tried to rename… Russia.