In 1947, when we got our independence from the British, the country’s name became India. In the Constituent Assembly, our Constitution framers debated the name we would give ourselves as a republic. In addition to India, names that came up were Bharat, Bharat Varsha, Hindustan, Hind and Bharatbhumi. Dr BR Ambedkar, chairman of the Drafting Committee, proposed the wording ‘India that is Bharat’ and the assembly members agreed.
When the Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950, the Union government ensured that the name modifications were in place. One of the most public-facing ones was on the passport. In a 1949 passport, bound in a simple black cloth-covered cardboard, had in the middle of the cover, printed in gold gild, the national emblem of four Asiatic lions on top of the Ashoka pillar. Above the national emblem was the word ‘India’ and below, it read, ‘Passport’.